tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post6696576847623905484..comments2024-03-29T03:43:45.977-04:00Comments on Of Battered Aspect: Big Bellies and Wheelchairs, Oh. My.Dave Hingsburgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11918601687946534172noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-45187101587400147232013-09-14T13:07:06.353-04:002013-09-14T13:07:06.353-04:00I disagree totally. I think the dad was right to...I disagree totally. I think the dad was right to say to the kid how would you like... that makes him realize that others have feelings too. Not many people grow up realizing this. It seems a much more important lesson than telling him that he's observant. <br />People always think crap about each other.... size, disability, hair style... u name it. If people could learn to juSt accept and go on we would all be better off. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-58989868172257729982013-09-08T04:11:21.560-04:002013-09-08T04:11:21.560-04:00The father reacted very well.
Now here is an...The father reacted very well. <br /> Now here is another topic to discuss: It has been accepted in the disability community to reprove/condemn those who use the word "retarded". This is because it is often used (as with "retard") as an insult.However, WHATEVER word or euphimism we use to describe the reality of a person's mental ability impairment (and some times this IS necessary to explain things), eventually that word comes to have the negative connotations that society attaches to it. The problem is not, in my mind, the word per se, but the attitude behind it's incorrect usage.<br /> Annonomyous, in my mind "fat" in itself is not the problem, but the attitude that someone is inherently worth less because he is overweight, and "fat" is almost always used that way.<br /> I know that I tried to teach Ricki that yes she was "retarded", but that "retarded" just meant that she had trouble thinking, and was not something bad, simply something that she needed help dealing with.And yes I told her that she would always have to deal with people who would see her as worth less because she was different. But that we both knew that she was just as good and valuable as anyone else. But she read the non-verbal cues VERY well and knew an insult when she heard it.But eventually she was able to reach a point that she felt able to say "Yes, I have Down syndrome" without embarrassment.<br /> Dave, your comment to the father was terrific, and the comment that you do not want " make my difference into a bad thing to be" is superb. [Although I suspect that we will be waiting for Godot on this.....]Rickismomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078192111057725026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-72152756947452123452013-09-04T16:30:02.626-04:002013-09-04T16:30:02.626-04:00Yes! Another tip I can use with my kids. Thanks Da...Yes! Another tip I can use with my kids. Thanks Dave, I will be modeling this behavior. Cynthia F.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-71102649733785414882013-09-03T23:09:51.511-04:002013-09-03T23:09:51.511-04:00I really appreciate the answer you gave. Well don...I really appreciate the answer you gave. Well done!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-14562375519207862222013-09-03T18:42:41.252-04:002013-09-03T18:42:41.252-04:00Children talk to me about my difference without pr...Children talk to me about my difference without predjoudice. The ask; why are your lips purple? why are your fingers looking funny?<br /><br />This post made me aware why I feel uneasy about someone noticing. I feel unease because I dont look like the average woman at my age, the one we see in magazines and television.<br /><br />But even this changes...<br /><br />Dave I learn so much from your blog - sometimes it even makes me feel "lighter at heart".<br /><br />Thank you<br />JuliaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-28328380445837883282013-09-03T17:33:58.542-04:002013-09-03T17:33:58.542-04:00Hello Dave,
I absolutely LOVE the eloquence and tr...Hello Dave,<br />I absolutely LOVE the eloquence and truth and candor with which you speak/write. You gave such perfect words to the very idea I posted about earlier this morning on my blog about being "different" and how a person comes to understand it, process it, learn it, live it in the world. <br />So wise you are. I love hearing your thoughts. Keep them coming! Thank you for sharing, as always.Fragments https://www.blogger.com/profile/04779518927376226419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-4334488709047198812013-09-03T14:02:55.194-04:002013-09-03T14:02:55.194-04:00My 15 yo with autism points out people of color. ...My 15 yo with autism points out people of color. "Look, she's black. I mean African-American." "wow, You are SO black." And also "Why are you so fat? Do you eat too much?" As much as I would like him to stop, and we talk about it, the more he hears about how it is proscribed, the more he needs to talk about it. The other side of this coin is, he is not judging, he is curious and comments. He is not at the age where this is cute any more. Most people are very kind about it. And certainly he is someone who people talk about, but doesn't seem to realize that.spectrummomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02893167023543993093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-22213807192752184332013-09-03T13:23:07.869-04:002013-09-03T13:23:07.869-04:00Thanks and "pleased to meet you," Dave! ...Thanks and "pleased to meet you," Dave! I went from having an invisible disability to a visible one last week. I will be using a wheelchair, walker, or cane every day from now on depending on how I am feeling that day. I'm used to the cane. Right now, though, I'm confined to a bed, and so it's good to read what life has in store for me. I so dislike euphemisms. Telling kids to call reality by false and or prettified names makes no sense to me. I don't know what's wrong with the word "fat." These days people say I'm skinny and it's true. I'm losing my hair, so I may be bald soon. Would it be better to say I'm. . hmmm. . .I'm not creative enough right now to come up with a funny expression for it. I'm the skinny short balding sick cripple. Is that okay? Sorry this is overlong. . .!<br />Julie H. Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18370626312151913595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-69834476873283740642013-09-03T11:49:36.757-04:002013-09-03T11:49:36.757-04:00Beautiful, Dave. What a great teachable moment -- ...Beautiful, Dave. What a great teachable moment -- and how wonderful that the man had an open mind and was willing to hear you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-9824896889686047262013-09-03T08:33:31.547-04:002013-09-03T08:33:31.547-04:00Just wondering, do you think calling someone "...Just wondering, do you think calling someone "fat" could be considered name calling? I know I would probably use a different word myself as I'm pretty sure that there are plenty of people who would not want to be described as "fat" (they would say big/curvy etc. perhaps)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35743239.post-54736361456109181832013-09-03T08:10:42.838-04:002013-09-03T08:10:42.838-04:00Well said, sir. Well said, sir. Kris S.noreply@blogger.com