View Single Post
Old 02-28-2009, 01:22 PM   #1 (permalink)
Psycho Dad
Mulletproof
 
Psycho Dad's Avatar
 
Location: Some nucking fut house.
Disabled kids show host draws criticism, praise

Disabled kids show host draws criticism, praise - CNN.com

Quote:
By Lateef Mungin
CNN
(CNN) -- A children's show host who was born with one hand is facing criticism from parents over her disability.

BBC spokeswoman Katya Mira said the corporation has received at least 25 "official" complaints recently about Cerrie Burnell, new host of two shows on the BBC-run CBeebies television network, which is aimed at children younger than 6.

The official complaints do not count the dozens of negative comments lodged in Internet chat rooms, Mira said.

In one chat room, a father lamented that Burnell being on the show forced him to have conversations with his child about disabilities.

However, there have also been messages of support for Burnell. What do you think about the complaints?

"We have also received 99 appreciations of her," Mira said.

Burnell started as a presenter of the shows in late January after acting with theater companies in Manchester, England, and Brazil.

A BBC news release in January introducing Burnell made no mention of her disability, but a publicity photo showed the right sleeve of her sweater pulled up, showing her arm stops just below her elbow.

The issue has spurred a debate in England among newspapers, columnists and bloggers.

Burnell said she has heard the criticism and will not let it bother her.

'It can only be a good thing that parents are using me as a chance to talk disability with their children. It just goes to show how important it is to have positive, disabled role models on CBeebies and television in general," Burnell said.

Michael Carrington, BBC controller of CBeebies, said the company is standing by Burnell.

"Cerrie is warm and natural and we think that, in time, all moms and dads and children will love her as much as we do," Carrington said.
This just boggles my mind. I can't see how in today's world something like this can be a problem for people. Is it any wonder that people can grow to adulthood and not understand how to accept people rather than feel awkward at their differences?

I'd like to think that this father is the exception and not the norm:
Quote:
In one chat room, a father lamented that Burnell being on the show forced him to have conversations with his child about disabilities.
Forced? It isn't force, it is an opportunity. Here is a chance to show someone you should be able to explain anything to a bit of understanding and compassion and that people with disabilities are no freaks but real people.

Cerrie Burnell sums it up best:
Quote:
'It can only be a good thing that parents are using me as a chance to talk disability with their children. It just goes to show how important it is to have positive, disabled role models on CBeebies and television in general," Burnell said.
__________________
Don't always trust the opinions of experts.
Psycho Dad is offline  
 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360