Not all help is good help

The trouble with Jerry Lewis, who recently won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is that "rather than working for equality and social inclusion of disabled people, [he] portrays us as hopeless, pathetic, eternal children."

As another person described during the 2009 Oscar ceremony, "there were protests and people from the community trying to explain this. But paternalism is a very strong force, especially when it backed up by millions of dollars a year, major corporate sponsors, and an ego that can’t live with the fact that his career was over 40 years ago." In other words, people who do not favor Lewis face an organized and powerful network of supporters.

Jerry Lewis has strong detractors and supporters on both sides, but at least in the 21st century, it seems like his version of "helping" has reached the end of its useful life.