Some days I feel just like this clip. You walk along minding your own business and then you are subjected to words that hurt. To be fair, some individuals don't even know they are hurting you. They might not know that you have a daughter who has a cognitive disability. It could be not knowing about your personal situation or that they never thought about the history and connotation of this word and what it personally means to you. Quinn has opened my eyes to this - to be more sensitive in how I say things. In such situations you have to have the energy to say something, to teach, even though you are tired and weighed down by all of this. But I would rather have this any day of the week than the other reason why some people use such hateful words. Unfortunately, you have some people who want to hurt others and just don't care about your feelings. They use this word to purposely hurt you. They delight in it. At times going online can be hurtful because you see this firsthand. When I found this clip on YouTube I even saw some hurtful comments. What does it say about our society that now some people feel so good about being so hateful online? Does this make these people feel better about themselves picking on those who just want to help others and try to get a message out there about respect? Who really has the disability here? Some days you just feel so weighed down by all of this, but you can't give up. You have to keep on. I have Quinn cheering me on.
Breaking Point
1 year ago
Hi Karyn-
ReplyDeleteIt's Kristen (& Katelyn). I spend too much time reading blogs now too (in addition to Downsyn)! It is very addicting! I love yours- have thought about starting one but probably won't.
Anyway, I just had to comment that I LOVE the video you added today. It is just like my life (ha ha) seeing as it takes place in a school. It is so funny- before Katelyn was born I discouraged kids from using the r-word, but now I can be in a crowded hallway with 50+ kids and my ears will pick it out every single time someone uses that word. Sorry to say, the video is sadly accurate. But hopefully we will change things! I do think that showing this video would be effective with kids at school too...maybe I can tie that in to a "guidance" activity. :-)
Okay, enough from me!
Take care-
Kristen
To the person who commented questioning what is normal and what isn't. What passes for normal is a joke. I believe there is some type of Authority God out there who tells the "normal people" what to think instead of looking at the world around them. As a writer, I am told "you can't make money." There are many exceptions to that statement if you look around. I sum up wealth of a writer into three categories. (1) the new one from 2007 is the 1% or less which means Billionaire. Only one author is in that category. (2) is 4% which has people like John Grisham, Stephen King, Nora Roberts and others. To make it into this category you have to be able to make live off of your royalities. I think the amount of money you make may be from about$100,00 $200,000 into the millions. (3) This is only category "the normal people" seem to recognize. It is the 95% which houses mostly closet writers, hobby writers, self published writers who haven't made it yet, and mostly English teachers and professors who are published, but have not made it into the bigtime yet. Ususally when you are in this category you better have another source of income. Most people in this category make anything from literally no money at all up to an inconsistent several thousand dollars. Whatever money they make as writers is not sufficient enough to live off of and pay the bills. What this whole conversation has to do with this board is that the same people and the same intelligence that criticizes struggling writers are the same people who criticize the abilities of the disabled.
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