Really?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/05/travel/airline-down-syndrome/index.html

A family with a teenage son who has Down Syndrome was told they couldn't fly because he was a flight risk.  This strikes a nerve with me because I know how easily the same thing could be said about my brother.  My brother Zach has Down Syndrome.  He absolutely would be agitated in that kind of scenario.  It makes me sad that people with disabilities are judged by their appearance and other people's ignorance, even today when there is so much knowledge out there.  Down Syndrome is one of the most common conditions that babies are born with, yet people are still ignorant and treat them like they are ogres or something.

My brother was more popular than I was in high school.  He was in ROTC, helped with the football and basketball teams, all the popular seniors would give him high-fives in the hallways.  He loves to dance and sing to N*Sync, and is a huge goof.  He is slow to warm up to people, but once he does, you are stuck with him! lol  The little stink has always been a ladies' man, too.  He would go into the gas station when we were little and flirt with the female cashiers, and he'd walk out with a bag of candy.  Or would pinch the butt of my aunt's friend at her high school graduation, and got away with it because he was so cute.  He is just full of life.

Growing up, we had our share of dealing with people not understanding what was wrong with him, or staring.  My mom was always very direct with people staring at my brother, and fought so much for him to get the schooling he needed.  Neighbors would call the cops on him if he wandered over to their garage sale, not caring that was used to the neighbors before welcoming him over.  I didn't get to hang out with my friend because her sister said something stupid about my brother.  Teachers actually tried to get him kicked out of their classrooms because they didn't like that he has his own will and shuts down if people tried to pull or push on him.

I have always felt so strongly against the use of the "R" word because of my brother.  Most people just mean "you are being stupid", and probably truly don't understand how hurtful is to the people or families of those people who are disabled.  There was a boy in my high school graduating class who decided to say this in class one day, and I told him why don't I just start saying "You are being so Dirk" the next time I wanted to tell someone they were being stupid.  Sure, I was the new girl in a small town, calling one of the popular kids stupid, but I didn't care, and my teacher had my back. :)  I just feel like there are so many other words that I'm sure are far more creative and fun to use when trying to insult someone, why use one that is a medical condition that one has no control over??

Anyway, I don't know if the whole story is being portrayed in this news story, but it does seem odd that he was calm while they were being told they couldn't board.  If he was agitated and running around, he obviously had calmed down, so why not let him board at that point?  It does make it seem like they thought he might not be super quiet in 1st class and disturb the other 1st Classers  I really hope American Airlines comes around and issues an apology to this family, or witness come forward to offer a neutral version of what happened.  I just think its kind of ridiculous.  How many kids are running around, being loud because they are bored or had too much sugar?  They aren't considered flight risks, so why was this boy labeled as such?  Something does seem pretty off about that.