So infuriating.I have been away awhile fighting the home fires on enough fronts to make my hair straight (seriously!) But the cultural bias about disability apparently continues...
It was Sarah Palin's son Trig's, birthday this week and Sarah Palin posted a cutesy poem about him on line. In response a political commentary blog posted a criticism--not of Sarah, but of Trig... calling him that ever-favorite R-word because he has Down syndrome...
Political commentary has devolved in this country to the point where namecalling and playground slurs really don't surprise anyone--it's cheap and easy and gets adrenalin flowing. It isn't cute, and it certainly isn't intellectual, but it is 'the way it's done' in 2011. (You might have noticed this...)
They have removed the post. The author says in his statement that he is just angry that Sarah Palin uses her son as a political pawn. And he might even have a point--children of politicians are always part of their 'package.' The ultimate example that comes to my mind are Caroline and John-John. People might have agreed with him--if only he had made that point.
And let's just say, again, that if Trig had been of any minority other than disability, said author probably would not have resorted to a slur to talk about him...
H/T to Stephen Drake for bringing this article to my attention.
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