Free Republic: The place to be if you lack empathy!

[alp227]

A hot topic in yesterday's news was the US Dept of Ed's directive to public schools to provide opportunities for disabled students to play on sports teams. Of course in that Other Message Board are the typical clueless knee jerk reactions, as if Sacrastaball jumped from a South Park episode to reality. Take post #3:

I heard one of the parents of these special children say it will make the kids feel included.

Well, there are millions of kids who don't make the team....millions....so should we have another team for them??

Post #15, the mother of a disabled child, decides she's had ENOUGH of the Politically Incorrect FR crowd and pipes up in response to #3:

It’s a tough issue. I have one daughter that has a brain injury. She is very smart, but she is uncoordinated and has speech problems.

She is not good enough to be in any after school activity.

It’s very frustrating!!!

Then my other daughter was just diagnosed with a focal dystonia, a movement disorder, and she is now considered disabled. It causes cramping and uncontrollable movements in her left hand (she’s a lefty) when she writes, plays the flute (she was a very, very, very good musician),, types, or other repetitive hand movements.

It just started a year ago. She was supposed to march in the Rose Bowl Parade with her band, but she couldn’t play her flute. It seems like they could have figured out something for her to do.

My daughter with dystonia is switching to theater and singing, so she at least is finding something to do.

My other daughter has no after school activities, and she is lonely.

I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s hard having a kid that doesn’t have many friends.

Post #18: "Look for alternatives. It is part of the pain, but the reward is so much deeper than what the typical kids’ accomplishments bring."

Mom comes back in Post #25 but of course putting a little RW spin:

I’m not for government involvement, but I am for speaking up for kids.

I actually think getting the government involved might hurt the kids in the long run. People without disabilities resent being forced into helping.

My daughters go to a private Christian achool, and you would think they would be more helpful.

Then the bullying begins in post #32:

The overriding question to me is, is it the community's responsibility to accommodate the deficiencies of every member and to fulfill their every wish?

Post #36 gets worse:

There are many kids who aren't in after school activities and who aren't disabled. There are many kids who are lonely and who aren't disabled.

The mom comes back at #39 in response to #36. Uh oh, did I just catch an undercover DUer?

I don’t know if it is responsibility, but I think that people have become selfish and not caring.

Why not have some activities that take everyone and are not competitive? She would love to do theater, singing, softball, basketball but she sucks at it. She just wants to participate and have fun, but once you get into high school the groups are all competitive.

It’s just difficult. No real answers.

More craziness ensues, like in #41:

Government schooling is the very definition of a socialist-funded, compulsory-use, single payer, and godless entitlement.

#42:

When has a socialist, compulsory, godless, and single payer entitlement ever been compassionate?

[Hoyt]

1. My blood pressure goes high enough here. Freeperville is much worse/callous.

[Initech]

2. Hey I've often defined conservatism as a complete lack of empathy.

[jmowreader]

3. There are tons of "non-socialist, non-compulsory, non-godless, non-single-payer non-entitlements"...

that are also non-compassionate.

Anything with a lot of Republicans in it is on that list.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. I think these people are missing the overall point...

Yes, non-disabled kids are cut or fail to make sports teams all the time. It sucks for them personally I'm sure. But at the end of the day, they're not disabled. At the end of the day, even if they're not good enough to make the basketball team, they still don't have to face half the struggle so many of these disabled kids face - whether it's a physical or mental handicap.

[DogPawsBiscuitsNGrav]

5. If all she's asking for is a couple of non competitive after school programs that

everyone can participate in, that shouldn't be to much to ask. It doesn't have to be something expensive.

[B Calm]

6. BINGO!

Republicans aren't happy unless their crying about something, that's why all the negative replies. . .