5 ms·

"certain forms of human diversity are stigmatized as undesirable or perceived as burdensome." I understand the why, but it doesn't make him any less dead wrong

"certain forms of human diversity are stigmatized as undesirable or perceived as burdensome." I understand the why, but it doesn't make him any less dead wrong. If you told people they were going to wake up the next morning with Down syndrome most of them would put a gun in their mouth. I certainly would, and not because I feared how society would treat me. This article is just the latest incarnation of the "noble savage" myth; the worship of anything deemed "natural". Well guess what, worms that eat the eyes out of little children are natural too. So is malaria, and cancer, and blindness, and fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. The "diversity of human existence" as he calls it has a greater variety of horror than ever imagined by the most bloodthirsty tyrant or tortured writer. We've spent centuries in a war to the knife against that horror and for someone to declare they're on the other side is a stupefying act of denial.

fzeroracer 8y ago
Yes, a father learning to love his daughter for who she is, rather than live in a mire of regret over what could've been is a perpetuation of the 'noble savage' myth. It sounds like you really don't understand the 'why' of the article if that's what you came out of it with.
- fromthestart 8y ago
  You totally missed the point of his post. This isn't about living in some state of angst. This is about accepting reality and not maintaining [potentially harmful] delusions about disability to avoid strife. There are some unpleasant parts of life that we yet cannot change. How one feels about them, regretful or not, is another matter; but ignoring reality is a poor decision in any case.
  - DanBC 8y ago
    They're not harmful delusions. By far the biggest harm caused to people with downs is that caused by other people. People with downs can lead rich and rewarding lives, and facists should stop pushing a genocidal agenda against people with disabilities.
    - PavlovsCat 8y ago
      > People with downs can lead rich and rewarding lives Anyone who visits or is in Berlin and likes their theater wild and creative, these people rock so much: https://rambazamba-theater.de/ https://rambazamba-theater.de/ https://rambazamba-theater.de/programm/ https://rambazamba-theater.de/programm/ I went there with a kind of patronizing attitude, like, I was prepared to clap politely... but I left feeling very alive and utterly impressed. I know such examples are not representative of the full spectrum of people living with that condition, of course not, but for what it's worth (and that's a lot, to me personally) that theater didn't blow my mind because "it was pretty good for people with Downs syndrome", but because of what they did, because of what it was in and of itself.
    - fromthestart 8y ago
      >By far the biggest harm caused to people with downs is that caused by other people. >The average IQ of a young adult with Down syndrome is 50, equivalent to the mental ability of an 8- or 9-year-old child, but this can vary widely Are you sure about that? You want to tell me that trying to live as an adult with the cognitive capacity of a child is difficult because of other people? Facist? Genocide? What are you smoking? Is it just me, or has a mass hysteria taken over the modern West?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
watwut 8y ago
I did not notice any worship in article. It was merely the acceptance and personal relationship. He does not put inhuman expectations on his daughter the way noble savage does it.
koonsolo 8y ago
Listen, I'm very happy for you, because your world view indicates that you never had any real struggle or real loss. I was like that too, and it's a very nice world to live in. But once you had some real loss or once your whole world collapses, you will view the world differently. > If you told people they were going to wake up the next morning with Down syndrome most of them would put a gun in their mouth. Maybe at first yes, but once you get through that initial stage, you will realize that in the end, everyone will lose everything anyway. So maybe it's better to focus on what you do have, than on what you don't.
- king_panic 8y ago
  Wow, the patronization just drips off this comment.
ThrowawayP 8y ago
Bingo. While I don't blame the author for trying to cope with his situation, I will say that, as one who has a disability myself (only 10% of normal visual acuity), it is quite "undesirable" and damned well "burdensome".

fzeroracer 8y ago

Yes, a father learning to love his daughter for who she is, rather than live in a mire of regret over what could've been is a perpetuation of the 'noble savage' myth. It sounds like you really don't understand the 'why' of the article if that's what you came out of it with.

fromthestart 8y ago
You totally missed the point of his post. This isn't about living in some state of angst. This is about accepting reality and not maintaining [potentially harmful] delusions about disability to avoid strife. There are some unpleasant parts of life that we yet cannot change. How one feels about them, regretful or not, is another matter; but ignoring reality is a poor decision in any case.
- DanBC 8y ago
  They're not harmful delusions. By far the biggest harm caused to people with downs is that caused by other people. People with downs can lead rich and rewarding lives, and facists should stop pushing a genocidal agenda against people with disabilities.
  - PavlovsCat 8y ago
    > People with downs can lead rich and rewarding lives Anyone who visits or is in Berlin and likes their theater wild and creative, these people rock so much: https://rambazamba-theater.de/ https://rambazamba-theater.de/ https://rambazamba-theater.de/programm/ https://rambazamba-theater.de/programm/ I went there with a kind of patronizing attitude, like, I was prepared to clap politely... but I left feeling very alive and utterly impressed. I know such examples are not representative of the full spectrum of people living with that condition, of course not, but for what it's worth (and that's a lot, to me personally) that theater didn't blow my mind because "it was pretty good for people with Downs syndrome", but because of what they did, because of what it was in and of itself.
  - fromthestart 8y ago
    >By far the biggest harm caused to people with downs is that caused by other people. >The average IQ of a young adult with Down syndrome is 50, equivalent to the mental ability of an 8- or 9-year-old child, but this can vary widely Are you sure about that? You want to tell me that trying to live as an adult with the cognitive capacity of a child is difficult because of other people? Facist? Genocide? What are you smoking? Is it just me, or has a mass hysteria taken over the modern West?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

watwut 8y ago

I did not notice any worship in article. It was merely the acceptance and personal relationship. He does not put inhuman expectations on his daughter the way noble savage does it.

koonsolo 8y ago

Listen, I'm very happy for you, because your world view indicates that you never had any real struggle or real loss. I was like that too, and it's a very nice world to live in. But once you had some real loss or once your whole world collapses, you will view the world differently. > If you told people they were going to wake up the next morning with Down syndrome most of them would put a gun in their mouth. Maybe at first yes, but once you get through that initial stage, you will realize that in the end, everyone will lose everything anyway. So maybe it's better to focus on what you do have, than on what you don't.

king_panic 8y ago
Wow, the patronization just drips off this comment.

ThrowawayP 8y ago

Bingo. While I don't blame the author for trying to cope with his situation, I will say that, as one who has a disability myself (only 10% of normal visual acuity), it is quite "undesirable" and damned well "burdensome".