A letter to “One Pissed Off Mother”

I saw this today while reading my newsfeed.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/karla-begley-autistic-letter-teen_n_3780378.html

An Ontario mother got an anonymous letter that said (among other things) that her autistic son was disgusting, retarded, a nuisance, and she should euthanize him.

Let me repeat that.  A ‘mother’ told another mother that she should euthanize her son.

The picture was tweeted, and has been retweeted thousands of times since Monday.  This has made Canadian news, and I hope it makes the news here in the U.S. and across the world.

I have a message for this ‘mother’.  Are you ready for this?

Dear Ms./Mrs. One Pissed Off Mother,

You do not deserve to be a Parent.  You shouldn’t be caring for anything – even a houseplant.  ‘Mother’ is not an appropriate term for you.  ‘Inhuman monster’ is better suited for people like you.

A Parent is is an important position of respect.  A parent teaches their children how to thrive.  A parent does more than make sure the child has food, water, and shelter; they teach their children how to become a part of their community.  They teach their children how to exist in society. That means being tolerant of other people.

Have you ever heard the word ‘tolerant’?  It means that you understand that every person deserves respect.  Every person deserved to be treated with fair, decent respect.  That isn’t dependent on gender, color, creed, sexuality, and physical or mental states.  That means that everyone deserves to lead a healthy, happy life.

You are not teaching your children these things.  You are teaching your children how to hate.  That isn’t what a mother does.  That’s what a monster does.  And you know what? That is exactly how the planet now sees you.  As the monster you are.

No child deserves to be treated in the manner which you proposed.  You say he is loud.  He makes noise.  Well, if you were a Mother you would know that EVERY CHILD MAKES NOISE.  Maybe we should euthanize your children because they make noise too.

Oh, is that the only reason? Or is it that you are afraid of what you don’t understand?

Why didn’t you just ask?  Are you so afraid that you can’t ask anyone about autism?  A doctor?  A Psychologist?  Or – GASP!- The child’s mother?

If you are raising your children to behave like described in this letter, then I pity them.  I feel so sorry that they are forced to have a ‘mother’ like you.  There’s one other thing that I am sure you’ve noticed by now.

You are now globally known.  You, your significant other, and your children must live your entire lives knowing that you are a terrible person.  I really hope that you can grow and change as an individual.  I hope that you can learn to accept everyone, no matter hoe different they are from you.  I hope that your children can grow up to be good people.  I hope that you can learn to be a better person.

Remember this: nobody deserves to be treated as described in the letter.  Nobody deserves to be hidden from society. Nobody deserves to be killed for being different.

Everyone has worth.  Everyone is beautiful.

Telltale signs of mid summer

In Western New York (and upstate as well) you always know when it is summer.  Every time you get in the car you’re bound to pass a farm stand or two with summer harvest bounty.  Zucchini, Summer Squash, and endless tomatoes fill the my meals every day.  Here and there you can still find some cherries or a few late berries.  Vegetables from a farm stand are different than the store.  They are warm, fresh, and simply holding them gives you a little thrill.  Every dish tastes better with fresh, locally grown food.  But it’s more than that.  You support local growers.  For example, peaches from down the road instead of across the country. (I look at the stickers on the fruit.)  But this food brings us together.  It brings family and friends around the table, campfire, bonfire, and so on.  It helps us make memories that last a lifetime.

My family has been making a conscious effort to shop at local businesses as much as possible.  We feel that it not only helps support our neighbors and community, but it helps rural poverty.  Here, and many other places like it, are so poor that they barely hang on.  The difference is that nobody talks about it.  Rather, they didn’t before recently. The falling economy has gotten people talking more about their hardships. It can be little things, like the price of milk, or bigger things, like the cost of heating oil.  I know many people who heat their homes with electric heaters over the winter because they can’t afford heating oil.  I guess that if I can help support them, I will. 

Besides, I have been on a journey to get healthy over the last year or two.  I have given up soda, junk food, and fast food.  I have been working vegetables into my diet (because I was one of those kids who hated them.) Shopping at the farm stands makes me eat better, which makes me want to cook more.  And then I buy more veggies.  It’s a fantastic circle!  We all could be a little more healthy, right?

I guess I just want everybody to be happy.  Myself included.  It isn’t always easy, but every little bit helps.  Lately that little bit is Zucchini! 🙂 

Thank you for reading.  I hope you have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening!