“Sarah Palin…wears Down syndrome as a badge”

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My pals over at Palingates emailed me with a link to their story about the difference between SchlepKid McShowMom and other parents of Down syndrome children.

The email went on to say that the other parents’ stories induced tears while renewing their “sadness for poor little Trig.” They asked if I’d share their post, which I will do gladly. Actually, I’ll provide excerpts. There ‘s a lot there, and you should pop over to read all of it:

Readers of Palingates send in many links of interest and one of them took me to a little gem of a blog, written by the mother of a child with Down syndrome who’s roughly the same age as Trig Palin. Catherine Just is a photographer from LA and she has documented her pregnancy with Max, his diagnosis and his progress in delightful photos and videos. Coincidentally, Max was born on the 8th month of Catherine’s pregnancy. [...]

Catherine went beyond “talking” about Max. She and her husband Jerry took action. They wanted information, joined support groups, got in touch with other parents in the same situation in order to figure out how to meet Max’s needs, how to offer him the best opportunities to fulfill his potential. [...]

Sarah Palin never says anything about support groups or how she counts on the help of Down syndrome organizations in the great state of Alaska. Considering that Trig gives her the credentials as a “super mom” and that she loves to blow her own trumpet on any possible occasion, it seems very odd that, apart from the usual platitudes, Sarah doesn’t say anything that would show real commitment to Trig’s progress. [...]

We heard about Trig’s haircuts, how he applauds each new day, how he needs protecting from Andrea Friedman and the Family Guy team. We followed the saga of the desecration of the iconic image of mother and child love when Eddie Burke’s face was photoshopped into a picture of Sarah with Trig. In Going Rogue we learned that her sister Heather is the nurturing one, that God must have chosen the Palins for Trig because he knew what he was doing, that Trig will forever be the dependent little brother to his siblings.

What we have never heard was how much she values networking with other parents, what wonderful work the Down syndrome groups in Alaska do for the families dealing with a child with special needs and how they helped with Trig or how much she owes them for their support when she felt overwhelmed.

Sarah Palin made a donation of $1,000 to the National Association for Down Syndrome on the last possible day before her Pac report was due. That’s how much the “You’ll have a friend and advocate in the White House” DS mom did for the cause. That money was donated to her Pac by her followers, it didn’t come out of the reported $12,000,000 she raked in from her book, TV deals and speeches in recent months. [...]

Catherine pointed out to me that actor John C McGinley, who plays one of the doctors in the series Scrubs, is the father of another Max, who also has Down syndrome. John was just as overwhelmed as any other parent when he learned that Max had DS. Did he say Max is an adorable miracle and stop at that? No. He and his wife tried to learn everything they could about the condition, joined groups, used his fame to promote events to raise money and awareness about DS; John C. gave numerous interviews and wrote articles where he pulled no punches regarding the irresponsible use of the word “retard.” [...]

A bunch of unknown people do their best for their children and hope to raise awareness about their conditions, share what they know with others, giving tips and linking to helpful organizations. [...]

Please note that I refer to parents of children with special needs simply as parents of children with special needs. They don’t like to define themselves or their babies by their diagnoses. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, wears Down syndrome as a badge, using Trig and his condition to serve her own skewed agenda. That’s why I refer to her as a “DS mom.” She likes to point out that she “chose” to have Trig, knowing he was going to be born with Down syndrome. So did many other parents. The big difference is that they saw the child first and the condition was secondary in their choices. Some other parents were not aware of DS before the birth of their babies, but again, they fell in love with their babies, not their diagnoses. They see themselves as parents and don’t feel special because their children are a bit different.

Sarah Palin is the most famous “DS mom” in the country. But apart from parading Trig all over the place in inappropriate attire, spouting some soundbites in her speeches and giving a token donation to NADS, she has done absolutely nothing for children with special needs and their families. She uses her Facebook page to attack people and not much else. [...]

What’s stopping her from creating a Facebook group dedicated to sharing stories about Trig, how he’s making progress thanks to early intervention programs, giving links to resources, having a forum where other parents could tell their stories, talk about their triumphs and their struggles?

If she would put a fraction of the energy she uses to attack people (in a very aggressive manner) into promoting a group dedicated to children with special needs instead, she could make a greater impact than all the little known blogs put together.

There is very little to add (other than the parts I left out).  Palingates is right on target. McShowMom’s heart is divided equally between what she needs… and the special needs of her child.

That’s all you really need to know about her. Talk is cheap, and SchlepKid McShowMom talks a lot.