In the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, George's handicap is a mental handicap that disrupts his thoughts and makes it difficult for him to concentrate. The government has mandated this handicap to ensure that everyone is equal, as they believe that equality is the key to a stable society.
Unfortunately, this handicap also prevents George and his wife, Hazel, from reacting appropriately to their son's death. When they are watching a news report about their son, who is a fugitive from the government because of his extraordinary intelligence and physical abilities, George's thoughts are constantly interrupted by a sharp noise in his ear. This noise, which is part of his handicap, makes it difficult for him to process the information about his son and updates on the government's pursuit of him. Meanwhile, Hazel, who is of average intelligence and does not have a handicap, does not fully comprehend the reality of their son's situation. She keeps forgetting the news about their son and needs to be reminded about it constantly.
Evidence to support this response can be found in the text. For instance, after George and Hazel watch the news report about their son, George's handicap makes it difficult for him to process what has just happened. The text says, "He tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They weren't really very good - no better than anybody else would have been, anyway. They were burdened with sashweights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in.