The “Special Needs” of the WWE
Posted by: Mike Talon on 04/22/2004

Just when I thought I’d seen the WWE do it all… the Big Boss Man carting around a casket to the Triple H necrophilia angle. Now here comes Eugene, the nephew of Raw General Manager and asshole extraordinaire Eric Bischoff. This time around, we get treated to a completely normal wrestler portraying a mentally challenged wrestler trying to “make it” in the WWE. I find it amazing that the creative staff can dream up such an offensive character that receives your blessing, yet they quote "have nothing" for proven draws like Rey Mysterio and others.

Regardless, when Eugene was introduced to the world, Advocacy groups, mainstream media, and fans alike expressed such outrage that the WWE actually post this disclaimer to protect themselves:

Eugene Pursues His Dream
In the tradition of some of the most endearing characters of some of the greatest movies ever made: Forrest Gump, I Am Sam, Radio, WWE has introduced a new character, Eugene Dinsmore. Eugene is a person with a mental disability. WWE intends to portray this character in a realistic fashion. Eugene is a benevolent, loving, enthusiastic character who will successfully overcome the odds and achieve his dream of becoming a WWE Superstar. – Credit: http://parents.wwe.com/index.html

I find it quite odd that the disclaimer is posted only in the parents section of the site instead of the main page. Nice place to hide it from the everyday fan. I’m even more interested to know what all of the charity groups that the WWE claims to support think of this character, and of course the way it is portrayed on TV.

I have so many questions for you Vince! What in the hell are you thinking? How far does Linda have her head up your ass to allow this character to exist? As CEO, isn’t her job to look out for the best interests of the company? If that’s the case, maybe good ole’ JR should consider the position… at least he is familiar with dealing with handicaps, and would tell you how stupid this idea is. Why do you have a character with a mental disability anyway? Didn’t the whole angle with Zach Gowen teach you that fans don’t like the misuse and abuse of someone’s disability? Wouldn’t a drug user be more acceptable? Damn, I forgot about “T-H-C” Rob Van Dam. Regardless, I’m sure you have a Diva or two that could portray crack whores to a tee.

According to the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network, roughly 1.89 million people in the United States alone deal with a mental handicap. Let’s do the math. That’s 3.78 million parents… not to mention the countless siblings and other relatives that live with the nightmare of these disabilities every day of their lives. You claim that the character is similar to that of Forrest Gump. I say you’re full of shit. The Forrest Gump character never licked anybody, nor handed out stuffed animals, and not once did he ever cap a guy in the nuts.

It's time to wake up Vinnie. I’m pretty damned good at insulting people, and I don’t think I could manage offending as many as you have with a single character. But hey… it’s “Sports Entertainment” right? I say let’s see if the character is worth the backlash you’ll get from it.

As usual, I remain…..

Talon@thehonkytonkman.com

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