move.com commercial has me outraged….
Question:
Randall Bart <Barti…@usa.spam.net> wrote: > You make an important distinction. In a sense, the Sprint PCS > commercial is advertising _to_ people with Tourette Syndrome, saying > that we should use their service, because it won’t give us tics. (By > the same token, if a person with Tourette Syndrome should get a tic > from using a Sprint PCS phone, that’s going to be a very good law > suit.)
I think the Sprint commercial is advertising to people who make cell phone calls and end up saying, "Ben? Ben? Ben? What? What? Are you there? Are you there? What? What? What? Ben? Ben?" as the person’s voice on the other end drops in and out, and then the call finally disconnects. Ack! And these aren’t tics–they’re the attempt of the listener to ascertain that he or she still has the other person on the line. I don’t see how this means that they’re directing their advertising to people with Tourette syndrome. (And BTW, my Sprint PCS phone does this too, their commercials to the contrary notwithstanding.) Any normal thing that people can do can become a tic. Doesn’t mean that TS has become the target market. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> This bad roommate has a > note compulsion, so some people here identify with her. We see her in > the background doing what some here identify as TS, but I think when > the director spoke to the actress he actually used words such as > "crazy", "schizophrenia", "dementia", and a local favorite "rage". > Identifying correct DSM-IV diagnoses for the condition depicted will > not be informative. > The move.com commercial intends only to show an unbearable roommate. > It does not intend to show prejudice toward any group. The most > important standard is whether it generates prejudice, and I don’t see > how it is. It says "run away from this unbearable roommate." You are > taking the fact that the unbearable roommate has OCD and (possibly) TS > and abstracting that to "run away from people with OCD/TS." We are > used to making that abstract connection, but the people who > potentially will be misinformed are not, and I don’t see how the > commercial encourages it.
Hear, hear. We need to be careful about seeing TS and OCD bogeymen around every corner and in every commercial, TV show, and movie. The bogeymen are there, to be sure, and we need to speak up when it happens, but they’re just not around every corner. And, there are some aspects of our behavior that are pretty amusing to those around us. Heck, there are some aspects of our behavior that are amusing to *US*. Instead of worrying about being so politically correct and buttoned up all the time, let’s join in on the laughter! I think we’d end up being less scary, less of an oddity, and more of a, "Oh, Bill? Yeah, he just does that. He has some disorder called Tourette something or another. We just had lunch together the other day. Really nice guy. You should go say hi." With my fibromyalgia, I try to turn certain aspects of my disorder into a joke. "Hey, listen. I have something that turns my brain into a seive so I can’t remember anything. What did you say again?" or "I couldn’t type if my life depended on it" or "Dang, I forgot how to sign my signature! Hang on while I write another check" or "I’m a human barometer." I get a lot farther with people with quiet education. Wish I could remember that when I’m not educating so quietly! LOL! Theresa — Theresa clanm…@earthlink.net
Response:
Randall Bart <Barti…@usa.spam.net> wrote: > Absolutely. The first voice actor who played Porky Pig had a stutter. > He had to practice his line many times before he could read them > properly. The director decided to make it easier on the actor by > making the stutter a part of the character. Many years later the > do-gooders decided Porky Pig was offensive. Is it offensive to let a > stutterer stutter in public? > We should be happy to see people ticcing on TV. My favorite is Pinky > of Pinky and the Brain. Pinky’s famous tic "narf" is actually an > imitation of a real tic by an animator at Warner Brothers.
I *LOVE* Pinky and the Brain!!! And how do you know this stuff???? It’s fascinating! — Theresa clanm…@earthlink.net
Response:
So true, so true. I believe I mentioned that my *digital* phone does this (as much as my analog phone ever did). Theresa – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Greg Gershowitz <c_a_n_i_s_t_e_r_1…@hotmail.com> wrote: > On Mon, 03 Jul 2000 14:59:02 GMT, clanm…@earthlink.net (Mesas) > wrote: > >I think the Sprint commercial is advertising to people who make cell > >phone calls and end up saying, "Ben? Ben? Ben? What? What? Are you > >there? Are you there? What? What? What? Ben? Ben?" as the person’s voice > >on the other end drops in and out, and then the call finally > >disconnects. Ack! And these aren’t tics–they’re the attempt of the > >listener to ascertain that he or she still has the other person on the > >line. > If you’ve ever dealt with analog cell phones, you’ll know that this > conversation is EXACTLY correct. Way back when, when car phones had > to be welded into the cars, I worked at Radio Shack. We did this to > our manager all the time. We’d get him cursing the stupid phone, > which didn’t work half of the time anyway. Heck, they barely work > nowadays. And don’t be fooled, digital really isn’t that much better. > Pin drop my ass. > -Greg G > — > -Greg "TORCHA" Gershowitz > To Reply: See the organization line > http://www.geocities.com/torcha.geo (My personal site) > http://members.xoom.com/tourettic (The unofficial AST site)
– Theresa clanm…@earthlink.net
Response:
On Wed, 05 Jul 2000 14:04:56 GMT, clanm…@earthlink.net (Mesas) wrote: >So true, so true. I believe I mentioned that my *digital* phone does >this (as much as my analog phone ever did).
Yeah, I noticed that after I mini-ranted. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Greg Gershowitz <c_a_n_i_s_t_e_r_1…@hotmail.com> wrote: >> On Mon, 03 Jul 2000 14:59:02 GMT, clanm…@earthlink.net (Mesas) >> wrote: >> >I think the Sprint commercial is advertising to people who make cell >> >phone calls and end up saying, "Ben? Ben? Ben? What? What? Are you >> >there? Are you there? What? What? What? Ben? Ben?" as the person’s voice >> >on the other end drops in and out, and then the call finally >> >disconnects. Ack! And these aren’t tics–they’re the attempt of the >> >listener to ascertain that he or she still has the other person on the >> >line. >> If you’ve ever dealt with analog cell phones, you’ll know that this >> conversation is EXACTLY correct. Way back when, when car phones had >> to be welded into the cars, I worked at Radio Shack. We did this to >> our manager all the time. We’d get him cursing the stupid phone, >> which didn’t work half of the time anyway. Heck, they barely work >> nowadays. And don’t be fooled, digital really isn’t that much better. >> Pin drop my ass. >> -Greg G >> — >> -Greg "TORCHA" Gershowitz >> To Reply: See the organization line >> http://www.geocities.com/torcha.geo (My personal site) >> http://members.xoom.com/tourettic (The unofficial AST site) >– >Theresa clanm…@earthlink.net
– -Greg "TORCHA" Gershowitz To Reply: See the organization line http://www.geocities.com/torcha.geo (My personal site) http://members.xoom.com/tourettic (The unofficial AST site) "Much of Twister’s footage was done in the digital domain, with 1s representing incompetence and 0s representing crap." – Mike Nelson (also applies to SW:TPM)
Response:
Greg Gershowitz <c_a_n_i_s_t_e_r_1…@hotmail.com> wrote: > On Wed, 05 Jul 2000 14:04:56 GMT, clanm…@earthlink.net (Mesas) > wrote: > >So true, so true. I believe I mentioned that my *digital* phone does > >this (as much as my analog phone ever did). > Yeah, I noticed that after I mini-ranted.
That’s okay–I appreciate a good mini-rant. — Theresa clanm…@earthlink.net
Response:
On Wed, 05 Jul 2000 14:05:14 GMT, c_a_n_i_s_t_e_r_1…@hotmail.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -(Greg Gershowitz) wrote: >On Wed, 05 Jul 2000 09:25:29 GMT, Randall Bart <Barti…@usa.spam.net> >wrote: >>’Twas Mon, 03 Jul 2000 14:59:02 GMT when the wise and venerated >>clanm…@earthlink.net (Mesas) enlightened alt.support.tourette with >>these thought provoking words: >>>I think the Sprint commercial is advertising to people who make cell >>>phone calls and end up saying, "Ben? Ben? Ben? What? What? Are you >>>there? Are you there? What? What? What? Ben? Ben?" as the person’s voice >>>on the other end drops in and out, and then the call finally >>>disconnects. Ack! >>Of course. The main goal is to disparage the competing product. > Even when the company whose ad you are watching HAS A PRODUCT JUST >LIKE THE ONE THEY ARE BASHING!!!! Those commercials drive me nuts. >Drano foamy, the new IBM "slim" PC commerial. The list goes on and >on. >>If you acquire a tic saying "are you there?" you have a false >>advertising claim. You should contact my attorney Okei Sosumi with >>the law firm of Will Mayhew Owen O’Moore. > Or the law firm of Dewey, Cheetum and Howe. >>Absolutely. The first voice actor who played Porky Pig had a stutter. >>He had to practice his line many times before he could read them >>properly. The director decided to make it easier on the actor by >>making the stutter a part of the character. Many years later the >>do-gooders decided Porky Pig was offensive. Is it offensive to let a >>stutterer stutter in public? > How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck >wood?
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Grrr wrote: > On Wed, 05 Jul 2000 14:05:14 GMT, c_a_n_i_s_t_e_r_1…@hotmail.com > (Greg Gershowitz) wrote: > >On Wed, 05 Jul 2000 09:25:29 GMT, Randall Bart <Barti…@usa.spam.net> > >wrote: > >>’Twas Mon, 03 Jul 2000 14:59:02 GMT when the wise and venerated > >>clanm…@earthlink.net (Mesas) enlightened alt.support.tourette with > >>these thought provoking words: > >>>I think the Sprint commercial is advertising to people who make cell > >>>phone calls and end up saying, "Ben? Ben? Ben? What? What? Are you > >>>there? Are you there? What? What? What? Ben? Ben?" as the person’s voice > >>>on the other end drops in and out, and then the call finally > >>>disconnects. Ack! > >>Of course. The main goal is to disparage the competing product. > > Even when the company whose ad you are watching HAS A PRODUCT JUST > >LIKE THE ONE THEY ARE BASHING!!!! Those commercials drive me nuts. > >Drano foamy, the new IBM "slim" PC commerial. The list goes on and > >on. > >>If you acquire a tic saying "are you there?" you have a false > >>advertising claim. You should contact my attorney Okei Sosumi with > >>the law firm of Will Mayhew Owen O’Moore. > > Or the law firm of Dewey, Cheetum and Howe. > >>Absolutely. The first voice actor who played Porky Pig had a stutter. > >>He had to practice his line many times before he could read them > >>properly. The director decided to make it easier on the actor by > >>making the stutter a part of the character. Many years later the > >>do-gooders decided Porky Pig was offensive. Is it offensive to let a > >>stutterer stutter in public? > > How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck > >wood? > How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
If a woodchuck could chuck wood, a woodchuck would chuck would. Jai — I like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It’s so F***in’ heroic. George Carlin
Response:
‘Twas Tue, 04 Jul 2000 05:09:27 GMT when the wise and venerated Ellen <@att.net> enlightened alt.support.tourette with these thought provoking words: >I was going on a gut feeling. When I first saw the move.com commercial, it >wasn’t a matter of political correctness at all. I felt nauseous and >depressed on a personal level first.
This is a different issue. A commercial that promotes prejudice or misinformation is a cause for action. But if it makes you (and others) uncomfortable, that’s your problem. If can’t laugh at your own situation, turn off the TV. Virtually anything offends someone. Any joke is too personal to be funny for someone. >Anyway. I wrote the letter to move.com and I feel like I did something. I >don’t expect them to remove the commercial from airing. But at least I >wrote, and I posted it here.
TSA wrote a letter as well. I haven’t seen the commercial for several days. I haven’t seen many move.com commercials recently, but I have seen the couch-potato son commercial more recently than the OCD roommate commercial. It doesn’t take much to get a commercial pulled. If they believe they have something to lose by continuing to run a commercial, it might go. I believe I got AT&T to pull a commercials with one email. Don’t underestimate the power of the individual. >All of us have different touch points.
Amen! — RB |
