Limbaugh's Statement About Michael J. Fox: Crass but Not Malicious

The stem cell debate is not an issue in my election on November 7. But I have heard more than enough debate on this issue for a lifetime and it's not even November yet.

I am a Detroit Tigers fan and, to a lesser extent and by proximity, a St. Louis Cardinals fan. So, I've watched the World Series and saw Michael J. Fox's ad promoting the senate candidacy of Democrat Claire McCaskill in Missouri.
I probably would have seen in anyway since two of my "local" television stations are based in Missouri. It's only about 45 minutes from here across the river to the "Show Me" state.

I was also listening Monday afternoon when Rush Limbaugh made his now infamous statements regarding the Fox ads and began this national controversy. For the record, I support stem cell research and think Limbaugh and other conservatives who oppose it are preventing the expansion of human knowledge and medical research.
But, I would sincerely like all the media and the uninformed and opinionated people bashing Limbaugh to please shut the hell up!

On Monday, Limbaugh criticized Fox, saying that he had never observed Fox showing such dramatic effects from his Parkinson's disease and that he [Limbaugh] believed the side effects shown in the ad were either Fox acting or "not having taken his medication."

Okay, so his comments about Fox not taking his medication were inappropriate. But he is a talk show host and he does this for ratings and, in his defense, I had never seen Fox, or anyone else I knew personally with Parkinson's exhibit such extreme side effects.

Limbaugh was perhaps a little crass in his description and in his mimicking of the ad, which should have been visible only to the paid subscribers to his on-line service. But his crassness was not a personal attack on Fox or on people suffering from debilitating diseases as has been portrayed in the media since Monday. It was more like accusing Fox of overacting.
And, he prefaced his comments with the statement that he had never observed the behavior before and that if he were wrong, he would apologize. Within minutes, a caller told him he was wrong and that Fox had exhibited extreme signs of side effects before and Limbaugh apologized. Before anyone attacked him, before it became a topic for other people to report on, and before the entire country became offended that he was picking on Fox for Fox's disability, he apologized.
So, please, shut the hell up and stop attacking Limbaugh. All this publicity is not helping the cause. It is in fact promoting faster responses to the pro-stem cell research ads and firing up the opposition.

Was Limbaugh's statement inaccurate? Yes. Was it malicious? No. And, did it take a medical doctor to clarify why Limbaugh was wrong? Yes. Three days after Limbaugh's statement, my local news talked to a neurologists who said that Fox's shaking was a side effect of the medication he takes to treat the Parkinson's. How was Limbaugh supposed to know that?

Limbaugh claims he is right 99 percent of the time and he wasn't. End of story. He did not do all the research he should have and he put his foot in his mouth because of it. And, any public commentary that the advertisement spawns about Fox's medical condition is fair comment.

We as a society may not like it and may feel that it's picking on someone's weakness, but the reality is that when Michael J. Fox agreed to do these ads, he thrust himself and his medical condition into the limelight. He is asking people to support a political candidate based on his opinion that she will help fight his disease better than her opponent will. Fox made the decision to make this a campaign issue, not Limbaugh.

And, not to speak for Fox, but personally, as a person suffering, sometimes and other times just living with, a debilitating disease, I appreciate that Limbaugh did not feel the need to put on the kid gloves and treat Fox more gingerly because he has Parkinson's. I applaud his decision to treat Fox as he would anyone else who was shilling for a Democrat, with the usual amount of disdain and contempt.

Just after I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, I overheard my boss explain to her supervisor that I should be passed over for a promotion because there was "no telling how reliable she'll be because of her disease." At that point, I had not missed a single day of work due to my multiple sclerosis. I had, in fact, even scheduled all my diagnostic testing and doctor's appointments around my work schedule.
I suppose if I could prove they passed me over based on my medical condition, I could sue the company, but I decided I didn't really want to work for people with that kind of attitude. And I still feel that same way. I appreciate people who understand that I need a handrail or sometimes have balance issues, but I appreciate more the people who assume I am healthy and able to do anything I please, until I show them otherwise.

Almost everyone I know has at one time or another misjudged a handicapped person based on visual cues or lack there of. People assume that someone with slowed speech after a stroke or accident is less intelligent. Or, they observe someone who looks healthy using a handicapped parking sticker and immediately assume it is being used fraudulently.
No matter how crass and inappropriate Limbaugh's comments were, they were not intended to harm Fox, but to illustrate a political point and argue a political position. That is what Limbaugh makes the big bucks to do. And I applaud the fact that he was as nasty to Fox as he is to everyone else.