@ShadowRulah. Now this looks like an interesting discussion. How do you know that what bothers StopActionGuy is not the word, but the fact that there is something "wrong" with his brother? How did you figure that out? How do you explain people who are bothered by the word but don't have anyone in their lives who are not "normal?" You know, there are people out there like that. So what's their problem, sir (or madam, in case you're a chick)?
Who is actually intolerant of the disabled? I haven't met any and I'm certainly not. I treat them like I treat anyone else, I don't stop using words because they piss certain people off. As I've said before I don't even remember the last time someone used the word retard to describe a person who was clinically retarded the word isn't what upsets people it's the fact that there is something objectively wrong with their kid.
"He doesn't learn as quickly" Because there's something wrong with him. The only alternative is your kid is some combination of stupid and lazy. If however there is something impeding or RETARDING his progress then there is something wrong with him. Trisomy 13 occurs during meiosis when strands fail to separate completely IE when something goes WRONG. Something went wrong when you were producing egg cells and because of that there is something WRONG with your son.
Here's the thing: you can justify it and rationalize it any way you want, but you've been put on notice that the language you use (which without a doubt reflects attitudes) can be hurtful. Sure, you can choose to keep using said language, and you can therefore choose to be an asshole.
@ShadowRulah - there is clearly something wrong with you. Like an absence of compassion and a superiority complex. What kind of person goes hassling a boy standing up for his brother and for very grown-up principals? And who are you to say that there is something wrong with this kid's brother? Different, maybe. But wrong? Says who? Are you one of those people who just can't handle anyone who is different from yourself?
Retard is the technical term for anyone with an IQ<7. The word itself has no power and everyone understands that. You aren't upset about the word your upset about the implication that there is something wrong with him, you need to get over that because there is something wrong with him and no matter what word reminds you of that fact that there is objectively something wrong.
@ShadowRulah No, I'm upset that people like you with no lives come and not only decide that there is something wrong with my brother, but have something to say about my cause when you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
I didn't decide there was something wrong with him I just noticed it. I noticed it because there's something wrong with him. Are you confused about what "wrong" means? Your brother is never going to have the quality of life that a normal person would, because there's something wrong with him. I'm not telling you to love him less I'm telling you to accept the fact that there's something wrong with your brother, because there's something wrong with him.
If someone asked you what was wrong with your brother you wouldn't assume they wanted to know why he was having a bad day. He is never going to be able to enjoy certain things and he is never going to able to mesh with the rest of the normal healthy society because he has a disease/syndrome/disability or whatever you what to call it. All three of those mean the same thing, there's something wrong with him. It's not hate it's not racism it's just observing pure fact.
@ShadowRulah Oh, so now a disease is the same thing as a disability? A disease is a cold. A disease is cancer. A disease is not a disability. Some people have blond hair. Some people are black. Some people have Down Syndrome. We as humans have a tendency to fear what we don't understand. Clearly, you do not understand disabilities. That's okay. But instead of being hurtful and mean, why don't you just learn about it?
@ShadowRulah What do you know about Down syndrome anyway? You seem to be filled with a lot of myths and misinformation. I can tell you from my own personal experience that there is nothing WRONG with the baby in the video. He is healthy and happy and well-loved. Down syndrome makes him different - yes. It takes him longer to learn certain things, and yes, there are certain things he may never be able to do. How does that make you decide, however, that there is something WRONG with him?
@ShadowRulah So, I suppose you could say that there is something wrong with you, as well, because certainly there are people who are smarter, faster, better looking, more athletic, more talented in various areas than you are. There are certainly things you will never be able to do. Every single person on this earth has limitations. Who are you to decide which limitations mean there is something wrong with someone? Who are you - or anyone else - to decide someone else's quality of life?
Who am I? I am normal. I fall within the normal curve in most areas and am therefore normal, it's cold math. "Syndrome" is in the word it means there is something wrong with him. My entire point from the beginning has been that he isn't being offended by the word but by the fact it reminds him there is something wrong with his brother. You can't ask people to remove words from their language in the hopes that you'll be able to forget the truths of the universe.
@ShadowRulah The dictionary actually defines "syndrome" as: a group of symptoms that consistently occur together or a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms. There is nothing in the definition that says it means "something wrong." You are putting your own spin on it.
Down syndrome is a disorder which is by definition A disruption of NORMAL physical or mental functions. And I love the "What is normal?" argument because normal has a definition I am mathematically normal I fall within the acceptable normal range more often than not save a few where I excel and a few where I struggle which is by the way the NORMAL curve. I'm not intolerant I'm just not giving up words because people won't address their real issue
@ShadowRulah I guess my real question is this: why are you so determined to make sure that this boy is seen in a negative light? You may say you are only stating facts, but they are facts according to your perceptions, which appear to be extremely negative. Why is it so important to you to hold onto words that are hurtful as part of your lexicon? From a purely humanitarian standpoint, what does this accomplish?
@ShadowRulah and I have to say that you have a very skewed perception. I wonder where you get your ideas from? Have you studied Down syndrome? Have you spent any meaningful time getting to know anyone with Down syndrome? Who says that you are "normal"? What, exactly, is normal, anyway?
@ShadowRulah Look, I don't know who you are. I am the mother of these two boys, and I can tell you firsthand that my older son is NOT offended by the fact that his brother has Ds, but by people like you who have such a hostile, intolerant, incompassionate attitude towards those who are different. I have said all along, as the mother of the boy with Ds that the hardest thing about having a child like this is knowing that he is born into a world that doesn't welcome him.
The fact of the matter is if you're objective wasn't to have a child with down syndrome then things turned out wrong. There is objectively something wrong with your son, by all academical , mathematical, and biological definitions wrong. Until you accept that you're going to feel a twinge of anger every time someone mentions his condition no matter what word they use.
@ShadowRulah No, that's not true. Did you listen to anything I said before? He is different. Some people, like him, have a disability. Some people, like you, lack compassion and are ignorant jerks. Therefore, there is something wrong with you. Down Syndrome is really just a name associated with a condition. I can do the same thing. ShadowRulah has JerkSyndrome. Tada!!! No, I am not offended when people mention his condition. "He has DS." Well, true dat. "He is a retard." No, not working for me.
@ShadowRulah You know what? Seriously, you are just an asshole. Bug off already. Really, go away, please. You are not adding anything of value to this video. Go spread your "wisdom" elsewhere, where it might be appreciated.
Why am I an asshole? I'm not the one asking the English language to shift to be less offensive for me. I'm just asking you to acknowledge objective reality normal children don't have down syndrome and that means your child isn't normal. You need to accept that there is something wrong with your son, he is retarded he is clinically retarded which is a quantifiable condition.
Believe it or not I am contributing by straightening you out on the wholesale realities of the video if I was just trying to piss you off I'd point out how unattractive your other son .
@ShadowRulah I don't know who you are, or what you are trying to accomplish here except to spread intolerance. You are clearly someone who has a closed mind and is not interested in trying to see things from someone else's point of view. It's pointless to keep going back and forth with you, because your sole agenda appears to be to push your own unwelcome views on a young kid who's just trying to make the world a better place for his baby brother. I'm not going to engage you anymore. Peace.
@ShadowRulah And what, exactly, are you trying to accomplish here? What is your objective? Why are you so bent on convincing a young boy that there is something WRONG with his baby brother? What is your point? Why is this so important to you?
I have mentally handicapped brother too so I know where you're coming from. But I don't think that we can help mentally handicapped by making a campaign to end 'the r word' What we really need to do is distance the word 'retard' from it's original meaning. You will always offend some people but if we make it so that it doesn't refer to mentally handicapped people as much, just a general insult then we will progress. It should take the path that the word 'lame' did.
How old are you? You are so smart. I don't say retarded, nigger or gay unless it is in an unoffensive manner. Accepting difference is part of society. I loved the arguement you made.
Kevin, I respect your point of view, but I'm going to keep using the word 'retarded' in everyday conversation. 'Retarded' literally means 'to impede or cause to move slowly', something that isn't working the way it should, which does, in fact, fit perfectly into the context that I use it, eg. "That's retarded, why isn't the wheel round so it rolls properly?"
Just because YOU are associating the word 'retarded' with intellectually disabled people, doesn't necessarily mean that I am.
I respect what you think, too. Just because I beleive one thing doens't mean you need to go along with it. Thank you for being honest about your opinion.
LOVE IT!! I work with students with intensive needs and have a daughter who has a form of autism. The r-word is disgusting. You need to get your message out to more people because even educators use this term--the state education department of New York, for example, still uses MR as a classification for a low IQ.
Kevin, I have followed your Mum's blog since my baby, Ella, was born with DS 8 months ago. I know she is really proud of you, and rightly so! You have the power to change the attitudes of ignorant people and I hope to see Ella's big brother and sisters taking that opportunity, as you have done. Well done!
I think your speech was AWESOME, i hope it gets tons of views so people will think differently and ask for forgiveness to people like your little brother. :)
I love your speech. It is amazing. I have a person in my family who has Down syndrome. Thank you.
BFFBlog12 3 months ago
@ShadowRulah. Now this looks like an interesting discussion. How do you know that what bothers StopActionGuy is not the word, but the fact that there is something "wrong" with his brother? How did you figure that out? How do you explain people who are bothered by the word but don't have anyone in their lives who are not "normal?" You know, there are people out there like that. So what's their problem, sir (or madam, in case you're a chick)?
bassmike65 8 months ago
Who is actually intolerant of the disabled? I haven't met any and I'm certainly not. I treat them like I treat anyone else, I don't stop using words because they piss certain people off. As I've said before I don't even remember the last time someone used the word retard to describe a person who was clinically retarded the word isn't what upsets people it's the fact that there is something objectively wrong with their kid.
ShadowRulah 8 months ago
"He doesn't learn as quickly" Because there's something wrong with him. The only alternative is your kid is some combination of stupid and lazy. If however there is something impeding or RETARDING his progress then there is something wrong with him. Trisomy 13 occurs during meiosis when strands fail to separate completely IE when something goes WRONG. Something went wrong when you were producing egg cells and because of that there is something WRONG with your son.
ShadowRulah 8 months ago
Here's the thing: you can justify it and rationalize it any way you want, but you've been put on notice that the language you use (which without a doubt reflects attitudes) can be hurtful. Sure, you can choose to keep using said language, and you can therefore choose to be an asshole.
bloggymama 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah - there is clearly something wrong with you. Like an absence of compassion and a superiority complex. What kind of person goes hassling a boy standing up for his brother and for very grown-up principals? And who are you to say that there is something wrong with this kid's brother? Different, maybe. But wrong? Says who? Are you one of those people who just can't handle anyone who is different from yourself?
bloggymama 8 months ago
Retard is the technical term for anyone with an IQ<7. The word itself has no power and everyone understands that. You aren't upset about the word your upset about the implication that there is something wrong with him, you need to get over that because there is something wrong with him and no matter what word reminds you of that fact that there is objectively something wrong.
ShadowRulah 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah No, I'm upset that people like you with no lives come and not only decide that there is something wrong with my brother, but have something to say about my cause when you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
StopActionGuy 8 months ago
@StopActionGuy
I didn't decide there was something wrong with him I just noticed it. I noticed it because there's something wrong with him. Are you confused about what "wrong" means? Your brother is never going to have the quality of life that a normal person would, because there's something wrong with him. I'm not telling you to love him less I'm telling you to accept the fact that there's something wrong with your brother, because there's something wrong with him.
ShadowRulah 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah No, trust me. There's nothing wrong with him. There's just something wrong with you.
StopActionGuy 8 months ago
@StopActionGuy
If someone asked you what was wrong with your brother you wouldn't assume they wanted to know why he was having a bad day. He is never going to be able to enjoy certain things and he is never going to able to mesh with the rest of the normal healthy society because he has a disease/syndrome/disability or whatever you what to call it. All three of those mean the same thing, there's something wrong with him. It's not hate it's not racism it's just observing pure fact.
ShadowRulah 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah Oh, so now a disease is the same thing as a disability? A disease is a cold. A disease is cancer. A disease is not a disability. Some people have blond hair. Some people are black. Some people have Down Syndrome. We as humans have a tendency to fear what we don't understand. Clearly, you do not understand disabilities. That's okay. But instead of being hurtful and mean, why don't you just learn about it?
StopActionGuy 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah What do you know about Down syndrome anyway? You seem to be filled with a lot of myths and misinformation. I can tell you from my own personal experience that there is nothing WRONG with the baby in the video. He is healthy and happy and well-loved. Down syndrome makes him different - yes. It takes him longer to learn certain things, and yes, there are certain things he may never be able to do. How does that make you decide, however, that there is something WRONG with him?
bloggymama 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah So, I suppose you could say that there is something wrong with you, as well, because certainly there are people who are smarter, faster, better looking, more athletic, more talented in various areas than you are. There are certainly things you will never be able to do. Every single person on this earth has limitations. Who are you to decide which limitations mean there is something wrong with someone? Who are you - or anyone else - to decide someone else's quality of life?
bloggymama 8 months ago
@bloggymama
Who am I? I am normal. I fall within the normal curve in most areas and am therefore normal, it's cold math. "Syndrome" is in the word it means there is something wrong with him. My entire point from the beginning has been that he isn't being offended by the word but by the fact it reminds him there is something wrong with his brother. You can't ask people to remove words from their language in the hopes that you'll be able to forget the truths of the universe.
ShadowRulah 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah The dictionary actually defines "syndrome" as: a group of symptoms that consistently occur together or a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms. There is nothing in the definition that says it means "something wrong." You are putting your own spin on it.
bloggymama 8 months ago
@bloggymama
Down syndrome is a disorder which is by definition A disruption of NORMAL physical or mental functions. And I love the "What is normal?" argument because normal has a definition I am mathematically normal I fall within the acceptable normal range more often than not save a few where I excel and a few where I struggle which is by the way the NORMAL curve. I'm not intolerant I'm just not giving up words because people won't address their real issue
ShadowRulah 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah I guess my real question is this: why are you so determined to make sure that this boy is seen in a negative light? You may say you are only stating facts, but they are facts according to your perceptions, which appear to be extremely negative. Why is it so important to you to hold onto words that are hurtful as part of your lexicon? From a purely humanitarian standpoint, what does this accomplish?
bloggymama 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah and I have to say that you have a very skewed perception. I wonder where you get your ideas from? Have you studied Down syndrome? Have you spent any meaningful time getting to know anyone with Down syndrome? Who says that you are "normal"? What, exactly, is normal, anyway?
bloggymama 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah Look, I don't know who you are. I am the mother of these two boys, and I can tell you firsthand that my older son is NOT offended by the fact that his brother has Ds, but by people like you who have such a hostile, intolerant, incompassionate attitude towards those who are different. I have said all along, as the mother of the boy with Ds that the hardest thing about having a child like this is knowing that he is born into a world that doesn't welcome him.
bloggymama 8 months ago
The fact of the matter is if you're objective wasn't to have a child with down syndrome then things turned out wrong. There is objectively something wrong with your son, by all academical , mathematical, and biological definitions wrong. Until you accept that you're going to feel a twinge of anger every time someone mentions his condition no matter what word they use.
ShadowRulah 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah No, that's not true. Did you listen to anything I said before? He is different. Some people, like him, have a disability. Some people, like you, lack compassion and are ignorant jerks. Therefore, there is something wrong with you. Down Syndrome is really just a name associated with a condition. I can do the same thing. ShadowRulah has JerkSyndrome. Tada!!! No, I am not offended when people mention his condition. "He has DS." Well, true dat. "He is a retard." No, not working for me.
StopActionGuy 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah You know what? Seriously, you are just an asshole. Bug off already. Really, go away, please. You are not adding anything of value to this video. Go spread your "wisdom" elsewhere, where it might be appreciated.
bloggymama 8 months ago
@bloggymama
Why am I an asshole? I'm not the one asking the English language to shift to be less offensive for me. I'm just asking you to acknowledge objective reality normal children don't have down syndrome and that means your child isn't normal. You need to accept that there is something wrong with your son, he is retarded he is clinically retarded which is a quantifiable condition.
ShadowRulah 8 months ago
@bloggymama
Believe it or not I am contributing by straightening you out on the wholesale realities of the video if I was just trying to piss you off I'd point out how unattractive your other son .
ShadowRulah 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah I don't know who you are, or what you are trying to accomplish here except to spread intolerance. You are clearly someone who has a closed mind and is not interested in trying to see things from someone else's point of view. It's pointless to keep going back and forth with you, because your sole agenda appears to be to push your own unwelcome views on a young kid who's just trying to make the world a better place for his baby brother. I'm not going to engage you anymore. Peace.
bloggymama 8 months ago
@ShadowRulah And what, exactly, are you trying to accomplish here? What is your objective? Why are you so bent on convincing a young boy that there is something WRONG with his baby brother? What is your point? Why is this so important to you?
bloggymama 8 months ago
I have mentally handicapped brother too so I know where you're coming from. But I don't think that we can help mentally handicapped by making a campaign to end 'the r word' What we really need to do is distance the word 'retard' from it's original meaning. You will always offend some people but if we make it so that it doesn't refer to mentally handicapped people as much, just a general insult then we will progress. It should take the path that the word 'lame' did.
FailBlob 1 year ago
Your little brother is soooo cute!!!(:
mandyluv10 1 year ago
How old are you? You are so smart. I don't say retarded, nigger or gay unless it is in an unoffensive manner. Accepting difference is part of society. I loved the arguement you made.
queencolondarkwing 1 year ago
Kevin, I respect your point of view, but I'm going to keep using the word 'retarded' in everyday conversation. 'Retarded' literally means 'to impede or cause to move slowly', something that isn't working the way it should, which does, in fact, fit perfectly into the context that I use it, eg. "That's retarded, why isn't the wheel round so it rolls properly?"
Just because YOU are associating the word 'retarded' with intellectually disabled people, doesn't necessarily mean that I am.
Suckfest83 1 year ago
I respect what you think, too. Just because I beleive one thing doens't mean you need to go along with it. Thank you for being honest about your opinion.
StopActionGuy 1 year ago
@Suckfest83 how can something be retarded it it's none human ?
jb55101 10 months ago
LOVE IT!! I work with students with intensive needs and have a daughter who has a form of autism. The r-word is disgusting. You need to get your message out to more people because even educators use this term--the state education department of New York, for example, still uses MR as a classification for a low IQ.
baillor 2 years ago
Thank you so much, Kevin, for doing this and to your mom for letting you post this. You and Finn rock!
crumcakesx4 2 years ago
Kevin, I have followed your Mum's blog since my baby, Ella, was born with DS 8 months ago. I know she is really proud of you, and rightly so! You have the power to change the attitudes of ignorant people and I hope to see Ella's big brother and sisters taking that opportunity, as you have done. Well done!
pearkov 2 years ago
did you write this before hand an memorize it?
freddybrickmaster 2 years ago
sort of
StopActionGuy 2 years ago
i love finn's mohawk! Rock on!!
freddybrickmaster 2 years ago
aww its so cute that i just noticed you both have similar hair cuts :P
CcalNinja 2 years ago
I think your speech was AWESOME, i hope it gets tons of views so people will think differently and ask for forgiveness to people like your little brother. :)
CcalNinja 2 years ago