I have a Downy niece. This infuriates me. 🤬
It infuriates me because I remember being bullied in schools...............
Downs kids are sweet, friendly, and so innocent.
The so-called normal kids are the ones who are sick in the head.
The first time I had contact with a DS kid was 2017, when I was undergoing testing to be placed on the list for a transplant. I was at the hospital in a waiting room, waiting for my turn. In comes this DS young man who sat down opposite me, at another row of chairs.
Usually, people don’t talk to each other in these types of situations, at least I don’t. I tried avoiding eye contact with him, hoping he would do the same.
I looked up from the magazine I was looking at, and he was looking directly at me with a big smile on his face. I smiled back, looking down again at the magazine. Just then, he got up and walked towards me, extending his hand and said “Hi, my name is Dave!”
I stood up, shook his hand and said “Hi Dave, my name is-“
Just then, the technician came in and called my name, and in I went for my test.
When I came back out, he was gone. I never saw him again.
He didn’t have any qualms about being friendly with a total stranger, and I was struck by his innocence and desire to interact with me.
What really gets me is, the look on his face was sunshine, pure sunshine.
Total innocence. I truly believe that what DS people lack in dealing with the world may make them vulnerable, but what they have in abundance is something we’ve lost in living in our world.
God Bless him, I’ll never see him again. He left a big mark on me.