TO EVERYONE PLEASE READ

[Annie]

Hi, all i've just read about the little scary moment
from the DS Festival 2002. And for someone to
call a Mentally retarded person a moron is not
my cup of tea!!!  Okay, the poor guy called her
a liar but you've got to all realize that we could of
been in his shoes as well.!!  I have a brain injured
brother and he's ( mentally retarded) and it hurts
me so deep down inside to know that name calling
a handicapped person is not right!!!!  I'm sorry but
i just had to make this known.  ( okay now i
can get off my soap box now)
                                                 Love Anne XXX OOOOO

[Carol]

BRAVO, ANNIE!!!

After reading the posts about how this physically handicapped man was described, I was up half the night wondering if I should make my feelings known about the insensitive comments.

I have family & friends who have mentally & physically handicapped children and grown adults. My husband just retired after working 30 years in alternative education where he was exposed to handicapped children on a daily basis. I'm a nurse and have seen stuff you can't imagine.

The descriptive words used hit below the belt.  Think--before you speak or post. You may be hurting someone next to you  

[Mark Rainey]

Yeah, my first thought was that I feel bad for the poor fellow, since he's obviously got problems that are to some degree out of his control. A measure of compassion is in order. On the other hand, I have to wonder why he's going around the fest unsupervised doing this kind of thing. Once is a lapse of judgment on someone's part; twice is outright inexcusable. If he's not responsible for himself, the person or persons in charge of him should be acting quickly to keep him from disrupting the event. If he's deemed responsible enough to be on his own, then he should be shown the door and not allowed to come back.

[shadow=black,left,300]--Mark[/shadow]

[scout75]

Carol wrote:

After reading the posts about how this...handicapped man was described, I was...wondering if I should make my feelings known about the...comments.

Same here, Carol. It's so obvious that this man has many, many problems that are beyond his control.  I can't help but look at him and be thankful that it isn't me or mine in that sad condition.

On top of which, TLATKLS looks like she understands that and doesn't seem perturbed or threatened by him.  Maybe he thinks she's a "liar" because--while she looks great--she does look so different from Maggie Evans! Who knows?

But obviously, like the rest of us, this poor fella must love DS to go to the convention and all; there's just no telling what's going on in his head...

On the other hand:

Mark Rainey wrote:

I have to wonder why he's going around the fest unsupervised doing this kind of thing...If he's deemed responsible enough to be on his own, then he should be shown the door and not allowed to come back.

I totally agree! I would hate for this incident to be a catalyst for cast members to think twice about attending these events in the future.  This guy was harmless, but what if he (or someone else in that room) wasn't?

Overall, I hope the incident didn't mar anyone's good time or dampen the spirit of the occasion...

[scout75]

Have no idea how I posted twice... ?!?

Sometimes, I think I should stick to my Etch-A-Sketch.

[Carol]

On the other hand, I have to wonder why he's going around the fest unsupervised doing this kind of thing. Once is a lapse of judgment on someone's part; twice is outright inexcusable. If he's not responsible for himself, the person or persons in charge of him should be acting quickly to keep him from disrupting the event. If he's deemed responsible enough to be on his own, then he should be shown the door and not allowed to come back.

[shadow=black,left,300]--Mark[/shadow]

I wondered about that, too, Mark. The person responsible for him should have been informed that this type of outburst would not be tolerated and that if it occurred again, the privilege of attending the fest would be revoked.

I must commend KLS for her class act response, though.

Never having been to a fest, does security or DS Fest representatives have the final say on disruptive guests?

[Mark Rainey]

Never having been to a fest, does security or DS Fest representatives have the final say on disruptive guests?

Hotel security, assisted by police, if necessary, would probably have the responsibility of actually removing someone from the place. My guess is that the convention staff would have to indicate to security they were having a problem beyond their control.

That's just my educated guess; I could be wrong. Personally, I'm thinking that con staff members should be given authority by means of whatever spells, incantations, magical elixirs, human sacrifices, and/or rites of summoning supernatural horrors might be necessary to get the situation under control.

[shadow=yellow,left,300]--Mark[/shadow]

[scout75]

I'm thinking that con staff members should be given authority by means of whatever spells, incantations, magical elixirs, human sacrifices, and/or rites of summoning supernatural horrors might be necessary to get the situation under control.

At the very least, they should be able to administer sedatives...

[kuanyin]

I think it was more a comment on the actions than the mental state? It has been rather common to use the term moron as a insult since it is no longer used as a level of intellectual capacity. I am quite willing to assume the poster simply used a poor choice in words.

Personally, I wish the mentally ill received the same level of understanding and compassion that the intellectually challenged typically get today. But, that's my own soapbox and it is because I have a mentally ill son that looks quite normal, but isn't. Even still, I have been known to say to him: "What?! Are you CRAZY?" Let's face it some patterns of speech are more ingrained than we realize.....

[Cassandra]

Hi, all i've just read about the little scary moment
from the DS Festival 2002. And for someone to
call a Mentally retarded person a moron is not
my cup of tea!!!  Okay, the poor guy called her
a liar but you've got to all realize that we could of
been in his shoes as well.!!  I have a brain injured
brother and he's ( mentally retarded) and it hurts
me so deep down inside to know that name calling
a handicapped person is not right!!!!  I'm sorry but
i just had to make this known.  ( okay now i
can get off my soap box now)
                                                 Love Anne XXX OOOOO

Hi Anne,  I agree with you wholeheartedly!  We don't know how very lucky we are to have all of our mental & physical facilities when there are so many others who are not that fortunate. I remember my parents constantly reminding us of that when I was young, and now as a parent I am giving my two teenage girls the same message.  Im very sorry to hear about your brother Anne and my thoughts & prayers are with you and your family.

Also, Mark, I was wondering the very same thing when I first heard about the incident.  Why on earth was this poor fellow left alone & unsupervised? Especially at a crowded function such as the fest??  I also thought that KLS handled the situation with dignity, (from what I could see anyway) I have never been to a fest but I would have thought that security would have been on top of the situation right away and would tell the person in charge of this unfortunate man to keep a watchful eye on him.

[Nancy]

Also, Mark, I was wondering the very same thing when I first heard about the incident.  Why on earth was this poor fellow left alone & unsupervised? Especially at a crowded function such as the fest??  I also thought that KLS handled the situation with dignity, (from what I could see anyway) I have never been to a fest but I would have thought that security would have been on top of the situation right away and would tell the person in charge of this unfortunate man to keep a watchful eye on him.

It is an unfortunate incident and luckily those kind of situations don't occur often at the fests.  Seems that the festival will have to start guarding the stage and even the actors that walk around more protectively which will, of course, lead to complaints that the festival staff is preventing fans from having more accessibility to the actors.  

I know of two incidents where fans, like the fellow desccribed, were not allowed in an event again without immediate supervision coming with the fan.  Maybe that's what will happen in regards to this particular fan.  Unfortunately, you can't predict by looking at someone they are going to be disruptive.   There are many "challenged" fans who attend festivals and have not engaged in inappropriate behavior such as going on stage while an actor is speaking or other disruptive behavior.   You also have to bear in mind that this man may have come without any real supervision and/or the person in "charge doesn't see that the behavior is a problem.  Just because there is supervision doesn't mean the "supervision" is too swift either in terms of what is and what is not appropriate behavior at an event like this.

I believe that they should increase the security at the festival to not only include having people consistently "guard" the stage but also walk with the actors when they are outside of their rooms.  You never know what someone might do.  It will, as it has in the past when put in place, make some fans upset that they are being denied more "accessibility" but I think the safety of the actors and the fans themselves is more important than perhaps being able to score a second or third autograph outside of the autograph line.  IMO anyway.

Nancy

[Mark Rainey]

You also have to bear in mind that this man may have come without any real supervision and/or the person in "charge doesn't see that the behavior is a problem.  Just because there is supervision doesn't mean the "supervision" is too swift either in terms of what is and what is not appropriate behavior at an event like this.

Boy, ain't THAT the truth!

[shadow=black,left,300]--Mark[/shadow]

[Birdie]

I agree with everything said here.  My heart goes out to the mental challenge fan.  Sometimes events like this, crowds are just too much for them to handle.  My best friends cousin is mentally retarded and at holidays and family parties he can only take a little before it overwhelms him.  His behavior than deteriorates they make sure he is able to participate but than make sure he goes home before it becomes too much for him.  I truly have to blame the supervision.  After meeting KLS last year I know she handled it with grace and class.


Birdie

[Darren Gross]

Hopefully, this regrettable. humiliating incident will inspire some serious thought towards the area of festival security.

The lack of any kind of security at all is a dangerous, irresponsible practice. Relying on un-paid volunteers for such tasks is a complete mistake.

Several cast members have been stalked in the past and a public event such as these often brings many unstable people out of the woodwork.

While it didn't happen in this case, he very easily could have struck Kathryn or violently attacked her.

You have to ask yourself, how much physical and emotional damage a person could do, before some audience members intervened.

The answer is frightening.

Security is needed, and needed now.

[Miles]

The descriptive words used hit below the belt.  Think--before you speak or post. You may be hurting someone next to you  

Thats pretty nutty    Well good luck with the rest of the weekend.

I hope that my comments didn't offend anyone and that i apologize if they did.  I'm the first to agree with those who feel that mocking someone because of their disabilities (or anyone at all) is wrong.  I think you'll agree with me that the situation sounds like it was pretty awkward and bizzarre though, which is what i was trying to say

I do think the guy made a poor decision and that isnt fair to KLS or the other guests at the festival.  This man, and all people who dont have control over their own behavior deserve the help and compassion of others but nobody's actions are without consequences.

If this event is any example (I wasn't there, but i get the impression that this man just stood up on the stage with the mic for a good long while with nothing being done about it) then security is a real problem.  There are (sadly) some truly dangerous people out there, and the guy who interrupted the festival a couple days ago wasn't one of them