EDITORIAL – Spurlock serves up McInsults

Morgan Spurlock, still riding the McWave from his Oscar-nominated documentary “Super Size Me,”… Morgan Spurlock, still riding the McWave from his Oscar-nominated documentary “Super Size Me,” has recently abandoned the fast-food world for a new target: teachers and handicapped students. Well, that’s not quite accurate. Spurlock hasn’t stopped ridiculing McDonald’s altogether. He’s still questioning the intelligence of the fast-food giant’s employees, using racial slurs to add injury to insult.

Spurlock is taking his show on the road, visiting colleges and high schools around the country, talking about his experiences and warning people of the dangers of our fast-food nation. His most recent stop was at Hatboro-Horsham High School outside of Philadelphia for the school’s first-ever Health and Wellness Fair.

It seems like a good – no, great – idea. Invite the guy who dined on a McDonald’s-exclusive diet for 30 days to come and talk to kids about the dangers of fast food. He’s entertaining and famous. What better way to persuade teens to develop healthy eating habits?

Shortly before Spurlock delivered his speech to the Hatboro-Horsham student body, he was told that he shouldn’t talk about McDonald’s because a member of the Hatboro-Horsham Education Foundation, the sponsor of Spurlock’s appearance, owned a McDonald’s franchise. Why invite Spurlock, a celebrity associated specifically with his McDonald’s experiment, to a health and wellness fair only to ask him not to talk about it? This is where the trouble started.

This request sparked a performance by Spurlock that was downright inappropriate. Spurlock’s speech packed in profanity, political incorrectness and intolerance. He used an Indian accent to mock McDonald’s employees, portraying them as unintelligent and confused.

Apparently nothing was sacred in the auditorium as Spurlock spewed insults. Teachers “smoking pot in the balcony” and “retarded kids in the back wearing helmets” were just a few of the more memorable moments of Spurlock’s soliloquy.

Sure, the more than 700 students packed in the auditorium thought it was funny, but what about the handicapped kids who were, coincidentally, sitting in the last few rows of the auditorium? Fortunately, teachers escorted them out of the auditorium before they could be subjected to more abuse. But what has Spurlock taught the students?

“The greatest lesson these kids learned today was the importance of free speech,” Spurlock said after the event. We beg to disagree.

Free speech doesn’t mean you’re free of responsibility. Spurlock isn’t ducking the controversy of his statements; however, he is avoiding the responsibility he has to be respectful of his environment. And believe it or not, Mr. Spurlock, dropping the f-bomb in front of a group of high school students won’t make you cool. Neither will making fun of handicapped kids – how old are you, sir?

The students in the auditorium laughed, cheered and offered Spurlock a standing ovation after his hour-long speech. Students rushed the filmmaker for autographs after the presentation. His appearance obviously made an impact, but the message of Spurlock’s visit was blurred and distorted by his ego trip. While the school district should have thought twice about their ridiculous request, Spurlock displayed less tact and maturity than that of his audience with his tasteless remarks and insults.