Nope, this is not a post about math. I’m referring, of course, to Sarah Palin’s Down Syndrome son – the “symbol” of her pro-life sentiment, making her the mascot for the anti-abortion movement. Hey, if Sun-Maid is updating their look, the crazies might as well do the same.
I find the Right’s take on this mother-son relationship fascinating. Palin happily parades Trig around like a prop, while at the same time throwing around tough Alaskan talk about the press invading her family’s privacy (a la Bristol and Levi). Yet, her supporters applaud this use of her disabled child. Trig was pretty much fresh from the womb when Palin began her campaign for VP - I don’t remember hearing any remarks from conservatives about the fact that she wasn’t at home being a “good little mother/wife/woman” and breastfeeding all day. Because, after all, that’s what women who love the babies do. Why, only selfish, liberal elite women keep their careers while they nurse! Nope, jet-setting around the country for her political career with newborn in tow was A-OK.
The fact that Trig is special-needs is also a great defense for any unfavorable comments that come Palin’s way. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List (an org that supports anti-abortion candidates), explains the “real” reason the pro-choice community ain’t too cool with the former governor:
“She had the audacity in the eyes of the abortion rights world to actually have this child and then has the audacity to bring him along with her and feature him as a centrally valued person in their family.”
Christian conservatives Gary Bauer and Dan Allot add to this nonsense on politico.com:
“Mother and son have become objects of the left’s unrelenting scorn” and of hatred reflecting “a broader societal bias against disability.”
WTF?! So, let me get this straight: not only does the pro-choice community hate babies, but we also hate people with disabilities??? What a crock of shit. When I read these quotes, I can’t get over how ridiculous they are – more so, how ridiculous the people are who actually believe them.
Now, for the truth: it doesn’t bother us whatsoever that Sarah Palin decided to carry her special-needs child to term. More power to her. She had a choice and she chose motherhood. She was fortunate enough to HAVE a god damn choice. That’s what the pro-choice movement is about. Not about killing babies, not about ridding the world of the disabled. What we DO NOT appreciate are those who poo-poo others for making different choices. Bearing children is extremely personal and people’s situations affect it greatly. I mean, really – Sarah Palin will never meet me. I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume she doesn’t lie awake at night thinking about me, my interests, what I do for fun, what I want for my future, what kind of underwear I buy, how often I change my tampon, etc. Why the hell should she and her cronies care about the choices I make for my own body? It all comes down to the old bumper sticker that will always ring true: “Don’t Like Abortion? Don’t Have One.”
