|
Post by Kaylis on Sept 2, 2008 7:53:29 GMT -5
Hm. At our house the main question has been how great a mother Palin is being by taking time away from such a young child as much as a VP candidate has to be. Is she maybe avoiding him? Any baby needs lots of parental attention.
Beyond that, is it so significant that she chose to not abort him (knowing his diagnosis) when I made the exact same choice and I'm VERY pro-choice. Others of us here have also made this decision. I'm excited that someone with a child with Ds is in the news, but I'm also very concerned about how these issues are being presented. Besides, if she had her son only because she's against abortion then should she get any extra credit for it?
Kaylis
|
|
|
Post by elizabethsmom on Sept 2, 2008 9:54:05 GMT -5
First, many mothers have careers outside of their homes and children. That doesn't necessarily mean she's avoiding him. Many of the mothers here work a great many hours and make sure their children have appropriate care.
Second, no, having a child with Down syndrome doesn't make her pro-life... we know she is pro-life because she has repeatedly state this.
And I don't think anyone thinks she gets "extra credit" for having her son... nor do any of us. It's not about credit. It's about love. She and her husband appear to be very family oriented and loving. That's all we can go by.
I think it's unfair to be critical of a mother who chooses this career unless we intend to do the same for the father who chooses this career. Perhaps she knows she can make a difference in the world for the future of her children.... mmmm, sounds pretty worthwhile to me.
Sheryl
|
|
|
Post by laurasnowbird on Sept 2, 2008 10:11:56 GMT -5
I think she absolutely SHOULD get credit for continuing her pregnancy, especially considering that we've heard time and time again that 90% of babies with DS are aborted. I don't believe that 90% of the population is pro-choice, more likely that some people, even those who otherwise believe in pro-life, are scared and somehow led to believe that these kids are either going to suffer or are not quite human, and terminate as a result of those misguided beliefs. Some of that 90% have to be people who are otherwise pro-life, KWIM?
As far as how the issues are being presented, I'm sure it is causing the Palin family considerable anguish to hear the media talking about their child's "unfortunate" diagnosis. After all, they made the choice to love and cherish him before he even got here, so you know they value him greatly. I would hate hearing someone talking like that specifically about MY child! It's hard enough to hear the negative rhetoric about DS in general during this campaign! My heart hurts for their family, hearing that talk about their own little baby. Big ouch.
As for time away from the baby, we certainly don't know what she negotiated as it relates to the presence of her family during the campaign. From all accounts, she is a tough negotiator, LOL! And for all we know, part of her rationale for accepting the position may be to show the world that having a child with a disability is NOT the end of the world, and that you can still go after your dreams.
Dunno about how all this will pan out....November is months away, and we still have lots of time to make our decisions about who we feel is best qualified for the job.
|
|
|
Post by elizabethsmom on Sept 2, 2008 10:32:59 GMT -5
well said Laura.
|
|
|
Post by wrblack on Sept 2, 2008 10:37:40 GMT -5
I think she was taking Trig to work with her as governor. Now, I guess he and the other kids are going to hit the campaign trail. And I hear that Trig's dad, Todd, will be taking on full time child care duties. Since he's 4 time winner of the Iron Dog race, supposedly snowmobiling's toughest race, maybe he just might be up to the task of caring for a little stinker with a little extra chromosome. No matter, he's Trig's dad. And ready or not, he'll just have to deal with what he's dealt, just like all the rest of us. But I'd bet he'll do just fine. Boy, the Palins have got a lot of stuff going on. Governor, investigations, running for Vice President, pregnant teenage daughter, new baby with Down syndrome, son in the Army getting ready to be deployed. Combo of Juno and Secret Life of the American Teenager just begin to cover part of it. Wish them all well. Especially Trig, of course. -- Bob
|
|
|
Post by Jackie on Sept 2, 2008 16:53:44 GMT -5
I am tired of hearing MEN say that she should stay home and raise her family and tend to her disabled child. I am really excited about her and the fact that she represents strong women in a way that has not been spotlighted. She is a STRONG woman, yet at the same time a wife and mother of a number of children. I am sure it is a family with strong values. Among the best of families with values unplanned pregnancies often happen to kids... and families work things out. No doubt some of us who post here have children we did not plan.
I am tired of strong women portrayed as leaving behind traditional roles and aspiring to be totally identified alongside men. I believe in equality but I also believe that we have two sexes and am excited that women can still be "women"...yet strong!
Jackie
|
|
|
Post by Ericsmomma on Sept 2, 2008 17:57:08 GMT -5
My daughter had my beautiful grandaughter, Victoria, when she was 19 years old AND unmarried. They live with us, and I cannot begin to tell you what a blessing this child has been for Eric. She is his BEST friend, playmate, teacher, watchdog, protector, and his soulmate. She tells me every day how much she loves "her" Eric. And in turn, Eric has taught her patience and acceptance. She was in a intergrated preschool program that had 6 typical kids (her), and 6 kids with disabilities. Her best friend in the class was a little girl with CP, who used a walker/braces. Her empathy to her and the other children earned her an award at graduation, for kindness and thoughtfulness to all in her class. Makes me so proud! Maybe Govenor Palin's grandchild will be a influence in Trig's life also. They won't be far apart in age, and will probably grow up together. I can only hope they will be as blessed as we have been to have such wonderful children in our lives. Sometimes God works in ways we don't like or understand...but he Does know what He's doing. I just hope the Palin family finds the strength and faith to get through all this.
|
|
|
Post by Googsmom aka Jennifer on Sept 2, 2008 20:06:43 GMT -5
I was going to stay out of this thread but Jackie and Dolly, you two just made me teary
|
|
|
Post by laurasnowbird on Sept 2, 2008 22:39:39 GMT -5
Sheryl,
LOL, I think you and I were typing our replies at the same time....yours was posted, but only the first few lines were there....
My post was in no way a response to yours, or meant to be argumentative about the "extra credit".
Jackie, I was thinking about what you said, and it hit me later in the day that much has been made of the personal tragedy that Joseph Biden suffered. From wikipedia:
"On August 27, 1966 (while in law school) Biden married Neilia Hunter. They had three children, Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, Robert Hunter, and Naomi Christina (aka Amy). His wife and infant daughter died in a car accident shortly after he was first elected to the Senate in 1972. His two sons, Beau and Hunter, were seriously injured in the accident, but both eventually made full recoveries. Biden was sworn into office from their bedside. Persuaded not to resign in order to care for them, Biden began the practice of commuting an hour and a half each day on the train from his home in the Wilmington suburbs to Washington, D.C., which he continues to do."
I'm not picking on Biden, cuz I admire the man tremendously, but how come no one is making a big deal about the choices HE made back then? KWIM? He just lost his wife and infant daughter, his two boys were seriously injured, and he still took the Senate job knowing he was going to be the ONLY parent. It turned out well for him, and his second wife seems to be a really lovely woman and a great mother to his children. But it's odd that some folks are making such a big deal of Palin's choice. I'm sure Biden didn't get much grief over his choice, or accused of not doing right by his kids. There is certainly a double standard here, in my mind.
I think we have two very qualified people running for president this time, and BOTH of their Veeps are people whose stories inspire admiration. 'Bout time!!!! LOL!
|
|
|
Post by tiffany on Sept 3, 2008 10:33:45 GMT -5
I am very impressed with her. She is strong, smart and has strong family values! I think that all the issues she faces are the same as a typical American family might face. And that makes her just right for the job! I also like that they are hard working people who arent yet tainted by Washington!
|
|
|
Post by elizabethsmom on Sept 3, 2008 12:07:37 GMT -5
Haha Laura!
No, I didn't think you were responding to me. AND I do agree with everything you said, in the way you said it! Thanks for thinking about me though! :-)
I still think it's great! She appears to be a very strong person who faces the same challenges other parents in our country face, and faces them well! I agree with all of the positive things said above. Perhaps if more people stood out as she does and the country could see your life doesn't end when you have a special needs child, just alters the route, then they wouldn't be as quick to decide NOT to have that child.
I think Bob was right also. I believe they said last night that Palins husband will be caring for the kids while on the campaign circut. I know many dad's as qualified to care for their kids as the moms are. (nobody's more qualified to care for mine than I am, of course.... but Joby's a very close second! haha. Just joking)
Anyway, until they start questioning why the men are working while the kids stay with mom, they shouldn't question it in reverse. I agree with Jackie, and see no reason you can't be a woman, a wife, a mother..... and a vice president! If anything, it gives you a broader perspective about life's questions.
Sheryl
|
|
|
Post by wrblack on Sept 3, 2008 13:31:02 GMT -5
OK, another snip from the List (Valle Dwight is posting some good stuff today):
From the NYT: With Palin, Special Needs Get Spotlight
With Palin, Special Needs Get Spotlight By JIM DWYER
A sure, young voice came through the intercom. “Who is this?” Two flights up, in her family’s loft in SoHo, Catherine Emer Madden, 9, watched the video monitor, and waited for her visitor to speak. Satisfied with the answer, she offered hospitality. “Hello, how are you?” she says. “Come on up.” Catherine was just home from the first day of fourth grade. She had reading homework, some writing to do, and the names of teachers and classmates and all the business of a new school year to report to her mother and father. Nothing extraordinary except this: To get anywhere in school, Catherine began preparing when she was 3 months old, with therapists who have been working with her ever since. On the day she was born in 1998, her parents, Deirdre Featherstone and Wilson H. Madden Jr., learned that Catherine had Down syndrome, meaning that she carried an extra piece of chromosome. This slows down mental development and can cause some physical ailments that shorten the lifespan. Not too long ago, Catherine would have been essentially written off educationally. On Friday, Senator John McCain announced that he was choosing Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as his running mate. Governor Palin is the mother of five children, including a son, Trig, born in April with Down syndrome. “It’s another dimension in a public official, one that’s often missing,” Ms. Featherstone said. “Anybody who has four other children to begin with, there’s a level of tenacity in that.” Governor Palin is like her counterpart, Senator Joseph Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, in having faced unusually challenging family circumstances. Mr. Biden’s wife and one of their three children were killed in a car accident a few weeks after he was elected to the Senate at age 29. Mr. Biden, who later remarried, commuted home every night from Washington to Delaware to be with his surviving sons. For some families of children with Down syndrome, Governor Palin is about to learn a powerful truth: A child with special needs enlarges the world. Marian Burke, the mother of a 43-year-old son, Chris, who has Down syndrome, says that new educational and therapeutic approaches have allowed such children to thrive in ways that were never possible. “When Chris was born, there was absolutely nothing out there,” said Mrs. Burke, who raised her family in Stuyvesant Town. Research has shown that therapy beginning in the earliest months of life can significantly improve the chances for children with Down syndrome to learn, opening up their lives socially, educationally, and occupationally. Chris Burke had a featured role in a television series, Life Goes On, and now holds a job with an advocacy organization, commutes by train and bus, fixes his own dinner and prepares his lunch for the next work day. The Burkes created their own homemade early intervention-program, she said, with help from the other children in the family. “We were very fortunate,” Mrs. Burke said. “Our oldest son was just about 12, and we had two daughters, 14 and 16. They were so helpful to him.” Her husband, Frank Burke, said that Chris entered the ordinary cycle of family drama. “It wasn’t all peaches and cream,” Mr. Burke said. “It wasn’t peaches and cream with our other children — they also had their ups and downs.” When Ms. Featherstone, then 37, was pregnant with Catherine, she and Mr. Madden decided not to have genetic screening. Between 80 and 90 percent of pregnant women who learn that they are carrying a Down syndrome fetus have abortions, according to the National Down Syndrome Society. “I wouldn’t have had the courage to have a child with special needs if I knew,” Ms. Featherstone said. “But you’d be amazed with the courage you can pull out of a hat when you’re faced with someone with a name, instead of a classification — Catherine Emer Madden, versus ‘special needs child.’ It’s the most intense love.” Should it matter to voters that Governor Palin has a Down syndrome child? Mr. Burke, a retired police inspector — who did not disclose his preference in the election — was unequivocal. “That’s strictly a family matter for the governor to handle,” he said. “I don’t think it merits any political attention.” Mr. Madden said that the selection of Governor Palin showed that Mr. McCain was committed to putting “real people” into office. Mr. Madden and Ms. Featherstone were both McCain supporters before she was picked. Ms. Featherstone said that no matter how the race ended, Governor Palin was on an extraordinary journey. “If she’s afraid, there’s about a million of us who would cheer her on — it’s the best thing that is ever going to happen to you,” Ms. Featherstone said. “And I don’t mean the vice presidency.” E-mail: dwyer@nytimes.com
|
|
|
Post by elizabethsmom on Sept 3, 2008 22:27:37 GMT -5
WOW! Awesome speech! Hope everyone got to hear her! And her beautiful family... yep, he's a cutie! Sheryl
|
|
|
Post by laurasmom on Sept 3, 2008 23:15:27 GMT -5
I enjoyed her speech also, thought she did very well. The pride on her husband's face was unmistakeable. He is very, very proud of her, and rightly so. And I have to say, the times they showed her daughter holding Trig, and smoothing his hair, very cute.
Sharon
|
|
|
Post by Jodi on Sept 4, 2008 10:57:29 GMT -5
Wouldn't it be neat to have some one so close to our issue here at Uno Mas in such a high position?!! I thought she was fantastic!
Jodi
|
|