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August 30, 2005

'The Kids are All Right' ...

... is this year's answer to the MDA Thon -- a half-hour documentary about Mike Ervin, the 1960s MDA poster child who deserted ship and started Jerry's Orphans in 1991, and about the whole Telethon 'controversy.' You can watch a clip of the video or order a copy --and there's a discussion guide as well. (An anti-Telethon toolkit is "coming soon," says the webpage.) The Disability Rag did a story about Jerry's Orphans back in 1992 -- it's now in our Ragged Edge anthology. But, until just till after the 'Thon, we're making the article available online. Read it now -- it will disappear in a few weeks and then you'll have to buy the book.
In the video clip from The Kids Are All Right, you can see and hear Mike Ervin reading from Jerry Lewis's infamous 1990 Parade Magazine article about how people with MD are "half a person." Parade Magazine has been shilling for the Thon for years. Why? You'll find out in an upcoming Edge-Centric blog entry.
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Posted by mjohnson at August 30, 2005 12:01 PM