Jerry Lewis Oscar Protest Looms

• I have supported Jerry Lewis' work for MDA and his Telethon for two-thirds of my life (I will be 46 in May). I am a member of MDA's website and have personally known people who received MDA-funded care and services. The treatments developed such as plasmapheresis and gene therapy, the billions of dollars' worth of equipment, the clinics around the continent at leading hospitals, and all the rest of the value MDA provides to MD patients are a matter of public record, beyond debate. To attack Mr. Lewis himself for insensitive comments is one thing, but to attack the organization itself and charge that it "exploits" the very people it was set up to help -- many of whom have gone on camera to express their gratitude -- is out of line and ludicrous. The protestors and their sympathizers are, in my view, part of a vocal, angry minority with Idaho-sized chips on their shoulders about being disabled. No one can deny that discrimination against the disabled occurs -- it's one reason the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was written and passed -- but I would argue that it is not as all-pervasive as the protestors seem to believe, and that Mr. Lewis and MDA are far from being the villains the protestors portray. The only "trouble with Jerry" receiving this award is that it came for his humanitarian work rather than his acting, and that it came so late in his life.

• Anytime someone helps raise money for research to find a cure for a disease or disability, then that person earns a measure of gratitude and/or respect for their actions. And if they continue to do that over the course of many years, then they continue to earn a measure of gratitude and/or respect for their continuing actions. However, no matter how much money someone has helped raise, be it $10 or $1 billion, that person does not get a free pass to publicly or privately dehumanize, disrespect, or belittle those he/she purports to care about helping. How can I believe Jerry Lewis really cares about anyone but himself when he continues to publicly deny disabled people the very thing they need first and foremost -- their dignity? Even though his telethon is specifically for the MDA and their efforts to find a cure for those with MD, his bigoted and disrespectful comments about "his kids" reach out and give a slap in the face to all those who have a visible disability, and 20% of America's population falls in that category. Jerry's attitude and mind is stuck in a 1950's fog, or back in the days when families locked their disabled members inside the house, because it was too shameful for them to be seen in, and by, the public. It's the 21st century, Jerry, and who are you to tell disabled people to not come out of their houses if they don't want to be pitied? Who are you to call them half-people? Who are you to spout the all-encompassing statement that they "can't do anything"? Yes, your own comments like that have spread past those with MD and now rain down to include anyone with a visible disability. How dare Mr. Lewis purport to be an expert on what the disabled need, want, or can do? While it is true that there are still way too many people who are still visibly disabled and who still dream and hope for cures and/or symptom relief, it is also true that a large percentage of the disabled today are active, contributing members of society who hold down full time or part-time jobs, who pay taxes, vote, etc. It's rarely easy for them, because too much of society today still harbor conscious or sub-conscious biases against the disabled, or even fear whatever might be the cause of that person's disability, or are just too uncomfortable being around them. But they're making progress, and medicine and medical equipment is helping them in their efforts. And yet Mr. Lewis would still tell them to not come out of their house, that they're only half-people, that they can't do anything. And unfortunately, many people do listen to him and believe he must know what he's talking about. But he doesn't. Do not look at a disabled person and automatically think of them as unable to do anything. Do not deny them the same personal dignity that you expect for yourself. Do not respect them less on sight just because they're in a wheelchair. Don't look at them as a "half person". In short, don't listen to what Mr. Lewis tells you the disabled are, because he doesn't have enough humanity in him to know. His mind is stuck in his glory days of the last century. Be your own judge of someone's merits and don't base them on someone else's biases or bigotry. Everyone deserves that.

• some people are im convinced dumber than a bag of hammers this man jerry lewis is a good man who put a horrible disease in the light so as to hopefully destroy it so that every man woman and child who has it may have a shot at living in dignity this isnt about pity or publicity its about caring for your fellow man i hope jerry never dies may the good god watch over bless and peotect him and his whole family says victor t bpt ct usa

• you can not, can not, please people, If yo get more than two people together there will not be common ground. Jerry needs to take the money and walk it on over to another charity, maybe the Vets would be more greatfull.

• Thank you very much for posting about this important topic. I hope you will continue to follow the action. There are photos of the protests thus far, updates, press release, and more at thetroublewithjerry.net. Too many people think Lewis has only made occasional insensitive comments. They don't realize that such comments actually reveal the deeper truths about the way he really feels about people with disabilities -- negative, stereotyped, and fearful feelings that are broadcast every year when he hosts the telethons.

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