I was watching a comedian the other night and one his jokes was that he didn't see why he had to not offend the mentally challenged because he's offended when he meets someone who pronounces his name "Duh." Now I've lived over half-a-century and have never met a Down's Syndrome or brain damaged or mentally ill person who has pronounced my name "Duh."
It makes me think of the outright hatred that some people carry for anyone who has a mental disability. That's why a lot of mentally disabled people live in fear of going out alone. It is possible that they will be attacked by someone who is offended with their 'stupidity'.
But why then should people accept someone who is 'normal' but continually marries people who treat them wrong or other people with non-challenged brains who screw up. Like mothers who don't know how to raise their children because they weren't raised right. I see a lot of people helping people like that and while I'm not against it, I think that if they were so against 'stupid' they wouldn't help.
In my mind this means that they don't really care about 'stupid' but it's more about what they can get away with. And why is it okay that 'normal' people have the mind-set of children about 'getting in trouble'. They are perfectly happy to make someone's life miserable if they won't have the police or a brother at their door.
To me, the thing to change is the 'dog-eat-dog' mentality that a lot of people have. Get them before they get you is, at the heart, an evil way to think. It's not that most people will go out a do evil, it's just that when a population gets used to thinking in terms of people who 'let' others take advantage and people who don't let them, you have the perfect set up to keep the mentally challenged poor and lonely.
I think it would be nice if a Down's Syndrome person could go to work and not have to protect her/himself against people taking advantage of a 'stupid' person. It would mean that they could take part in a free society like all the rest and have schooling catered to them and work where they wouldn't have to be pushed around. Who are 'normal' people anyway, to say that mentally challenged are not up to scratch? What gives them the right to decided what normal is?
Anyway, I've decided to limit my comedy watching just so I don't have to hear a joke like that again. I wish I could remember his name.
Madeleine, I do a part-time thing driving a school bus and love doing it. Occasionally I have mentally (as well as physically) challenged students on board. They're usually better behaved than "normal" kids. Anytime I hear someone say "retard" or anything in that vein, I immediately make it known that such language is not allowed on my bus. If I can identify the speaker, I'll have a private conversation with them. Anyone who can be that insensitive is the "stupid" one as far as I'm concerned.
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