A Sad Reality

The story of Alex Barton is making its way around the media. Part of me was exited at first because it wasn’t swept under the rug and is getting some decent attention. The first few days after the story broke, many concerned people who follow these kinds of things left comments firmly in opposition to this horrifying and unfortunate event. Then, as a broader audience who are unfamiliar to life with disability saw the story, a darker tone began to permeate the comments section.

Here's a clip from a CBS news segment about the story

From the comments section:

“I love it! It seems so right to me I can’t help but laugh.As for the kid, well, I’ve dealt with disruptive retards, which is what Special Needs really means, and other mentally disturbed people. It’s wrong to put retards in class with normals. It’s wrong to inflict screwed up people on normals, especially since the crappy education those kids get will be their only shot at success in life.All over America parents of retards have forced legal battles so they can include their dumbass kids on the rest of the school system. They like the free daycare they get out of it and it somehow makes them feel better that little Jonny is as normal as everyone else. This bit of selfish self-delusion might make them feel better, and save money, but it screws everyone else over. If that lady is burdened with a retard, then she should get him in a special school where they can try to educate him.”

Here’s another one

“This kid will never do anything positive for society. Only weigh others down for the rest of his life. This country needs to stop making others treat these people like they’re “special” when they are only needy.”

Or this little gem

“I wouldn’t want this kid in class with my little one either. He belongs in a special need class where he can sit around and burp while the healthy kids can be educated so they can grow up and pay taxes to support the unemployable…”

And finally, some good old-fashioned hate

“Why do we have to pretend that a little retard like this belongs with normal kids? Imagine trying to keep that little brat under control for 6 hours a day while you teach 16 other kids.It only slows down the kids who are going to graduate one day and actually hold a job. This nation will be ruined by the asinine quest for equality. Put him back in his cage already or pitch him in the river - tell the mom to try again and have a normal kid. I’d volunteer to plow her.”


There are many comments that share this hostile tone peppered throughout the discussion. Disturbing? You bet. Now, there are some also many comments left that are vain attempts to sway this sort of thinking and I’m sure some amount of the blatant bigotry is attributable to trolling, but it’s still scary to think this evil exists all around us.

Then there are comments that oppose what happened but also feel a need to have separation of typical children from special needs in the classroom. I am more concerned about this group of thought than the extremes because after giving this event some thought, they arrived at the conclusion that their children were better off not being around kids like mine. What’s missing from many of these comments is acknowledgement that Alex’s classmates have undoubtedly learned a lesson in exclusion that is in no way benign. And so has Alex. No, the focus seems to be on their “perfectly normal” children receiving the best education without the inconvenience of interaction with peers who are neurologically different. Well, let me say this – If your children do receive this great education free of the hassles of inclusion, and these children excel in math, science, and the arts, then go to a prestigious university, get the perfect job, 2.5 kids, picket fence, all while believing that it’s okay to treat other human beings as second class citizens, that it’s okay to simply vote out those they don’t feel deserve to be in their presence, then all that success will be meaningless. The eyes of humanity will see these Class-A A-Holes as colossal failures. And rightfully so!