Bird Flue, Swine Flue, and Down syndrome... and Faith

When we first started to hear about the swine flue, Ricki’s brothers started laughing at the fact that I was concerned at all. “Remember the ‘bird flue’? Another great way to sell newspapers......”.
“Excuse me,” I countered, do you realize that in these few days we have already gone WAY beyond where we were with the bird flue?” And that is true. The only good news is that it seems from the US statistics, that perhaps, especially with good treatment, the death rate may be low. But the statistics from Mexico of high rate of fatalities in the other-wise healthy population is worrisome....
But what I worry the most about is Ricki. How will this virus affect children and adults with Down syndrome? We have no idea. If this virus turns out to be hardest on those with poor immune systems, then they will surely be at bigger risk.
And I remember one tidbit from the bird flue scare (which I blogged about HERE and HERE):a little known pronouncement by those in charge (in the US) that in case of a real crises situation, any lack of medication would demand that medicines and medical services be given first to those who are otherwise healthy, excluding the infirm, and those with other preexisting “conditions”, including the mentally impaired and disabled. Israel currently has a meager amount of Tamiflu, enough to cover a bare 17% of the population. Such statistics do not bode well for the elderly or the infirm..... or anyone else not deemed as “contributors” to society.
Despite the irritating thoughts that all of this can lead to (“Why work to plan Ricki’s IEP if she (or we) may not survive?”, “Will I have to cancel my plans for the summer?”, etc.), I decided not to let my mental processes run amok. We have to limit what we worry about to things we can effectively work on, and control. We always seem to want to run our lives, and then something like this pops up to remind us that WE are not the ones in charge. And at that point, we are obligated to hand the reins back to G-d. Our job is to do the best we can with what life throws us. Nowhere is it stated that we get extra “brownie points” for unproductive worry.

Language and Discrimination

The “Tropic Thunder” debate rages on. I hope that this will be my final post on this.

I was in nursing school when the word "mongoloid" was still used freely for Down's syndrome, and it was used as a slur as well. Eventually they used other phrases. But ANY word which is used for the mentally disabled, whether it is "Mongoloid", "Moron", "imbecile", or "retard", or (now) "full retard" WILL eventually be used to hurt and slander people. Because people feel that the intellectually challenged* are worth less. They cost money. The intellectually disabled* community is discriminated against to the point that most fetuses with Down syndrome are aborted.
Boycotting "Tropic Thunder" will not change that. As long as people hate, there will be improper use of language, taunts, and slurs.
Telling people to not see the movie will not help. Those who are insensitive would not listen anyway. I think that a NEGATIVE approach will not get us very far.
I think that our main thrust has to be at PROMOTING rights and respect for the disabled. We have to support the closure of large institutions where the "clients" are treated as numbers, not people. (If an institution is so big that they don’t have a say in what they eat for breakfast, they have lost their rights to be an INDIDUAL.) We have to encourage and support places that hire the intellectually disabled. We have to protest when someone calls a teen with Down syndrome a nick-name fit for a three year old. We have to encourage our child’s right to make certain choices.
However, I do feel the Ben Stiller owes a debt to the disabled community for three things:
1. marketing specially the sub movie "simple Jack"
2& 3. Two disturbing scenes involving Mcconaughey, where he is obviously unhappy with his intellectually impaired* son. This was too similar to the way the “regular”world views parents of children with Down syndrome. It is definitely reinforcing a stereotype that is as false as can be.

For these three things, I personally would tell Mr. Stiller, that the only way he can hope to make recompense would be by paying for public service announcements favoring those with intellectual disabilities*.

I would like to see (much more than protests) many more videos like the one I put on my blog on Wednesday.
And, in the meantime, we must train our children to have self respect, and to know how to react as safely as possible in the face of discrimination and abuse.

* Can’t we find a SHORTER euphemism than “Intellectually impaired/disabled/challenged”???

[Note: Please see added comments.]

Pandemic Guidlines

What amazes me most is that they had the guts to print it. Or maybe it doesn’t take guts, because they know that everyone will agree with them

I am writing about the newly released guidelines who not to treat in a pandemic. It boils down to those who are most likely to not survive long term… and one other group. Yup, you guessed it: the mentally impaired and disabled. So if you had any doubts about the reality of where America stands, have no doubts.
Just as a devil’s advocate, I add an idea here. Criminals are not included in the cut. So by US doctors, it would seem that the criminals, terrorists, and murders are more deserving of life than a healthy 20 year-old supermarket bagger with Down syndrome. If that is not discrimination, than what is?