People with special needs

Six months ago, a friend and I were going to a buy something, not sure what it was anymore. Anyway, it was raining, and I was furious because my sneakers were all wet. Pouting and whining and generally being in a bitchy mood I looked in front of me and lo and behold, a man without legs appeared. Laughing, and enjoying life. Giving not a moment of his life to petty complaints.

Now I always been told by self righteous douchebags that people with disabilities are a reminder how lucky we are to be perfectly healthy.

At that moment I realized that the people with disabilities aren't reminders of how lucky we are. They are a testament of how sissy and bitchy we are. Not lucky by any stretch. Just damn sissy.

Polaristhe2 wrote:

Six months ago, a friend and I were going to a buy something, not sure what it was anymore. Anyway, it was raining, and I was furious because my sneakers were all wet. Pouting and whining and generally being in a bitchy mood I looked in front of me and lo and behold, a man without legs appeared. Laughing, and enjoying life. Giving not a moment of his life to petty complaints.

Now I always been told by self righteous douchebags that people with disabilities are a reminder how lucky we are to be perfectly healthy.

At that moment I realized that the people with disabilities aren't reminders of how lucky we are. They are a testament of how sissy and bitchy we are. Not lucky by any stretch. Just damn sissy.

Mm that reminds me of when I was just walking the streets of Hong Kong and all you could see were the sides lined with beggars who were missing limbs.

My mother then told me that a lot of children get kidnapped by the Chinese equivalent of the 'Mafia' and then have their hands chopped of or eyes blinded. They're then sent to the streets to beg. The cutting of limbs is exploited so that they're given more sympathy.

It's just horrific..I recall one guy who had no arms or legs and was very elderly. There's no social welfare care in HK, so he actually chose to fall out of his wheelchair, flat onto his face, with a cup for money on the floor beside him to earn a living.

Reality can be pretty harsh I guess..I always hated being in HK, for many more reasons than just that.

I guess my daughter is lucky, since 1st grade (age 6), she has been exposed to several children in her class at school who deal with a number of disabilities, blindness and Down's syndrome included. I have never heard a kid be mean or derogatory towards their classmate who has Down's. He is a wonderful child, who I see at least once a week, and always makes me smile, he really is engaging, and loves to talk about his favorite things (which include Spiderman and The Magic School Bus). He has his issues, but so do the \"normal\" kids. Trust me, even perfectly average kids that age throw the occasional tantrum or get difficult. But I have never heard of a kid being anything but kind to this boy. Being respectful and understanding of differences is a big part of the school's program about building good character in kids, and they all learn these lessons as part of their education, which I think is great.

And I know that locally we have a lot of programs geared toward helping people with \"mental disabilities\" (in quotes to denote that I do not mean this as an offensive term to anyone, but I have to call it something). There are training programs that help people learn to live independently, have a job, and live a fulfilling life. I think it is wonderful!

scootiebee wrote:

I guess my daughter is lucky, since 1st grade (age 6), she has been exposed to several children in her class at school who deal with a number of disabilities, blindness and Down's syndrome included. I have never heard a kid be mean or derogatory towards their classmate who has Down's. He is a wonderful child, who I see at least once a week, and always makes me smile, he really is engaging, and loves to talk about his favorite things (which include Spiderman and The Magic School Bus). He has his issues, but so do the \"normal\" kids. Trust me, even perfectly average kids that age throw the occasional tantrum or get difficult. But I have never heard of a kid being anything but kind to this boy. Being respectful and understanding of differences is a big part of the school's program about building good character in kids, and they all learn these lessons as part of their education, which I think is great.

Parents and teachers have very important rule in forming the child's own opinion. Children will act the way they see their authority is acting. Inclusion is also very important so children can learn to live one with another from the early childhood.

Kelaiah_ wrote:

Parents and teachers have very important rule in forming the child's own opinion. Children will act the way they see their authority is acting. Inclusion is also very important so children can learn to live one with another from the early childhood.

Mm that's true. I mentioned earlier that there are groups around here that tend to stick within themselves when they have views that our normal society does not approve of - These groups are often caused by parents passing on their behaviours to their kids. It results in whole villages that become racist etc.

I might've used this anecdote before..But I recall a mother making her baby point at a black person and repeating a derogatory word. In other words, teaching her child to become racist from such a young age. The poor kid was still in a pushchair (Pram? Buggy? Unsure of other terms for it).

It was a disgusting sight..

Yes I do as of late. I've made a new friend a few months ago who has four kids, all boys. Her second son is 15 with mental disabilities. Her third son is 12 with learning disabilities and a weak immune system. He has a port in his chest which keeps him alive basically. I've had a lot of training with these two boys, not to mention the other two boys, the oldest and youngest of the four. Just last night the 3rd son suffered a bad concussion and went into shock several times. I wasn't sure I was ready for all of that but I managed to help him out and he survived another day. phew