Should this receive comparable outrage?

[Dancer]

Viral "joke" from "The Onion" going around the net...

Death of Shawn Johnson report is a FAKE!

More bad news today came from a satirical new site called the Onion. They put out one of their spoof stories on the “Death of Shawn Johnson”. Onion reported that Johnson, a 4 time 2008Olympian, and Dancing with the stars champion had suffered a knee injury, and had to be “put down” by her parents. The video below featured actors in a mock interview on FAKE show called “Today now!” discussing the FAKE tragedy.

In the interview, they talk about the fact they hadn't had the opportunity to 'breed' her...compared her to a horse.

I think this is equally inappropriate to the way Sarah Palin, her daughter, and Chelsea Clinton were treated. Since when did it become acceptable to humiliate underage women simply because they are in the news?

[Dancer]

I am not stating that I have a problem with free speech. I am literally asking, "When did it become culturally acceptable to attack underage females for a cheap laugh?"

[Recumbentibus]

Perhaps they were mocking and attacking the horse racing industry which kills huge numbers of horses each year. Maybe? Or would that be too clever?

[ThrowCop]

It's the Onion.

[Marleysdaddy]

"When did it become culturally acceptable to attack underage females for a cheap laugh?"

When was it not?

Seriously, read Aristophanes, or Plautus, or Shakespeare - one rule of great comedy is that nobody is off-limits

I laughed hysterically at the Shawn Johnson report, just like I did at the report last week about the soundproof ball you can put your infant in when he or she is crying so that you can whack the heck out of it, or throw it down the stairs and not injure your baby.

[Mimiheart]

Viral "joke" from "The Onion" going around the net...

Death of Shawn Johnson report is a FAKE!



In the interview, they talk about the fact they hadn't had the opportunity to 'breed' her...compared her to a horse.

I think this is equally inappropriate to the way Sarah Palin, her daughter, and Chelsea Clinton were treated. Since when did it become acceptable to humiliate underage women simply because they are in the news?
Now, there is one very significant difference between the underage children of politicians and an underage celebrity. An underage child of a politician (or celebrity) has really no say in their status. Their parent(s) has chosen a path and they are famous because of something their parent has done,.

When an underage person does something significant on their own, like being in the olympics, they've--to some extent--chosen that path for themselves. Now, I don't think this makes them fair game in the way that adult celebrities and politicians are, but then, I don't like the way we treat the adults much either.

[Dancer]

I don't see how this humiliates her in any way. It's a joke. And she's 17. Would you feel any better about it in a few months?They are comparing her to a horse and talking about not having the time to have 'bred' her. They are implying violence toward an underage young woman for a cheap laugh. A sensitive young woman could be hurt by either.

[Dancer]

When was it not?

Seriously, read Aristophanes, or Plautus, or Shakespeare - one rule of great comedy is that nobody is off-limits

I laughed hysterically at the Shawn Johnson report, just like I did at the report last week about the soundproof ball you can put your infant in when he or she is crying so that you can whack the heck out of it, or throw it down the stairs and not injure your baby.Those whom you named...whom in real life of their own time did they make fun of?

[Dancer]

Now, there is one very significant difference between the underage children of politicians and an underage celebrity. An underage child of a politician (or celebrity) has really no say in their status. Their parent(s) has chosen a path and they are famous because of something their parent has done,.

When an underage person does something significant on their own, like being in the olympics, they've--to some extent--chosen that path for themselves. Now, I don't think this makes them fair game in the way that adult celebrities and politicians are, but then, I don't like the way we treat the adults much either.I agree. There is a bitter sharpness to the attacks that hasn't always existed. I think at one time, there was at least an attempt to have some compassion. It seems awfully selfish to me to defend tacky jokes at the expense of someone who has done nothing to deserve degradation. If these persons had even committed some crime to bring them into the media spotlight, I would probably not think much about it, but being the child of a politician or representing our country in the Olympics doesn't seem to be a valid reason to hold someone up for ridicule in my opinion.

[Socrates]

They are comparing her to a horse and talking about not having the time to have 'bred' her. They are implying violence toward an underage young woman for a cheap laugh. A sensitive young woman could be hurt by either.

It is pretty crass, but it's obviously a rip on the horse racing industry and not a blatant personal attack on anyone's character.

[Samm]

Euthanasia is not an act of violence.

That is correct... it is an act of compassion. And remorse that they hadn't had the opportunity to 'breed' her suggests that they had respected her virginity rather than letting her breed before she was of age.

All in all though, it is a pretty repulsive parody.

[Dancer]

Euthanasia is not an act of violence.A horse getting shot for a broken leg is euthanasia. A person getting shot for a broken leg is an act of violence.