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by RickJWagner
26 days ago
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Parents of special needs kids are amazing. I have a very good friend who married a really nice girl, their only child was born with Down’s syndrome. They are incredible parents, and they are an incredible family. Their son brings many challenges, but they are happy as they meet every situation. Compared to my own life, I would say my friends life is different. Different joys, different problems. God bless all these families. Being around them is a blessing to you. |
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I don’t think it’s fair to characterize parents of special needs kids that way. I guarantee they are not happy as they meet every challenge, and I worry that claiming that they are could discourage people from looking for ways to help. I know you’re sharing a story about personal friends, and I absolutely believe that they are wonderful people. At the same time I’m reminded of when people referred to retail employees as “heroes” during Covid. Many people seemed to hide behind that sentiment so they could stomach forcing those employees to work in unsafe conditions. Most of those employees would absolutely not have been there if they could afford not to.
I’m not trying to judge you. It’s important to acknowledge and respect the strength that people bring to tough situations. I also think it’s important to spend the bulk of our effort on helping and preventing tough situations where we can. We just be very careful about implying that those people have some innate, uncommon strength. In reality many of them are in a tough spot and barely getting by, but putting on a brave face. Treating them as fundamentally better people can make them feel like failures when they eventually need help or are at their limit.
I’m realizing now that I’m probably projecting some personal baggage here, but I hope my intended message is in that rant somewhere.