Sarah Palin with Todd, a few days earlier
It seems she spoke about Trig very briefly, and she used the same old tried and tested platitudes. He's an inspiration, he's perfect, God knows better, blah blah. I don't think Sarah Palin can relate to the struggles other parents of children with special needs encounter and can't share in their achivements either.
Other parents talk about their children in a very different way: They share all their children's small steps towards independence, what therapies work for them, what groups they joined. They talk about their children as real human beings, not as a badge of faith or some mythical object they evoke for effect. There are a few blogs written by real parents of real children with special needs on the sidebar. Trig is real to somebody else, the person who's providing for him. In the three years we've been following Trig's progress, all we have observed from this joke of a "mother" is the cynical exploitation of his condition for her own ends.
I don't think we're going to see much of Trig from now on. As he grows and becomes less compliant, too big to be carried around like a loaf of French bread and less cute, his presence at events won't reflect well on his "mother." It will become very difficult for her to feign familiarity with a child who recoils from her. I believe Trig looks at her and sees a very shrill, frightening, strange woman.
Sarah's tone of voice was very patronizing in this clip. She did talk about the tornadoes, but she almost made it sound like a good thing, on the same level as the aurora borealis, something like a wonder of Mother Nature. She and Todd Todd Todd will join another opportunist and do all they can for the victims of the disaster: Franklin Graham, of course.
According to one report, she quickly turned to politics. No surprises there.
Palin speaks to Exceptional Foundation: fox10tv.com
Some excerpts from an article on Baldwin County Now:Palin — the former vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor — received a warm reception from an estimated 150 to 200 guests who paid top dollar to attend the benefit dinner. She was chosen because her son, Trig, was diagnosed with Down syndrome in utero and she has since spoken in favor of special needs’ children’s rights.
During tonight’s dinner, Palin said she initially feared the “challenge” of having a child with Down syndrome but spoke of how Trig is an inspiration to her and husband Todd.
“There’s society’s measurement of perfection and then there’s God’s measurement of perfection — and at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters,” she said of the latter, receiving the audience’s applause.
Much of Palin’s remarks veered into politics, particularly during a question-and-answer session following her keynote address.
As for a familiar subject -- whether she will run for president in 2012 -- the Republican said, "You don't have to have your name on a ballot to fight for things like that" (special needs causes). "We don't need an office; we don't need a title to do that."
What Sarah Palin has done for special needs causes:
- attacked liberals for saying she should have aborted Trig.
- attacked a blogger for photoshopping and iconic image of a mother's love for her child.
- attacked the producer on an animated cartoon where she was the butt of a joke by a character voiced by an actress with Down syndrome.
- attacked Rahm Emanuel for using the word "retarded" in private once, but defended Rush Limbaugh for using it several times in public.
- paraded Trig all over the country, exposing him to crowds, bright lights, noise and the elements.
- donated $1000 of other people's money to a Down syndrome organization.
She attacks anybody and everybody in the name of special needs, but her favourite cause is herself.
Blogs by parents of children with Down syndrome:
hang on little tomato
Girl in a Party Hat
Our Jacob
Teeny Tiny Hopkins