Missing the point

Theater Company Swaps "Hunchback" for "Bellringer"

LONDON -- A British theater company has changed the name of its adaptation of the classic novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, so it won't offend people with the disability.

Oddsocks Productions swapped "hunchback" for "bellringer" because it did not want to upset people with scoliosis, producer Elli Mackenzie said Friday. The condition causes the spine to curve and, in extreme cases, the development of a hunchback.

"We did not want to reinforce any stereotypes about Quasimodo's disability," said Mackenzie.

Good grief, what do these clowns think the story is about? It's about the perception of the Hunchback as some sort of monster, as a stereotype, and overcoming that. It's not about overcoming the stereotype and persecution of a bellringer. This is right up there with tossing out "To Kill a Mockingbird" because in illustrating the wrongs of racism, it uses racist terms.

Talk about oversensitivity.