Last week's rousing Democratic National Convention culminated in a historic nomination for presidential candidate Kamala Harris. It was also America's introduction to Gus Walz, the son of Vice President Harris' running mate Tim Walz, who has special needs and who was captured on camera reacting emotionally with pride and love for his dad.
Our present discourse being what it is, naturally interspersed with positive reactions were no small number of nasty and mocking ones. Leave aside that we ought to leave the kids out of this (although we no longer seem to be able to help ourselves anymore), I found this to be particularly mean-spirited.
Naturally, this struck a personal chord for me, given that our family includes special-needs kids. I'm sure others in our situation can relate to the feeling of spending every last fiber of our being trying to do right by our kids and their issues, all the while worrying about how we and they will be perceived in public if they "act out." We hope for friends, social settings, and a country that is respectful, accommodating, even loving. But we are sure that, behind our backs or even out in the open, we may be subject to snickering, sharp words, or worse.
Regardless of how you feel about vice presidential candidate Walz and the person who chose him to run with her, I would hope you could summon a shred of humanity to be gentle with their people in their lives who have special needs. The fact that some people cannot even do this is a dreadful thought for the rest of us whose suspicions are confirmed that we cannot yet fully let down our guard in terms of how those we love will be perceived out in the world.
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