Shame on them

[mlbandura]

http://www.tv.com/story/25140.html

scroll down to Top Chef.

Antonio, Carla, and Angelo's beef tongue song on Top Chef
Not to mention the same episode's Carla/Jimmy Fallon/chicken pot pie love triangle, which originated thusly: Carla randomly chose chicken pot pie as the dish she'd be preparing for Fallon's birthday-lunch challenge. Those three little words sent her into a happiness seizure; then Jimmy tasted her dish and HE had a happiness seizure. Carla won the challenge, leading to MORE happy seizures all around, plus an appearance on Thursday's Late Night, where their seizure-ific romance continued to bloom across other NBC Universal properties.


Is anyone else as taken aback as I was? Or is this just something that you get used too?

[Bee91]

It does. When people do this it just shows their ignorance. I just want to go up to the and lay down some facts. Yes, I can make joke about my seizures; but you can't make fun of other people's seizures and I wouldn't dare make fun of somebody else's seizures!

It doesn't hit me as hard as when someone uses the word "retard" though. I hate that word. At least 'epileptics' can defend themselves, by laying them straight. But people with developmental disabilities can't always practice that right.

[mlbandura]

Well I sent CBS an Email telling them what I thought about it. I more curios to see if I get a response!

[Nakamova]

It doesn't bother me. The word "seizure" and the word "fit" have more general meanings, not just those related to seizure disorders. The usage in the Top Chef story is on the spectrum of when someone says they were "seized by joy" or "threw a fit" in reaction to something. The Top Chef piece is dumb and unimaginative, but it isn't making a comment about people with seizure disorders.

I realize that just because a term has taken on a certain usage it doesn't prevent if from being offensive -- there are definitely contexts where it can be. Each person has their own threshold. Like Bee, I can make jokes about myself, and some of my close friends can joke about seizures too, but if a joke is made by someone who doesn't "get it", I'm all up in their business lickety-split, setting them straight.