What the flying...?

[author_by_night]

Disabled show host causes controversy

In one chat room, a father lamented that Burnell being on the show forced him to have conversations with his child about disabilities.

Um... so what?

Now, I realize the show is meant for little kids, but.... I just think that the fact that parents are implying that a TV show host shouldn't be a host because of a disability shows that society still has a lot to learn.

Why is it bad to teach your kids that there's different people out there? If you expose them to it early, they'll learn there's nothing to be afraid of.

And you know what? When I read the headline, I looked at the picture before reading article, and it took me a while before I even noticed she only had one arm. I did notice her pretty smile right away, though.

I read the comments, and here's what one says:

Do any of you who think this is so "unbelievable" actually have kids? It's very hard, as a parent, to have every social issue jammed down the throat of your kids before they even hit first grade.

I'm no parent, but I'd rather my kids be exposed early on, when they're young enough to matter-of-factly accept that everyone is different, than when they have a disabled classmate and I find out they've made fun of him because I never taught my kid that it's okay to be different.

Comments

[blpurdom.livejournal.com]

I'm simply boggled by the idea that we have to present kids with a world of perfect, flawless, normative people because to confront them with anything else would scar them. What if your next-door neighbor came back from Iraq without his left lower leg? What if Grandma's diabetes meant that she went blind? What if the family dog got hit by a car and had to drag his hind quarters around on a little wheeled platform? Would these parents ask the neighbor to move out of their house, stop letting Grandma visit and send the dog to a shelter? Isn't all of that MORE likely to scar the kid, plus producing the expectation that he/she has to remain utterly ordinary and completely perfect to be permitted in his/her parents' lives? God, some people are just too stupid to be believed.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

That's what I wonder!