NY Governor Blasts Saturday Night's “Cheap Laughs”

Is it time for a Saturday Night Live Boycott?

New York Governor David A. Paterson blasts the TV comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) for the recent and ongoing skits about his blindness. The show mocks the Governor’s blindness and repeatedly him as clueless and bumbling. Paterson notes that his portrayal on the show degrades not only him, but also all people with disabilities, creating and perpetuating negative stereotypes and attitudes toward people with disabilities.

Paterson notes that 71% of people who are blind are unemployed, and 90% of people who are Deaf are unemployed, despite outperforming non-disabled individuals educationally. This, the governor says, is evidence that “one of the biggest problems finding work for the disabled are attitudes."

New York Times columnist Clyde Haberman says SNL is treating Gov. Paterson “as if Mr. Paterson were Mr. Magoo come to life”. Paterson, the former lieutenant governor, took office March 17, 2008 after Eliot Spitzer's ouster due to involvement in prostitution. Gov. Paterson is New York’s first African-American governor, and the second blind individual to serve as a governor anywhere in the US.

SNL has offered no comment, and NBC, which broadcasts SNL, has offered no comment. To see the Governor’s comments about SNL, visit, “Paterson Rips SNL Spoof as Degrading” at http://www.cnycentral.com/news/video.aspx?id=259275

SOURCES:
Gov. Paterson: SNL is Enabling Prejudice Against the Disabled
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/gov-paterson-sn.html
A Governor’s Sense of Humor Is Put to a Rigorous Test
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/nyregion/06nyc.html?_r=1
New York governor slams 'SNL'
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-02-12-snl-paterson_N.htm