Chaser boys in trouble again

[Gandalf]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... 589089.htm

Make a Wish anger over Chaser's sick kids skit

The Make a Wish Foundation says a skit on the ABC's The Chaser program might make families think twice about asking for help for their seriously ill children.

Last night's 'Make a 'Realistic' Wish Foundation' skit purported to be from a foundation which "helps thousands of kids to lower their extravagance and selfishness."

The skit signed off with the line: "Why go to any trouble when they're only going to die anyway?"

The real Make a Wish Foundation uses donations from the public to help grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Foundation spokeswoman Janita Friend says the foundation's phone lines have been "running hot" with angry callers since the sketch went to air.

And Ms Friend says the program could create barriers between the foundation and families who want help for their sick children.

"I would hate to think there are families out there that can apply for a wish [that don't]," she said.

"[The families] won't make a wish because they do feel that psychologically they are signing something that says 'Now my child will pass away'," she said.

"That's not always the case."

Ms Friend says the sketch could mean that sick children may feel embarrassed about asking for a wish in the future.

"There also could be embarrassment, that they would be embarrassed and look like they're selfish if they apply for a wish," she said.

"We have a lot of children that wish for very simple things as well - having a party, having a cubby house or a puppy. Not all the wishes are extravagant - going over to Disneyland and so on."

She says that not all of the children involved in the foundation's work are terminally ill.

"We're also thinking of the children and the families out there that would be watching it and would be distressed by it."

Have they gone too far this time?

[Alyeska]

Mocking children who have a wish to experience some degree of fantasy before they die of some disease does strike me as rather uncalled for. Chasers is free to do it, but at the expense of their popularity.

[thejester]

I'm not sure it's any worse than other stuff they've done - but IMO the fault in their show has always been their confusion of shock with humour. A lot of the shit they do is hilarious, but if they do it purely to get gasps of outrage by lampooning society's victims...

[Oskuro]

I don't know who these Chasers are, but I do get the joke. It's dark and morbid, but it's a joke. Parents changing their mind because someone made a joke? Not over-reacting at all, are we?

[Rochey]

While I think the joke was in rather bad taste, I think the Make A Wish Foundation is over-reacting a bit. I seriously doubt that this skit is seriously going to disuade any parents from getting involved.

[Mr Bean]

Make-A-Wish is seriously over-reacting but the Chaser's are sick fucks for pulling this.

Lets keep in mind who Make-A-Wish works with, terminally ill kids, kids who are going to die, die and are often in horrible pain every moment of their existence or otherwise unable to preform basic bodily functions without assistance... and there are going to die. Often times they won't even see their 18th birthday.

And that's who the Chaser are going after to make a joke...
I have enjoyed the Chaser's antics in the past and I will probably enjoy them in the future, this however is just morally reprehensible. And damn if that's a word I use maybe twice a year.

[mr friendly guy]

I don't know who these Chasers are, but I do get the joke. It's dark and morbid, but it's a joke. Parents changing their mind because someone made a joke? Not over-reacting at all, are we?

They were responsible for the APEC stunt when it was hosted in Australia, where they ran through the "tight" security disguised as a Canadian motorcade. When it was apparent they were getting too far, they came out with one of them dressed as a mock Osama Bin Laden.

The Chaser are generally hell funny, but the description here seems in bad taste (not that I had time to catch up with the Chaser recently so I haven't seen this particular segment).

[Twoyboy]

Lets keep in mind who Make-A-Wish works with, terminally ill kids, kids who are going to die, die and are often in horrible pain every moment of their existence or otherwise unable to preform basic bodily functions without assistance... and there are going to die. Often times they won't even see their 18th birthday.

And that's who the Chaser are going after to make a joke...

No, they're going after the Make-A-Wish foundation and those who donate to it. They don't actually make fun of the kids.

Unfortunately, having said that, they are a little crude and rope the kids into the joke with the line "they're going to die anyway". They could have made the same point with a little more tact and would have received far fewer complaints.

Also, for those who haven't heard, the ABC have pulled the Chaser off the air for two weeks while they review the fallout from the skit.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Speaking of crude and gross "Humour" I just saw Peter Jackson's "Bad Taste" on my cable listing....

Thus having somehow survived to nearly 40 years, being in poor health generally, and knowing Chaser's perchance for truely tasteless stuff which at times can be damn funny, I roll my eyes and groan. To me this is like Pat Robertson vs. Larry Flyntt, anyone who would use a fucking tasteless, skit group known for crossing the line, and then sometimes crossing it back again and becomming funny, as a benchmark is an Idiot.

[hongi]

I don't understand why it's worthy of a suspension. Come on guys, this is overreacting. They said they were sorry, and the public outrage alone was enough to make them get the message.