Sarah Palin Should Stop Exploiting Trig
Robert Paul Reyes
February 21, 2010
"An actress with Down Syndrome who did the voiceover for a cartoon character that spurred Sarah Palin's latest accusation of unfairness toward herself and her family has chided the former Governor of Alaska for her humorless response.
Andrea Fay Friedman, 39, a veteran actress with Down Syndrome, voiced a similarly-afflicted character in a Family Guy episode who announced her mother was "the former governor of Alaska," to which Palin reacted indignantly.
Friedman says that the line was 'very funny,' that 'I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor,' and that her own mother 'did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.'"
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/02/family_guy_down.php
The Family Guy episode that got Sarah Palin's designer panties in a twist features the character Chris interested in a young woman with Down syndrome. On a date, he ask her what her parents do for a living. She replies: My dad's an accountant, and my mom is the former governor of Alaska.
That was a funny line that didn't include the word "retard" that makes Sarah Palin's blood boil. There was no reason for Palin to wax indignant, but the former Governor of Alaska never misses a chance to score political points by exploiting Trig's Down syndrome.
I have often observed how Palin uses Trig as a political prop, carrying the innocent child with her to political functions. Palin uses Trig the same way some politicians use a Bible as a prop - remember the photo ops of Clinton walking into a church with a Bible?
I love Friedman's line in which she states: My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.
Palin doesn't treat Trig like a sentient being, but as a prop that will win her sympathy and votes. Sarah Palin is a retard if she thinks intelligent people won't notice how she is exploiting her son.
As a society we've come a long way in recognizing that people with Down syndrome should be treated with respect. We've made this progress in spite of insensitive clods like Palin who treat children with special needs as inanimate objects.
Follow Robert Paul Reyes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertpaulreyes
Andrea Fay Friedman, 39, a veteran actress with Down Syndrome, voiced a similarly-afflicted character in a Family Guy episode who announced her mother was "the former governor of Alaska," to which Palin reacted indignantly.
Friedman says that the line was 'very funny,' that 'I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor,' and that her own mother 'did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.'"
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/02/family_guy_down.php
The Family Guy episode that got Sarah Palin's designer panties in a twist features the character Chris interested in a young woman with Down syndrome. On a date, he ask her what her parents do for a living. She replies: My dad's an accountant, and my mom is the former governor of Alaska.
That was a funny line that didn't include the word "retard" that makes Sarah Palin's blood boil. There was no reason for Palin to wax indignant, but the former Governor of Alaska never misses a chance to score political points by exploiting Trig's Down syndrome.
I have often observed how Palin uses Trig as a political prop, carrying the innocent child with her to political functions. Palin uses Trig the same way some politicians use a Bible as a prop - remember the photo ops of Clinton walking into a church with a Bible?
I love Friedman's line in which she states: My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.
Palin doesn't treat Trig like a sentient being, but as a prop that will win her sympathy and votes. Sarah Palin is a retard if she thinks intelligent people won't notice how she is exploiting her son.
As a society we've come a long way in recognizing that people with Down syndrome should be treated with respect. We've made this progress in spite of insensitive clods like Palin who treat children with special needs as inanimate objects.
Follow Robert Paul Reyes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertpaulreyes
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