Tracy Morgan is NOT a Funny Man

I don't think of myself as an overly sensitive person.  I have a fairly thick skin and I'm not afraid to laugh at myself. I just don't take myself all that seriously.

And I think a sense of humor is especially important when raising children with special needs. While it's never funny to laugh at our child, we certainly need to take the opportunity to laugh at some of the things they do.  Laughter may be the only thing that gets us through the day sometimes.

But some things simply aren't funny.

Take the comedian Tracy Morgan.  Personally, I've never cared for him and I don't watch 30 Rock.

But he can't seem to stay out of trouble lately.  If he was needing some free publicity for his career, he's certainly gotten some.

First, he spends some time doing a comic skit full of anti-gay remarks, complete with the comment that he would "kill his son if he acted gay".

After being called out (even by his own 30 Rock co-star), he issued an apology.

Cue the next stand-up routine.

Gay bashing didn't go so well so he decided to make fun of people with disabilities saying, "Don't ever mess with women who have retarded kids.  Them young retarded males is strong.  They're strong like chimps."

Call me dumb, but I don't think there is one thing funny about that.  That is not humor.  That is cruelty.

And not just because I have a child with special needs.

The fact that he is an African American man makes this a little more surprising, in my mind.

I came across an interesting response to Tracy's statements written by an African American mom of a special needs child.  It's worth a read so click on it if you have a minute.

Do I think that the word "retarded" or "retard" is going to disappear from our vocabulary?  No.

Do I really want to spend the rest of my days issuing petitions that famous people apologize every single time they say the word?  No.

But I'm glad that some groups do feel that way.

Because when someone with a platform uses those derogatory words and attention is called to it, how they react to it can create an environment for some positive change.

It makes people think before they speak.

But the stupid statements made by Tracy Morgan go far beyond using the r-word.

On a very public platform, he has revealed exactly what kind of person he is.

He had to know that on the heels of his gay bashing remarks, many people would be listening to his first several public appearances to see how he responded.

And this is how he responds?

Bullying the most defenseless portion of our population.  Picking on a group that struggles for respect like no other.

All for a laugh.

In the church, we often quote Luke 6:45 which says, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks."

I think the statements made by Tracy Morgan give us a glimpse of what is stored in his heart and therefore reveals what kind of man he is.

And funny isn't what comes to my mind.