Friday, November 22, 2013

Margaret Cho is in town, why we won't be spending our money on her.

It's no secret, I love stand-up. The Chick Magnet loves it too. :) Fargo has been bringing in some really great acts in recent years, and my Netflix queue is loaded with laughs. Our motto is, "Why cry when laughing is so much more fun?"

Margaret Cho is a gifted, talented performer. She shares the most painful aspects of her life in a way few can match.

So why, you ask, am I staying clear?

Sometimes you learn more about someone from a slip of the lip than their carefully-crafted words. I just can't get over her comments about having a "retard" baby.

Her words from an interview promoting her tour, called "Mother", stick in my heart. :

 "My period comes like twice a month. My eggs are jumping ship,” she said. “Seriously, they’re like, ‘the last one out’s a retard.”
“I get worried about that, as an older woman, I don’t necessarily want to have a retard,”.

No matter how she tried to explain her words away, there they are.

They sit in my heart like a rock.

She made apologies in her blog, but I can't really tell, in places, whether her words were meant more to salve the wounds of those she hurt... or her own.

Part of me understands the fears and wants to get past her words, but every time I look at my son and his friends I see the triumph more than the struggles. I see the joy and the gifts more clearly than the hurts.  I try to remember that Steven taught me to do that.  From the outside, it looks like an overwhelming, never-ending, climb. I get that.

To fear the unknown is natural. To demean and reject children with special needs because of that fear is heartbreaking.

Words can leave scars.

I'll leave you with both sets of words and let you think about them on your own.

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