Randi said: "Just another bipolar with a vodka buzz.'

[El Supremo]

No screwdriver, vaseline, water bottle or note from Al Quaida.

[MrCoffee]

1. We've all been there...

[jesus_of_suburbia]

14. You said exactly what I felt!

You said exactly what I felt upon reading the headline! LOL!

[rodeodance]

2. lots of rumors started and spread by the media.

[Supersedeas]

21. add this one to the list of fake news story--meanwhile no suspect in the

anthrax of the Democratic leadership...no news is good news for filthy Pubbies.

[Xipe Totec]

3. Another perfectly executed act of terrorism

by the main stream media.

If you're terrified, guess who's winning?

[Bluerthanblue]

4. and Randi's comment is just another rude, ignorant and

cruel attempt to have a good 'sound bite'-

When Randi has bi-polar disorder, or loves someone who does, let her talk for her self- until that time, she might want to think before she opens her mouth-

Even the 'good guys' are assholes sometimes, otherwise we'd all be full of shit-

this is a raw nerve topic for me-
And silence IS the enemy- and tacit approval of inapropriate bigotry-

rant over-
blu

[A-Schwarzenegger]

5. Thank you.

[Bluerthanblue]

8. quite welcome- and thank YOU- for caring enough to speak. eom

[Betsy Ross]

6. Much of what Randi says makes me cringe

The furor over her "Man Coulter" remarks, now villifying those with bi-polar disease, she is holding her own for name calling right up there with the Repukes.

[gratuitous]

7. I think she meant

That the woman taken off the plane was not a terrorist, just suffering from a medical condition exacerbated by alcohol. That is, not everyone who acts differently is a terrorist, and we're letting the people who are the most wet-your-pants scared set the public policies for our nation. The people who are overreacting to the London story are the ones most likely to trample on someone's rights and lock people up simply for their medical conditions because they're so scared.

At least, that's how I read it, not as a condemnation of the woman for her condition. It's entirely possible I'm wrong again, though.

[El Supremo]

9. You're right...

She was comparing this to the poor bipolar guy who was gunned down after landing in Miami.

[bobbolink]

23. It doesn't matter what she "meant"... it was a very ugly statement,

and completely beneath a "progressive".

She owes an apology!

[KoKo]

10. Suffering a Panic Attack does not mean that one is a bi-polar.

Panic Attacks can be brought on by stress or phobias. Maybe the passenger is bi-polar...but if she isn't and had a panic attack, Randi's remark would seem a little OTT.

[Bluerthanblue]

11. the woman was clearly not having a 'good flight'- and

it is not unlikely that she may be suffering from a mental illness- Or she could be someone who doesn't do alcohol well- or have reasons none of us may have considered-

I confess to being very sensitive to the way people, especially people who are ignorant of the pain, anguish, and suffering that mental illness brings to many, and thier loved ones- USE labels of various very real and very profound disorders as fodder for jokes, or smart assed comments- The 'stigma' of mental illness is NOT something out of the past- and the joking around at the expense of those of us who are forced to have to fight for simple dignity and respect is something I have a very low tolerance for- and will no longer be silent about-

"Just another..." ________ I could write several things in that blank, and offend, and discount many dear people with my attempt at 'humor'- 'wordplay'- but I won't- and I'm calling her out on that- because it hurts and offends me, and many people I know an care very much about-

Its easy to throw words around- but saying something of value takes more thought and self control-

I'm not dis- ing you, or your perspective- just explaining mine-
I sincerly wish you-
peace,
blu

[El Supremo]

13. Hey, calm down!

My sister is bipolar, my mother is psychotic and I spent a year in a mental hospital for depression when I was young.

The one thing I learned was to quit worrying about what others think of you or your loved ones. It is how you think of yourself that counts.

Besides like I said, Randi was saying that everyone overreacted just like they did with the man who was shot after freaking out on his flight from Medellin.

[Bluerthanblue]

18. not worried about what others think-

I'm LONG past that- you'd have to have lived my life to understand-

The reality is, what other people 'think' of people with mental illness can mean the difference between life and death, between being treated with dignity and respect, and being discriminated against solely because of a medical condition-

(When the bi-polar man was shot to death by marshalls as he attempted to EXIT a plane, because he was unable to handle the situation, many people loudly proclaimed that those who already cope with the illness itself, and their families and loved ones, should either be denied the right to fly- or have to divulge their condition prior to being allowed to fly-)

Have you ever experienced the kind of agitation a brittle diabetic can exhibit during a crisis in their insulin levels? Ever guarded someone as they had a grand-mal seziure, while people stood by in horror, or disgust, whispering and murmuring thier revulsion? I've stood in a upscale gift shop in the middle of a New England winter, and had my bi-polar (now deceased) Mum come running into the store wearing nothing but her slip, her feet bare, her hair so greasy it looked like it was painted on her skull, and as a young, vain 10yr old girl, walked through the people who were trying to back away from her, grab hold of her hand, put my jacket on her shoulders, my shoes on her feet, and leaving my speechless friends and neighbors behind walk stocking footed out the door, wishing with all that I was that I could pretend I had no clue who she was, wanting to slap her silly, and feeling so sad that she was being judged as garbage by people who didn't understand anything......


I'm glad you have come to a place where you are comfortable with societies response to those of us who suffer, and have lived with those who suffer from mental illness- I sincerly hope that you never have reason to change your perspective-

But I'm not 'ok' with people who minimize, mimic, de-value and detest those who are fighting not only a very cruel disease, but a society that is slow to stop adding insult to injury- And I have to register my disapproval, or have my silence seen as approval- and I DON'T approve of the flippant use of bi-polar diagnosis. Or of any number of very troubling conditions-

now I will shut up- this is getting too intense-


peace, to us ALL- everywhere-

blu

[bobbolink]

24. Ohright... "calm down"... that's very understanding....

Here's what I ask you to do... take her statement, and try substituting any sexual or homophobic or racist tag name to it, and see how it sounds...

Like bigotry!

When do we as liberals "calm down" about bigotry??!!

[gratuitous]

15. Absolutely

I was just pointing out that there was another way to look at the comment. If someone I know who has a history of being a mean-spirited, petty little pissant, whose stock-in-trade is shitting on the little people (okay, we all know I'm talking about George Felix Allen), then a comment like that quoted above for Randi Rhodes is probably in keeping with that mean-spiritedness.

But my experience in listening to Randi is that she's more in the "comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable" mold, and that her comment is more in the sense of "that poor woman, subjected to all this embarrassment and publicity over what is, really, nothing more than a medical condition." (Now, whether this sympathy is patronizing or condescending is another matter that we haven't even touched on.)

But talking into a live microphone for three hours is a tricky business, and even the pros misspeak. Based on the entirety of Randi's commentary, though, I'm inclined to cut her some slack for what she said. I'd suggest, though, that you drop her an email and explain that you took offense at the comment. I'm willing to bet that she would give you a thoughtful response, and quite possibly an apology because I don't think she meant to denigrate the woman.

[RandiFan1290]

16. Randi is bi-polar

she has admitted to it in the past. She has also said that she takes lithium.

Did you hear her comments or are you just judging her by the OP?

[EFerrari]

17. My husband is borderline and he also has had to alter his material

in order not to trivialize.

It was an unfortunate choice on her part.

[Jeanette in FL]

19. I am glad you said this

As I was reading this thread, I kept saying to myself "Randi is Bi-polar" and has talked about it for years. I used to live in Palm Beach County, so I wonder if it was only her local listeners who know this. She talked about the different reactions she would have over the years until she was diagnosed and properly medicated for the condition.

I was so happy to see your thread.

[Bluerthanblue]

20. no I did not know that- I was

judging her comment on the woman grounded at Logan-

And I'm sorry she doesn't see how her comment might feel for those of us who share the disease could be affected by her attempt at humor-

She has every right to speak for herself- but she doesn't speak for me- or those I know and love-

Thanks for setting me straight.

peace,
blu

[bobbolink]

22. Thank you, Bluerthanblue, for speaking out against bigotry!!

Her statement is reprehensible, and knowing Randi, she won't retract or apologize.

Too bad there aren't more like you, to apply pressure to get her to understand just how badly she has erred!

Thanks! :hi:

[EFerrari]

12. And thank you, Randi, for forwarding stigma. n/t