logo
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,429
S
BellaOnline Editor
Chipmunk
OP Offline
BellaOnline Editor
Chipmunk
S
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,429
I am very disappointed that advocates are not speaking up and taking action to halt the use of 'extra chromosome' remarks in politics, and that no apologies have been requested or offered as these remarks are copied and quoted throughout the internet.

I could find only two websites where the use of 'extra chromosome' slurs insulting to families of children with Down syndrome have been condemned - both conservative websites condemning Bill Maher and Maureen Dowd for their repeated use of the phrases.

Democrats and other liberals speak out on prejudice, discrimination and insensitive language except where individuals with developmental disabilities are involved. Where are those advocates now?

Show us the leadership that you claim is lacking in the party that featured a speaker with Down syndrome at one of their national conventions. Speak up now for individuals who have large extended families and good friends who are voters. We do not overlook, ignore or forgive these insults from those who certainly should have learned better in civil rights and human rights struggles.

Pam W
SE of Seattle

[url=BellaOnline ALERT: For anti-spam reasons, we restrict the number of URLs allowed in a given post. You have exceeded our maximum number of URLs.


Pamela Wilson - Children with Special Needs Editor
Visit the Children with Special Needs Website
Sponsored Post Advertisement
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 228
L
Shark
Offline
Shark
L
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 228
In the UK I have never heard people with DS referred to as people with an extra chromosome. I don't find it offensive, far better than the phrase 'Mongoloid Idiot', which was common when I was young!

I think people can be a little over sensitive to the reactions of others when one has a child with a disability. Our son has DS and we treat him normally even though he is quite severely handicapped. He is the subject of much friendly teasing by all the family, just as the rest of us are, we don't treat him with reverence just because he has a handicap.

People who have not come across people with DS might not know how to react and they can't be blamed for that. We are fortunate that our son has no behavioural problems, but some do, and it can be most off putting for bystanders watching DS people and others making spectacles of themselves.

We can't protect our kids from all spiteful remarks anymore than we can protect ourselves, and nor should we in my opinion.


"Look beyond the disability, see the perfection of the soul". RJG
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,429
S
BellaOnline Editor
Chipmunk
OP Offline
BellaOnline Editor
Chipmunk
S
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,429
Quote:
Our son has DS and we treat him normally even though he is quite severely handicapped. He is the subject of much friendly teasing by all the family, just as the rest of us are, we don't treat him with reverence just because he has a handicap.

People who have not come across people with DS might not know how to react and they can't be blamed for that. We are fortunate that our son has no behavioural problems, but some do, and it can be most off putting for bystanders watching DS people and others making spectacles of themselves.

We can't protect our kids from all spiteful remarks anymore than we can protect ourselves, and nor should we in my opinion.


I believe that children with Down syndrome have the right to the same diversity as mainstream children, whether it's an occasional mood, misbehavior or a dual diagnosis that causes them to be off-putting to bystanders.

I think we have a certain reverence for all our children, DS or not, small miracles that each of them seems to be, so obviously in some moments. Sometimes it's because the world is so new to them, other times because they seem to have such old souls.

In my family, we grow rascals; wonderful children who grow up to be good people, making assorted terrible mistakes along the way, sometimes repeating their own mistakes and other times repeating ours.

I think we should all be kinder to one another, and wish we could be kinder. There's a lot of character building and self knowledge that comes from having a richness of experience of both sorts but life is harder for most children than we should let it be.

When my church group went on retreat a few years ago to prepare for a yearlong diversity outreach, we had a group leader who set down some rules for us for the weekend. One of them was that there would be no sarcasm or name calling, no teasing at all.

One participant commented that he was known for using sarcasm all in good fun, and that no one had ever complained, plus he was not sure he could follow those rules even for one day, since it was a long time habit.

When the group was asked to respond, it turned out that several people felt hurt by things he has said in the past, but had not wanted to tell him.

At a Sunday school session a few weeks later, this man told us that he had apologized to everyone in his life, in case any of them had felt hurt by remarks that he thought were just good natured teasing. Everyone he spoke with had been hurt by things he said.

One young person told him that despite being told he would never amount to much, he had been successful at college and had made plans he never dreamed about when he was being subjected to sarcasm and teasing by the man who thought everyone could tell he was joking.

When I was young, my mother had strict rules about acceptable behavior, and plain good manners dictated that we would avoid using disrespectful language at home or out in the world.

I learned more on my own during the civil rights movement, when our neighborhood schools were integrated by just a few students who were different races and ethnicities, and walking down the street a few years later hearing hateful remarks shouted out of car windows.

I have seen friends flinch when they heard ethnic slurs and I have seen my own son flinch when he heard a certain word that I thought he was too young to have known was a derogatory reference to his developmental disability.

I wondered then if every person of color in a racist culture remembers the first time they heard and understood that language of hatefulness, and if they felt the same fierce combination of feelings as me when I saw that my son understood.

My mother taught me right from wrong, and offered the same lessons to every person in the neighborhood. I don't believe it's a waste of my time to pass along her rules and observations to anyone in mine.

Community leaders and politicians should know better than to use language that is insulting to people with disabilities and their families, and the 'extra chromosome' remarks are increasing in popularity among those who argue that they are advocates for social justice for everyone.

They should apologize. Advocacy groups who otherwise stand beside them fighting for civil rights and social justice must not allow their political friends to recreate that atmosphere of oppression, prejudice and discrimination that causes more challenges for our children than the disability.

Pam W
SE of Seattle

Affirmations - Expressing Affection and Acceptance
[url=BellaOnline ALERT: For anti-spam reasons, we restrict the number of URLs allowed in a given post. You have exceeded our maximum number of URLs.


Pamela Wilson - Children with Special Needs Editor
Visit the Children with Special Needs Website
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 228
L
Shark
Offline
Shark
L
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 228
Why is 'extra chromosome' offensive, I just don't get it?


"Look beyond the disability, see the perfection of the soul". RJG
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,429
S
BellaOnline Editor
Chipmunk
OP Offline
BellaOnline Editor
Chipmunk
S
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,429
Quote:
Why is 'extra chromosome' offensive, I just don't get it?


The phrase is being used by political leaders and the comedian in question, in a derogatory way. When parents of newborns are told that their baby has Down syndrome, the first thing we learn is that the baby has an extra chromosome. If a politician has a perspective or voting record that conflicts with another politician, they should look in the dictionary for an appropriate descriptor rather than attribute the behavior that they feel is laughable and indefensible to an extra chromosome.

Both George Bush Sr and Al Gore apologized for offending people with Down syndrome and their families by using the phrase. They knew why they apologized. I believe both of them explained that they did not realize the use of the phrase was offensive until they were informed by advocates.

Recently the phrase has been used, quoted and re-quoted throughout the internet, so that if you 'google' the phrase you do not get to information about Down syndrome, but to the insulting way the phrase has been used in politics and political forums.

My son and many other young people with Down syndrome are growing up included in mainstream classrooms where they have had the opportunity to study science, and most learn along with their classmates or in their reading and discussions at home that the cause of Down syndrome is the extra chromosome. Most speeches that teens and young adults with Down syndrome present in classrooms or at conferences and other events include that information.

If the politicians or public figures who have grown fond of using the term 'extra chromosome' had instead referred to people with blue eyes in the same derogatory manner, people with blue eyes and their families would no doubt feel offended, as many do who are of any race, ethnicity, religion, weight, gender or height might do.

Thousands of viewers, listeners and bloggers now adopted the phrase as a derogatory term. I believe we should tell public figures who use the phrase in a derogatory manner that it is offensive, in hopes that when they know better, they will do better.

Pam W
SE of Seattle

Teaching the Power of Communication
[url=BellaOnline ALERT: For anti-spam reasons, we restrict the number of URLs allowed in a given post. You have exceeded our maximum number of URLs.


Pamela Wilson - Children with Special Needs Editor
Visit the Children with Special Needs Website

Moderated by  SNC_Editor_Pam 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Brand New Posts
2024 - on this day in the past ...
by Mona - Astronomy - 03/29/24 10:15 AM
Inspiration Quote
by Angie - 03/28/24 03:28 PM
Psalm for the day
by Angie - 03/28/24 03:26 PM
Make It Sew Easier
by Cheryl - Sewing Editor - 03/27/24 04:34 PM
Planner Template Kit - Weekly Layout Template
by Digital Art and Animation - 03/26/24 07:39 PM
Planner Template Kit - Yearly Layout Template
by Digital Art and Animation - 03/26/24 07:37 PM
How to Use Digital Planner Template Kit
by Digital Art and Animation - 03/26/24 07:36 PM
Review - 20 Illustrator Color tips Helen Bradley
by Digital Art and Animation - 03/26/24 07:32 PM
March Equinox to June Solstice
by Mona - Astronomy - 03/26/24 12:27 PM
Hobotrader unleashes never seen opportunity with i
by Jamal molla - 03/26/24 11:55 AM
Sponsor
Safety
We take forum safety very seriously here at BellaOnline. Please be sure to read through our Forum Guidelines. Let us know if you have any questions or comments!
Privacy
This forum uses cookies to ensure smooth navigation from page to page of a thread. If you choose to register and provide your email, that email is solely used to get your password to you and updates on any topics you choose to watch. Nothing else. Ask with any questions!


| About BellaOnline | Privacy Policy | Advertising | Become an Editor |
Website copyright © 2022 Minerva WebWorks LLC. All rights reserved.


Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5