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momhappy|1480476906|4103626 said:nala|1480476026|4103619 said:ruby59|1480276193|4102941 said:http://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2016/11/27/rosie-odonnell-clarifies-her-stance-after-she-wondered-if-barro/21614952/
Rosie O'Donnell, you have officially crossed over the line. Have a problem with the father? But you never go after the child.
You owe both an apology.
I think that I'm puzzled by this whole thread Bc I'm seriously wondering why people are using the term "out" in conjunction with autism. Should autism be a deep dark secret that only parents should know about their children? There an entire movement called autism awareness out there precisely to demistify this condition so that those who suffer from autism can be viewed normally. As long as we keep associating autism with a social stigma or some kind of social taboo, this awareness movement will not accomplish its goal. And precisely Bc Rosie is a parent of an autistic child , maybe she is driven to further this cause. Let's give her the benefit of the doubt. The problem is that egotistical parents view autism as a defect that reflects on their genes, and some even live in denial and do not get the child the proper help. That is what this movement is all about. And at least Rosie has gotten the conversation going.
This thread isn't about whether or not we should or shouldn't be raising awareness for autism. I think most people would agree that raising awareness and/or normalizing it is generally beneficial.
This thread is about how it's a parent's choice to decide. Some random person should not get to decide if it's right for a particular family to talk about a child with autism. Autism is complicated and if someone chose to keep it personal (for whatever reason), then I respect that. Again, I don't necessarily think that not talking about it means that it's taboo, it's embarrassing, it's abnormal, it's shameful, etc.
Unfortunately, I don't view the Rosie/Donald feud as a productive conversation-starter about autism
If you want to separate autism awareness from this thread, and dismiss Rosie's possible intentions or her rationale that the ends justify the means when it comes to autism awareness, then the issue is about retweeting. She retweeted. I don't follow her or anyone on twitter, but my understanding is that the media made this public. She was teeeting to her followers. People who follow her bc they support her. Then the media exposed this retweet. And as OP made it accessible for all of us, we are all here discussing but no one is focusing on her hashtag or her comments. No shame autism. Or encouraging the Trumps to use their presidency as a platform. No. instead some people here keep referring to the video as if she produced it.
So let's talk about the damage that the media caused by exposing her retweet.
For those who are worried about young Barron being bullied bc of this video. I'm sure his parents protect him enough to where he does not even watch the news, given what is said about his father and mother. Do you guys really think they let him hear the disparaging comments his dad made while running for election? Or did they let him see his mom's nude pictures? If he's being bullied as a result of this video, was he bullied for his mom and dad's behavior as well? My guess is that his parents choose his social circle wisely. So the real offense here, according to those of you who keep repeating that Rosie was motivated by pure evil, is that she is communicating to these parents that some might suspect their kid has autism. What an evil speculation to make!
So if you are really posting a thread to bash Rosie as a bully and not acknowledging that perhaps she retweeted with the end goal of increasing autism awareness, ask yourselves if we would be having this conversation if Barron had Down syndrome. Do people get "outted" for having Down syndrome? Do parents choose to keep it a secret? Of course they don't because many times it is obvious. Its not a medical condition that is confidential. And that's how many of my friends whose kids have autism feel. They do not consider autism a learning disability. They like to inform those who come into contact with their children that they have autism. So that people know how to respond to them. And I'm some cases, approach them without scaring them.