From: mpcook@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mike Cook)
Subject: Kill the Bubble Man Or At Least Disable Him Further
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Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 92 19:25:57 GMT


>>I say yes, kill him off soon.  Somebody who is so afraid to live as he
>>is would certainly deserve any demise that awaits him.  The suggestion
>>with the lingering cloud of antifreeze gas sounds good to me.
>How about this.  Mike finally decides that Antarctica won't do   
>it, the polution-free outer atmosphere is the only answer.  He 
>steals one of Maggie's planes, and flies off into the sunset 
>.... only to be eaten by Ura Major.
>                                      
>-- Louise Penberthy 
I have only just today started reading this this newsgroup so forgive me 
if I missed earlier messages pertaining to the bubble man. You may or 
may not be aware that the illness he suffers from - called Multiple 
Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome or Environmental Illness - is a real 
disease that many thousands of Americans have.  It creates a severe 
disability in those it inflicts.  Although many of the details you see 
on the program are not realistic with respect to this disease, such as 
touching his face with the white gloves, the white gloves themselves are 
realistic, as is the avoidance of printed materials, mail, etc. 
If Mike was disabled in some other way - such as a more "mainstream" 
disability like paraplegia (and he had difficulty getting around town in 
his wheelchair) - or blindness - my guess is there would not be the 
uproar to "kill him off." 
I praise the network and those responsible for entertaining the notion 
of portraying the victim of this little-publicised disease on national 
TV.  This, despite some errors in their attempt.  I feel strongly about 
this because my wife was permanently disabled from Environmental Illness 
due to an exposure to toxic pesticides 5 years ago.  It is a real and 
severe physical illness.  I can attest to it not being "psychosomatic" 
as mentioned in several messages in this newsgroup - I am a psychologist 
of 13 years. There are thousands of disabled individuals (with 
Environmental Illness) avidly watching this show every Monday night who 
identify with Mike. 
I will not entertain discussion here of the veracity of the illness - 
feel free to email me for that.  The issue to be discussed here is use 
of a disabled character in mainstream television.  Some of the reaction 
I read displays a depressing lack of compassion for those with 
disabilities. Sorry the disability got in the way of your Monday night 
enjoyment.  Yeah, I cried too the first night he appeared on the show.  
But because I empathize with the victims of the illness he portrays. 
 
Mike Cook - mpcook@nyx.cs.du.edu 
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