Posted on 07/13/2011 7:52:29 AM PDT by Tazzo
Aurora High junior Julia Sullivan was born without legs or forearms. The district and her family disagree on whether that should have been taken into account at cheerleading tryouts. more... http://www.omaha.com/article/20110713/NEWS01/707139920#cheerleading-case-stirs-up-dispute
(Excerpt) Read more at omaha.com ...
Or, howz' 'bout field goal kicker? . . . nah . . .
Whatever she's doing, she's going to probably get a lot of money from us working stiffs for the damn dumbest reason after the lawsuit is settled out of court.
Reminds me of my uncle who had a wooden leg from the knee up.
This was handled totally wrong..it's a chance to teach young people a life lesson..and was totally botched.
There was a thread here not to long ago, with a video clip, about a high school football team..one of their squad members, I think he had Down’s syndrome..he’d been accepted as part of the team for years...on the last game, with the agreementr, and cheering of the other team, they put him in and “let” him run and score a TD..maybe somebody can find it....tihis could have been the same type of story..
She cannot do the splits. She cannot climb upon the shoulders of another. She cannot part of the pyramid. Put simply, she cannot do what is required of anyone else who wants to be a cheerleader.
Why must the world revolve around her because she has a disability? Instead of finding what she CAN do and doing that "fearlessly", she's demanding that the world bend to her.
If she's so fearless and feels driven to "cheer", she could start a cheer squad independent of the official school sanctioned squad that is specifically designed to accentuate the things she and others on the squad CAN do. That would likely be much more welcomed by the students (and the school) than her forcing everyone else to conform to her desires.
Handicapped people are created as much in the image of God as any other person, but there are simply things they cannot do. It's delusional for them to try to pretend that is not the case, and we do them no favors by condescending to them because it's "cute" or "heartwarming" to do so. And it is selfish for them to demand that everyone else change just so they can fulfill some desire.
No. Those who have Down's are mentally handicapped. He may not have had the ability to understand he was "different", and so, not letting him play just seemed mean.
Assuming this girl is as intelligent and "firey" as you have tried to imply, she has no such excuse. She knows she has limitations and is demanding that everyone just put the standards aside because she wants to do something.
There is no different from women demanding special "tests" so they can become firefighters. They don't care about anyone else. They only care about what THEY want.
We are talking about a teenage girl, here, who has faced, and overcome, incredible handicaps and obstacles from birth. That's remarkable, and to be commended. She's totally unafraid to put herself out there, where many would, and do ridicule, or worse, pity her. It doesn't phase her. For whatever her reason, she relates to cheerleading, and would like to be a part of it..It excites her, motivates her..it's her hot button, whatever..
It would have been so easy for the coach, and the other adults in the school, to embrace this, and encourage the girls on the team to embrace her in a like vein..that's what I meant by a teachable moment...It could, and should, have been handled with grace, and love..instead, it's now a mess..
That would be handicapping the entire squad. What do you suggest when she wants to be on the soccer or volleyball teams?
BTW, I worked with physically handicapped kids and adults, some of whom did remakable things, but they understood they didn't have what it takes to be a cheerleader. Pun intended.
Just waiting for the blind airline pilot.
The deaf audio engineer.
The quadriplegic Formula One racecar driver.
The mute radio announcer.
Jeez, when will this $h!t stop?
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