morning that seemed to me to be one more piece of evidence
of a disturbing trend in recent years. The article discusses
the case of a Quebec comedian who repeatedly ridiculed a
The subtleties of the legal case were not what concerned me.
appearances. I used to watch Seth Meyers, for example. But
between the policy critique in his segments, Meyers
their appearances. I know nothing about Eric Trump. Meyers
a regular feature of "A Closer Look." Likewise, John Oliver
often takes shots at the subjects of his stories based on
their physical appearance. I may or may not like those
comment on their appearance.
To me, that's crossing a line. While we all have the
capacity to change our values, principles and beliefs as we
learn and adapt, there's not much we can do about our
conscious decision and can be altered), but I can't abide
the ridiculing and humiliation of people based on their
appearance. So this trend has been bothering me. I've
Then this morning, as I drove to work, it occurred to me
that the reason that these comments on appearances bother me
criticized. Because they're like me. I hate that my ability
to empathize is that limited, but apparently it is.
forever. Female politicians and executives, for example, can
expect to have their appearances commented upon. Likewise,
appearance throughout history.
What's happening today is the democratization of
t and I hope you don't either. Maybe -- in a completely
unintended way -- it will make more of us empathize and
And like I said, I'm saddened that it took this long for me
to see it the way that I now do.
[1] https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/quebec-comic-mike-ward-in-court-defending-joke-about-disabled-singer
