Monday, March 5, 2007

Legally Challenged


It’s one thing to make your dogs play dead, but making your kids play retarded, now that’s just wrong! Or is it? Oregon resident, Rosie Costello, was convicted Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to defraud the government and Social Security fraud. Costello admitted that since the mid 1980’s she collected more than $280,000 in benefits. She did so by making her two children pretend they were mentally challenged when meeting with Social Security officials. BRILLIANT! I mean…HORRIBLE! What kind of mother would do this? Maybe the mother of say…Leonardo DiCaprio! Remember a little movie called What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Before he decided to star exclusively in Martin Scorsese films (a shrewd career move) lil’ Leo got his start by fooling the world and making us think he lacked proper adaptive social behavior. He got paid well for his performance and received critical acclaim. Pete Costello, one of the two children who participated in Rosie Costello’s scam, was merely following in the footsteps of DiCaprio. Like Leo, Pete would sit with a slouch, pick at his face, and exert poor communication skills. But instead of receiving critical acclaim, he received a claim by critics. The claim? That he was breaking the law!

Pete Costello, 26, was caught when a video of him appearing in court to contest a traffic ticket was uncovered by Social Security officers. But was Pete really committing a crime? Or was he was mimicking Leo’s career path by taking on another role? After DiCaprio played Arnie Grape, he appeared in the film The Foot Shooting Party. Likewise, after spending years acting like he was mentally handicapped, Pete Costello shot himself in the foot by appearing in court.

So who’s to blame? The scheming mother/casting agent? The dubious son/failed actor? Or the Oscar nominee/Globe warming Leonardo DiCaprio? If we can blame rap stars like Eminem for inspiring our children to behave in a more violent manner, can’t we blame actors like Leonardo DiCaprio for inspiring our children to behave in a more handicapped manner? Why are celebrities rewarded for faking retardation, while our children are persecuted? Sean Penn did it in I am Sam, Tom Hanks did it in Forrest Gump, and virtually the whole cast of The Ringer did it. Sean and Tom were awarded for their efforts, and the cast of The Ringer…well, they weren’t asked to leave the country. Awarding this kind of performance sends a message to our youth that it is okay to act mentally challenged. It is also says that we think perfectly capable actors can do a better job of playing these roles than actors who are actually handicapped. And if you think that’s true, try telling that to Corky!

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