The Pet Peeve

[ladijules]

HardwareGl... what a great come back!!! Wish I would have thought of that! In that particular case.. it REALLY bugged me.. more than usual that is. The gentleman in question is completely non-verbal and I admit, he looks and acts a bit strange. But he's also an incredibly talented artist, whose paintings have been displayed in several museums and just made the cover of a local art magazine. So often, I just WISH people would stop judging people off appearances! Stereotypes are so dangerous and nasty!

Begalth, LOL... my son is 21 now and STILL makes those unexpected squeals! And yes, sometimes loud enough to shake your eardrums! But his speech isn't very good and that is his only way to communicate things like happiness, excitement, anger and frustration. I've learned to take them in stride, though I too have gotten many looks and comments. I think being the parent of a special needs kid you learn to get a very thick skin. But it doesn't make it less annoying when someone gives you a hard time about it! My son used to have melt downs so often I actually printed off business cards that said "Please excuse the interruption in my brain cells. I'm autistic, and sometimes my brain goes haywire and I can't control my behavior. Regular functioning will resume after these messages" with a web link to Autism Speaks on the back. I'd hand them out to the people that stared at me!

NWoBHM... I wish people here were so tolerant! Many of them are, really, but some of them.. well, bigotry and prejudice is still alive and well in some people! LOL.. and don't get me started about the police with special needs people here. some of them are understanding but sadly, a lot of them aren't!

People think I'm strange (LOL.. which I am!) but my favorite song is actually "Let there be peace on earth.. and let it begin with me". When I get frustrated with the ignorance and discrimination I see, I try to keep those words in mind. I'm doing the best I can and I try and educate people to see the world and people in a different way. With sympathy, compassion and kindness. Hopefully it will catch on!