James ~
Thanks...and thanks to Anne, too, for providing the link. I love Monty Python's approach to humor. They were truly groundbreaking. Unfortunately, this was probably broadcast almost 40 years ago and in today's 'politically correct' climate, where there are always people seeking to protest something by claiming to be 'offended', satire that targets the visually or hearing-impaired would likely be considered 'unacceptable', no matter how funny it was or that it was never intended to ridicule those with sight or hearing disabilities. I'm glad I was able to enjoy this kind of humor at a time when most folks were a bit less hyper-sensitive. While no one in their right mind would condone outright mockery of those with a physical deficit, I never understood how being furiously opposed to even the gentle humor shown in the Monty Python skit could be considered 'mocking the handicapped'.
Humor, at it's essence, is almost always based on incongruity; the authority figure getting a pie in the face, the Marx brothers bull-in-a-china-shop antics, Lucille Ball getting drunk on 'Vitameatavegamin' as she tries to do their TV commercial, etc. A comedy skit about a man selling hearing aids who is hearing-impaired and whose hearing aid malfunctions, rendering him unable to communicate with his customer and, in the same shop, a nearly blind optometrist supposedly selling contact lenses make for a funny few minutes. As someone with SSD, I found the Python skit hilarious. I trust others did, too, and I apologize for my probably unnecessary harangue about 'PC', a cultural phenomena with quasi-totalitarian aspects that has irritated me for some time and which, I fear, is making humor and in some quarters, discussion of anything deemed 'controversial' off-limits for rational debate. Whoops! There I go again. Sorry!
Jim
