Beijing must have felt a distinct lull in bad Chinese translation jokes and chose to step forward and help the world in some kind of reverse humanitarian aid situation. (Ira Newble, you feel me? You do.) Therefore, we get a stock apology today from Beijing Olympics organizers for the way The Manual for Beijing Olympic Volunteers came out.

This manual may have had kind intentions in the planning stages, but it came out the other side of the creation process as a patronizing pat on the head to blind, deaf, and physically different people. How so?

“The optically disabled are introverted. They have deep and implicit feelings and seldom show strong emotions.

“The physically disabled… might have unusual personalities because of disfigurement and disability.”

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