Last week, I was nearly pushed over the edge.
For a moment, I was tempted to give up the Internet entirely.
I’d even hatched a plan to write all of my subsequent blog posts as letters, and fold them up 20,000 times like we did as elementary-aged children once upon a time before the web existed.
I know none of you are wondering what almost drove me to such lengths, but I’m about to tell you anyway and I’ll sum it up in one sentence.
Political correctness has officially gone too far.
Apparently, the Video Music Awards came on TV recently.
I didn’t watch, nor did I particularly care.
A lot of people did care, however.
One of those people was Eric LeGrand.
LeGrand played football at Rutgers University, and was paralyzed while making a tackle for the Scarlet Knights a few years ago.
Since his injury, he’s been pretty outspoken about his progress and how he’s coping with paralysis.
I guess he watched a performance by Beyonce´ and liked it.
He sent a tweet about the performance after the fact, and jokingly referenced his injury.
I don’t know why the reaction to his tweet surprised me, what with the day and age in which we live.
People were actually offended by a guy who had a sense of humor about his own injury.
Let that sink in a little bit.
His own injury. He wasn’t making fun of anybody else’s circumstance. He was making light of his own, and somebody got offended.
Imagine that.
I guess people were so offended he finally felt the need to clarify himself.
Really? Good grief.
I immediately told a friend I was talking to about it.
I told her if he wants to have a sense of humor about what happened, good for him.
I have cerebral palsy. I learned a long time ago if you can’t laugh at yourself, especially if you’re in a circumstance you can’t control, you’re probably in for some misery.
I also think it opens you up to people, and makes your circumstances more relatable to those who aren’t familiar with what you’re going through.
I think it helps them understand they don’t have to be afraid to ask you questions or talk with you about things they want to know, but may not have known how to ask.
I think it helps them understand they don’t have to walk on eggshells around you, and they can treat you like they’d treat anyone else.
In short, I’m all about LeGrand’s approach to his injury. He’s coping the way he wants to cope.
He’s including and inspiring others in an effort to walk again, and I respect that.
I just don’t see a reason to get offended at someone using their circumstance to try to make others laugh.
I may be wrong, but sometimes, in some situations, I think people should put on their big girl pants or their big boy pants and grow up.
Casey's Column 