Trig's place

Let's consider this article by Robert Paul Reyes:

Sarah Palin, John McCain`s vice-presidential
running, takes her five-month-old baby with Down syndrome wherever she goes on
the campaign trail. He`s a valuable prop when appealing to the "family values"
crowd or when pandering to parents of children with special needs. When Trig is
on a stage with his mother he is oblivious to the cynicism and pandering
festering around him. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Trig will always be
unaware of how low some individuals will stoop to realize career ambitions. JUNE
KRONHOLZ of the Wall Street Journal posed this question:
"Little Trig Palin
prompted more than delegate coos when he joined his mother on stage at the
Republican convention. He also raised new questions among parents whose children
have disabilities.
Was Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin simply including her
5-month-old son, who has Down syndrome, in a big family moment, or was she
exploiting him in a tight presidential campaign?"
Trig`s deep aspiration is
not to help the McCain/Palin ticket solidify the GOP base, he cares only about
getting nourishment and attention from his Mom. Trig`s place is not before a
crowd of hundreds or thousands on the campaign trail, he should be at home is
his crib. If his mother has no time to take care of him, she should leave him in
the capable hands of a nanny.
I`m sick of the spectacle of candidates, both Republican and
Democrats, campaigning with their children in tow. Leave the damn kids at home;
I`m not going to vote for a candidate because he or she has cute kids who have
been trained to smile on cue.
Obama is also
guilty of exploiting his children for political gain. His adorable daughters
didn`t belong on the stage at the Democratic convention, they should have been
watching the festivities from the audience.
If candidates use their children
to curry favor with the
electorate, they shouldn't complain if their kids become fodder for the
tabloids.
In her acceptance speech at the convention Palin promised parents
of children with special needs that they she would advocate for their cause. But
you don`t have to use your own Down syndrome baby as a prop to effectively
campaign on their behalf.
Ted Kennedy is perhaps the best friend of the
disabled community, but he doesn't feel a need to exploit his disabled family
members to argue on their behalf.
Sarah Palin: For God`s sake woman, leave
Trig at home!

This is just an example of many articles that sound this alarm. Let's take a closer look at this one.

Firstly, right from the start the writer dehumanizes Trig, giving him the attribute of "prop". I think we can agree why he wants to do that. He accuses Palin of "pandering to parents of kids with special needs", cow towing to us folks who can understand or identify with Sarah Palin. I wanted to note that Webster's Dictionary also lists pander as a noun to mean "a go-between in love intrigues." How apropos, little Trig, in a mission to bring love forth to the unknowing. What a noble and worthy a mission.

The writer bemoans the use of all children in campaigns, but I bet he didn't feel the impetus to publicly complain about it until Trig took his place on the stage.

The Palin's are accused of "using" their child in a tight presidential race. That accusation requires you to find a reason to not have him there. Any other baby would be welcome and cooed about and then, like the rest of the kid stage-parades, forgotten . We can't forget about Trig though, can we? So what is the only reason you can possibly think of to disqualify him from participating in this type of family oriented event? I can only think of one. It's not fair for the opposing campaign to have to compete against Trig is it? He is a powerful statement for only the reason that he isn't a typical baby.

No, Trig's "deep aspiration is not to help the McCain/Palin" ticket, it's to expect an equal and valued part of a loving family and that is something the writer is not willing to extend to Trig.

Mr. Reyes also rails against Mrs. Palin's promise of advocacy for children with special needs while simultaneously holding up her son. Again, insisting that Trig be kept at arms length from Palin both figuratively and literally.

The irony of the last paragraph was most telling of Mr. Reyes naivete. He uses the example of Ted Kennedy (God bless him) as being the ultimate friend to the disabled. Had Mr. Reyes known his history he would have discovered that when the Kennedy family viewed their daughter Rosemary as a political liability due to her mental retardation, they had her lobotomized.

See the difference here? Trig is welcomed on the public stage with his family because they see him as a rightful member of the family. That view is obviously not unanimous and in many circles a baby like Trig is not worthy to be allowed this spotlight.

I say it is time to turn the spotlight around and start looking into why people don't want to see Trig.