Op-ed: Palin exploited Trig for political gain
September 18th, 2008Kevin Myers, writing in the Irish Independent, says he was “revolted” by the sight of the Palins holding Trig on the state of the Republican convention like the “trophy at the end of a World Cup Final.” An excerpt:
It would be bad enough if Trig were just the human blob that all infants are at that age, but, of course, he is more than that: he also has Down syndrome. And was that the semi-subliminal message that we were being given? That not merely is Sarah Palin a fundamentalist Christian, but she is also an anti-abortionist who consciously chose to have what used to be called a Mongoloid baby: and look, here’s his little face to prove it?
.. So this little lad became the first-ever infant to assist its mother to launch her campaign to become the vice-president of the USA. And such are the new taboos which now prevail that anyone who had referred to little Trig as a Mongoloid child would probably have been lynched.
No doubt, that is a good taboo: but, meanwhile, another taboo has apparently vanished. It is the one which protected the very young — never mind the mentally handicapped and physically impaired — from being publicly exploited by their parents for political gain …
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on Thursday, September 18th, 2008 at 4:48 am and is filed under Down syndrome, abortion, abuse, commentary, families, genetics, language, politics, prenatal diagnosis, public attitudes, selective termination.
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September 19th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
This guy, Kevin Myers, doesn’t even deserve a comment as he is so wrong in so many ways. He obviously has no clue of what having Down syndrome means, physically, intellectually, socially or emotionally. He is offensive and ill-informed.
Did he do any research? Does he know anyone with Down syndrome? Did he talk to any parents of children with Down syndrome? Also, what was the purpose of using offensive language to identify Trig, just meanness? He indicates that no child but especially those with Down syndrome should not be out in public. What?!
He later tries to say this is for the child’s health, but unless baby Trig has an underlying medical problem, he is no more vulnerable to infection than any other child. Mr. Myers can have whatever opinion he wants about the candidates, but he should at least do minimal research before espousing his hateful comments.
September 18th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
A (not so) funny observation: When I clicked on the link to read the article, there was a link to the “Tropic Thunder” trailer at the top of the page.
A couple of points about the writer are worth noting. First, he refers to Trig as “it” (”The infant did not need to be there to prove its existence”). Second, he actually seems to complain that “such are the new taboos which now prevail that anyone who had referred to little Trig as a Mongoloid child would probably have been lynched.” It sounds to me like the writer has come pretty close to doing just that — I haven’t heard or seen anyone else use that word in reference to Trig.
The writer suggests that Trig should have been with a babysitter in Minneapolis. He may see Trig’s presence at the convention as an “in your face” maneuver by the Palins, but Trig was just where he belonged that night: celebrating with his family.
September 18th, 2008 at 5:11 am
What is revolting to me is the use of such narrow minded, derogatory language of this “writer”. In his criticism of Gov. Palin’s actions and what I perceive to be obvious pride in her whole family, this writer manages to seemingly derail any of the more positive attitudes and Down syndrome awareness that are being promulgated in society today.
Such derisive vocabulary may remind or educate people of the antiquated afliation between Down syndrome and the “m” word……the use of People First language should be worldwide and I hope that the many self advocates that he degrades with his words will in fact let this writer know.
– Mom to son who happens to have a chromosomal variation known as T 21.