Friday, September 19, 2008

Perhaps it’s Infectious.....

Through the "Google Alert" on Down Syndrome" I came across a new blog, By someone whose sole purpose in blogging is to convince the world that Fetuses with Down syndrome deserve to die.
OK, OK, they are nutheads just looking for an argument, possibly fueled as a backlash to Pallin. Nevertheless, I would like to give a reply.

I am willing to admit that my daughter, Ricki, is not college material. But I don't understand why you feel so strongly that she not only has no right to live, but, even more, should not have been ALLOWED to live. Because she is not "perfect"? Are You perfect? Your neighbor? Where would you draw the line who deserves to live, who may, and who is not to be allowed to live?
Ricki, age 14, does not have "Mosaic" (partial) Down syndrome. She is a normal teen with Down syndrome who was given a good education. Like I said, she won't go to college. She will probably work as a restaurant worker, a cleaner, or as an aide to the elderly, or in acting.
It goes without saying that Ricki can wash and dress herself independently. She also makes her own fried eggs for breakfast (I know of "normal" 14 year olds who don't). She also sweeps the floor, hangs laundry (when the dryer isn't working), helps in the kitchen, reads, helps to watch her nieces, and hates doing homework.
She enjoys a good joke, talking on the phone to her friends (she dials), climbing mountains, taking photographs, and dancing/acting.
Besides disliking homework, and being told by mom what to do, she hates that people relate to her as a "person with Down syndrome", and not as a person called "Ricki".
OK, her education cost more than normal. And for that she should not have been allowed to exist?!?
A final note: You compare Down syndrome to the plague, malaria, and small pox. These are three highly fatal, infectious diseases. What's the matter, afraid you will catch "imbecility"? Seems to me you have already! (With apologies to the disabled community for the comparison.)

7 comments:

SuperRaizy said...

You never ever have to defend your child's right to exist! Every person on this earth was created by God with a soul and a purpose and each one belongs here.
No one is perfect, everyone has "disabilities" of some kind, and no one has the right to suggest that some people are more desirable than others.
Your daughter and all children like her are blessings and assets to the world.
And by the way, Ricki climbs mountains?! I'm so jealous- I love the view from the top of a mountain, but I've always been too scared to climb up.

Angie said...

I agree with superraizy .......Every person was created by God with a soul and a purpose and each one belongs here.
I wanted to leave a message on his post but he closed it to comments..not that I should entertain his selfish idiocy,
but here are some cool people he wants to kill....
Chris Burke


Another guy


Special Olympics

FAB said...

I can't get my head around that kind of thinking, I'm crying right now. All I have to say is "ditto" to the comments already posted.

rickismom said...

Of course I don't believe in theory that I have to defend my child's right to exist.As a "frum" orthodox Jew, I believe that G-d has the right to decide who lives/dies. But there are crazy people in this world.
I also tried to leave a comment on the site of this blog, similar to this post, but comments are blocked till he moderates. So either he didn't see it, or he is not posting any comments against his view. When he posts again (I'm watching) we'll know if he is a complete coward or not.

Jewish Side of Babysitter said...

That is cruel for someone to suggest that people aren't worth living.

Even if a person would not be able to do a thing and they were lying on their death bed, we can't pull the plug, so how much more so a new born child with so much life ahead of them.

That's amazing that she can do all that stuff. I wouldn't have expected her to be able to get such a job in the future.

Actually now that I think about it, there was a girl in my HS that had DS, she was a few years older than me, but I remember how capable she was of everything, all the teachers loved her, and she was such a good kid.

I hadn't realized that I actually knew a DS kid.

rickismom said...

Babysitter, That's the magic of inclusion: you saw her as a fellow student, not as a "Down sydrome person"!

Terri said...

OOOOO I didn't see this. Good that you did. I would bet that kids that do go to college catch up with the educational spending for special education pretty quickly.

The value of each is immeasurable.