You sat across from me as we discussed your disabled son’s employment prospects. Because your son will soon be considered an adult, funding options for his employment training were an issue that we needed to sort out. In the course of our discussion, you repeatedly made reference to the “paltry” thousands of dollars the government—we taxpayers—has given you every month for the last 20 years in the form of Social Security benefits and the like. You rolled your eyes as a sarcastic cue to the rest of us in attendance to sympathize with you, as you blurted something about Washington being “so cheap.” Dear Mrs. Fuckface: Fuck you. The havoc your egg and Mr. Fuckface’s sperm has visited upon you does not entitle you to more of my money and resources, does not entitle you to feel victimized because the tens of thousands of dollars you have already received are less than the thousands more you think you deserve for nothing more than piously squeezing out an autistic child two decades ago. By fucking, you and Mr. Fuckface took a gamble. By carrying your disabled child to term, you lost your gamble. Now you would have me and the state and our world believe that you are entitled to even more of our money and resources, and that we should feel sorry for you because the legislature won’t allocate ever more funds for your disabled child. And don’t get me started on all the homes, boats, and vacations you can’t stop talking about every time we meet, as your sweet but emotionally arrested son recites Dora the Explorer verbatim in the corner while his laptop babysits him. Your son is a good person with a disability who has great challenges ahead of him. You two, Mr. and Mrs. Fuckface, are totally fucking retarded.
—Anonymous
Ummm
there is no way to diagnose autism in the woumb.
Downs, sure, but still no way to tell how severely any given child will be affected.
These parents sound like entitled asses, but abortion is not really gonna address that issue, now is it.
FYI- you’re Libertarian douchebaggery is showing.
(and it was a nice touch feigning sympathy for a special needs child in the last sentence when three sentences earlier you were calling for him to be aborted. Classy!)
*second-to-last sentence. dammit.
Need any more proof that retardlicans are evil?
I’m glad my kids don’t seem to be autistic. So glad that I can’t even muster the spite to hate on this fool or those other fools the main fool is hating on, or even to correct people’s misspelled possessive pronouns.
This is disgusting and I hope this person reaps the karmic rewards of their horrific, eugenic views. I’m sorry that you believe that a HUMAN BEING does not deserve a full and fulfilling life. As both the sibling of a person with autism and a special education teacher I can only say that our world is a much worse place for you being in it and I hope you die.
Ayn Rand is back from the dead, writing in to the stranger, and is advocating to build a time machine to go back and abort in utero Jesus because pacifism and curing the sick were probably disabilities and Mary and Joseph were fuckfaces for begging for a room at the inn. or something.
Ron Paul!
YES! And the parents should be sterilized afterwards. Mandatory genetic screening for all!
@6 I’m hoping you see the irony of your post.
I think you might have the wrong job.
I didn’t read this as the IA saying that they should have aborted their son because he has a mental disability. Rather, she was saying that the woman and her husband had chosen to conceive, carry, and give birth to a child and that it was their responsibility to care for him rather than putting all responsibility on the gov’t. It’s always a gamble to have a child since there are so many problems that can occur, and a parent should accept this and work with it instead of depending on others as these people obviously are. She should feel lucky that the gov’t is giving her ANYTHING.
@6: Yes, because if it’s in the womb, it deserves a life, but if it’s out of the womb, it’s okay to wish death on it. *eyeroll*
Bitch, your involvement is half an hour with an annoying woman. Her involvement is two decades and counting.
SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP.
@6: You should go back and reread what anon actually said before jumping your guns and threatening lives.
@11: That’s how this I,Anon reads to me.
What @11 said.
one million dollars
Too many people fail to prepare for the regular expenses of raising a healthy child, much less one with special needs. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. IA also seems to indicate the parents have spent frivilously.
The obvious point the author was making is that don’t bitch and whine about not getting MORE than what you’re already getting from the taxpayers, and then talk about all your vacations and cars, and boats, etc.
Fucking retards!
People are cute and by cute of course I mean absolutely predictable and annoying. The author of this post has raised the exact response that was intended. To offend and educate all that the same time. As an artist we are more then willing to take the steps needed to expose a truth. Especially in a society that uses truths to help hide the REAL truth that would make us see them for who they really are.
The author is both correct and offensive FACT.
Sure these people probably will need to work a little harder in life to play the hand they have been dealt. However it isn’t our responsibility to sacrifice our place at the table in order to see this happen. Life in a sense is like chess and we are all out to protect our own side. Black or white…and not to be viewed as race but just at opposites. It is always Us VS. The WORLD. We can’t make their child better any more then they can. We can however choose to help them or pass them by. This is the beauty of it! Everyday people are asking for spare change and handouts. These people are no different. Let them seek what they feel is owed to them. The truth is we shouldn’t have to deal with them. Just like they shouldn’t have to deal with the burden of autism that was bestowed upon their child.
@17,
I don’t know if they necessarily spent frivolously, just that they are clearly very wealthy in addition to the disability payments they receive. But rich people, in my experience, can never stop bitching about how cash strapped they are.
The saddest thing about the parents’ attitude in my mind is the fact that SSI isn’t enough to care for a disabled adult. It is (or should be) enough to support a family with one or two working adults, especially combined with Medicaid and local/state assistance. If the parents don’t plan ahead and make sure their son is cared for after they’re gone (and if they’re really that entitled, they probably won’t), their son will have a miserable life starting at middle age.
@11–that’s a really horrible thing to say. Oh, we all take a gamble raising children so too darn bad if yours has a disease or disability that severely limits its quality of life? Do you hear yourself? I can’t imagine such a cavalier indifference to the challenges of caring for a disabled child, and it’s awfully easy to say, “Well, too bad for you!” when I very seriously doubt you’ve actually had to see how difficult and expensive it is to take care of a disabled child.
And Anonymous–you’re a hateful, penny-pinching Scrooge. Accept that taking care of a special needs child is harder than you can probably imagine, and we don’t need to resent people enjoying their lives *and* deserving extra help for something that will be a challenge for them their whole lives. Their lives shouldn’t have to be bleak, Dickensian, and miserable in order to deserve our support.
Half you people are cluless with these comments that suggest that these parents are just lazy and entitled. You must not realize that NO ONE GETS GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE JUST BECAUSE THEY WANT IT. You must first prove that you are INDIGENT.(unemployed or severely under-employed and lacking significant savings.AND NO-It’s usually not because of laziness but legitamately out of their control circumstances that put them in that position. No one wishes to be in such a dire position and TO QUALIFY FOR DISABILITY BENEFITS ONE MUST PROVE TO THE STATE THAT JUST SUCH A DIRE POSITION IS TRULY THE CASE. I’m on disability following a debilitating stroke and I’m not happy about collecting tax-payers’ money but I rely on it to survive. AND I MUST GO BACK EVERY SIX MONTHS AND PROVE THAT I STILL NEED THE ASSISTANCE!seriously people, you act like indigent people actually LIKE their station in life. COME ON! I’m sure that if all of the people on government assistance had a reasonable option that would allow them to support themself they would be happy to decline any further assistance and rather pull their own weight. I know I would!
@23 Do you tend to forget how most people want to be paid for doing nothing?
@22 – Wow, you assume an awful lot. I am actually disabled as is my mother. However, my family and I don’t go around whining “Oh, the gov’t isn’t doing enough for us!” We work hard to have what we have, with or without help from the gov’t. Next time you make a comment berating someone, kindly make sure you know what the fuck you are talking about.
I would also like to add that one of the complaints that the IA makes is that the woman whines about the gov’t not giving her enough money, yet, she spends money on multiple homes and vacations. Perhaps if she would stop spending so much money on things she doesn’t need and spent it on her disabled son, there would be no problem.
Amazing how many of you TOTALLY MISS THE POINT of what this Anon is writing. Calm the fuck down.
All Anon is saying ( something that can’t be said face to face, aka the point of this column) is that when someone is receiving free money, try and be a little more grateful and a lot less entitled.
Pretty simple. Especially you @1-8, 10, 12 holy shit what are u talking about?
You people DO realize that north american society is in danger of crumbling because we DONT HAVE ENOUGH BABIES? RIGHT?
Society has to take care of it’s children. Or they end up stabbing you and taking your wallet.
Complain about her whining about money when she has enough for boats and vacations, but parents of disabled children who AREN’T wealthy have a terrible struggle. I could hardly stand 4 hours of babysitting two severely autistic children, I can’t imagine being there 24/7. But for the grace of god/luck, guys.
this person is an idiot.. the one writing.. and the parent..
i’m a parent of an autie myself – he gets disability (ssi) based on MY income.. so, if i make too much.. guess what.. even if i’ve spent the last 20 years paying into this system, he doesn’t get anything.. not even medical..
the governments programs are screwed all the way around and you want to take your quizzling little whining off on someone who maybe is just trying to vent after spending so many years raising a child like this..
if taxes were FAIR, we wouldn’t have as many issues as this
this person is an idiot.. the one writing.. and the parent..
i’m a parent of an autie myself – he gets disability (ssi) based on MY income.. so, if i make too much.. guess what.. even if i’ve spent the last 20 years paying into this system, he doesn’t get anything.. not even medical..
the governments programs are screwed all the way around and you want to take your quizzling little whining off on someone who maybe is just trying to vent after spending so many years raising a child like this..
if taxes were FAIR, we wouldn’t have as many issues as this
I agree with @11 and also agree with anonymous.
Life sucks and isn’t fair. Don’t blame me and make me pay for they way your life turned out. I’ve had my share of troubles too.
agree with IA. i want my money hard-earned tax dollars to be spent killing swarthy complected people in far-off lands. no more hand-outs for the most vulnerable among us! yer on yer own now. yay GOP! yay Glenn Beck! people are finally starting to get it – compassion and generosity are for the weak. it’s really the only way to survive in a complex and difficult world – every person for themselves, and f**k the dumb.
@28: It really isn’t my problem the previous generations took a stupid gamble and decided the best course of action would be the one that their children and grandchildren would be paying for. So no, I’m not going to pop out brats because they decided on a poor business model, and I sure as hell am not going to cut lazy, entitled, piece-of-crap “parents” any slack for blowing their money on vacations and stuff instead of the well-being of their children, disabled or not.
NOT MY FUCKING PROBLEM.
I agree with IA. The writer of this letter is stating that the couple who has the child is taking tax payer’s money for granted and spending it on materialistic goods for themselves. This is while the child is shoved in front of the t.v.. Then has the audacity to ask for more money. IA was also stating that these parents had the choice to carry out the birth. As it is there duty to take care of a child not use it as monetary gain for the Federal Government. Its not our duty a country to pay for every disability that a child has. This is partially the reason why we as government is running out of money.
Hey lets keep sending these parents money so we can pay for there vacations.
Best IA in awhile.
The times get harder – the resources rarer – the language tougher – the fear to become poor gets bigger
Best IA ever.
People are totally missing IAs point. Well, not everyone. @11 seemed to cover it pretty well. My boyfriend is the father of a toddler with Spina Bifida, who will probably never walk, has an ostomy bag, and enough other health issues to make your head spin.
Yes, he gets SSI for his child, but it typically comes to the tune of less than $200 a month. Even when he and his ex-wife were making less that $15,000 a year. So the thought of someone who has enough money to afford boats and fancy vacations complaining about the thousands of dollars they get each month not being enough? I find that offensive.
No one is saying that they should have aborted the child, they’re saying that you shouldn’t complain about what you’re being given when you’re obviously well off.
Also, IA writes, “as your sweet but emotionally arrested son recites Dora the Explorer verbatim in the corner while his laptop babysits him.” This leads me to believe that they aren’t really caring for their child, just enjoying the benefit of the extra money and complaining that its not enough.
To be fair, benefits given to the parents of learning disabled kids ARE horrifically low in some cases. I’ve seen the mother of a child I work with close to tears because her daughter was throwing ANOTHER autistic tantrum and she hadn’t had a break in weeks. It must be incredibly hard.
Other than that, I totally agree.
A lot of this resentment has been earned by the parents of “special needs” children. The Social Security aspect of this is peanuts. The real societal drain is coming in the educational system. Parents of these children have lobbied successfully for mainstreaming and demanded special accommodations for their children. The cost of mainstreaming has been huge, at the expense of the rest of the children, even more so as educational dollars have declined. The impacts on the classrooms have been significant when a more focused, clustered approach to educating children who have no real prospects for achieving the “norm” would benefit all. Especially the special needs students, who could be better prepared for their reality when school ends, rather than graduates of some social gerrymandering.
I agree with the I anon. Whether or not your child has a isability, all parents need to start, at birth, saving for post-secondary education. It is NOT the state’s job to fund anything past high school (and when I say state, I mean the institution of government, not Washington specifically). Perhaps subsidy for special learning tools….but regular university/college costs? No way!
And to know that the parents squandered their money (assuming they didn’t use junior’s state funds) on extravagances instead of saving to fund a possible education…my word! It wouldn’t surprise me if she snorted cocaine while she was preggers too…same parental irresponsibility really.
Half you people are cluless with these comments that suggest that these parents are just lazy and entitled. You must not realize that NO ONE GETS GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE JUST BECAUSE THEY WANT IT. You must first prove that you are INDIGENT.(unemployed or severely under-employed and lacking significant savings.AND NO-It’s usually not because of laziness but legitamately out of their control circumstances that put them in that position. No one wishes to be in such a dire position and TO QUALIFY FOR DISABILITY BENEFITS ONE MUST PROVE TO THE STATE THAT JUST SUCH A DIRE POSITION IS TRULY THE CASE. I’m on disability following a debilitating stroke and I’m not happy about collecting tax-payers’ money but I rely on it to survive. AND I MUST GO BACK EVERY SIX MONTHS AND PROVE THAT I STILL NEED THE ASSISTANCE!seriously people, you act like indigent people actually LIKE their station in life. COME ON! I’m sure that if all of the people on government assistance had a reasonable option that would allow them to support themself they would be happy to decline any further assistance and rather pull their own weight. I know I would!
Oh look, the Rawn Paaal sockpuppets are out.
Half of you people are clueless with this attitude that people collecting government assistance are just lazy and entitled freeloaders happily sponging off the taxpayers by choice. You seem to think that anyone can go sign up for government assistance if they want it. That is so not the case. One cannot get government assistance without being indigent- Poor, unemployed or severely underemployed and barely able to survive. (earning $11,000 or less anuallyfor a family of 4) One must first prove that he or she has tried to find work without success also they check bank accounts the applicant must prove that they haven’t any money. No one wishes to be in such dire straights. The states don’t give money to people who just don’t feel like working. It’s a hard life that qualifies one for assistance. Not something anyone would wish for. I should know. I’m on disability following a debilitating stroke that left me unable to work to support my family. the state sent me to 3 doctors to verify that. and I must go back every 6 months to prove that I still need assistance to survive. It’s not an easy life on government assistance either. They decide how much my kids an I need to scrape by and give me the bare minimum. I don’t live like a wisconsin teacher I love like a dirt poor pauper in thrift store clothing and barely able to pay the bills. The state won’t award money to people who can keep a roof over their heads without help. I’m sure that if most recipients of government assistance were able to find adequate work to support themselves without assistance they happily would forego the check and work to pull their own weight. I know I would. Go easy on poor people who have a rough lot in life and be grateful for what you have without putting down human beings who need help to feed and clothe their children. Nobody asks for such rotten misfortune.
@41/43 Yes, many people would prefer to pull their own weight. But I have known people personally who have chosen to live off government support and keep themselves in bad positions as opposed to trying to better themselves. Anyone who needs the help deserves it, but I’ve seen too many examples of people who were on SSI and foodstamps only to pull out a wad of $100s to pay for things. You may be a good person, but not everyone is.
I’m not a parent (yet), but from friends with autistic children – parenting is always difficult, but autistic children are graduate-level difficult. Even with a lot of resources. I can’t imagine it with a SSI cheque alone.
IA should consider another line of work. Although I suppose that IA knows it, too. That said:
1) IA works for the SSA. He or she is not Mrs FF’s friend or her therapist.
2) The SSI should be spent, as much as possible, on her child. Within reason. But that’s not what IA sees.
3) Why is IA even holding this meeting? I’d think – perhaps I’ll think differently in the future – that planning for a disabled child’s adulthood is something that should start roughly 5 minutes after birth. Not when they’re about to turn 18.
What a mess.
@45 That sounds like proof that so-and-so is poor, or at least was poor, not proof that they’re rich. A roll of bills – as impressive as it sounds – is gone when it’s gone. There’s no carrying a balance forward or spending money you don’t have or writing checks that might not clear.
@43 Yes–we get it: you’ve been dealt a lousy hand in life and it isn’t easy for you. We also get your point that one has to prove their need to the point of indigence in order to receive public funds. Part of the message IA is trying (obviously unsuccessfully) to communicate is that the parents in question obviously live a fairly upscale lifestyle including expensive vacations, boats, and second homes. A lifestyle far from the requisite poverty which you describe. This should upset you as much as it upsets those whom you attack: these wealthy free-spending parents are taking funds which are earmarked for those in extreme need, such as yourself. Other readers are agreeing with IA because they don’t enjoy paying taxes only to see their hard-earned income redistributed to people who already live a luxurious lifestyle which is out of reach for most people. Is that sufficient simplification for you?
I say we speculate on which of the Republican candidates for president sent this in…
I totally agree. Nice to see someone break past the PC bullshit and say it like it is. Why do fuck head parents like that have such a sense of entitlement? Secondly, I don’t like retarded people. Sorry, I know that sounds cold. When I’m forced to interact with them I’m kind and patient but brief as possible. If I had a retarded baby I would give it to the fucking state. So there it is.
I have a problem not with the IA, but with the attitude that other people’s woes are not your problem, and that you shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s misfortunes with your taxes.
Why should a child pay for the financial mistakes of their parents? They should starve and recieve no medical attention because their parents don’t make enough (this case obviously excluded)?
Fuck all of you. I hope you have to go on disability or welfare or receive assistance for a time and see how fucking awful it is.
As usual I would not wipe my ass with this column. What is not usual is the fact that I would like to stomp on the head of the motherfucker who wrote this trash then it could go on assistance and I could call it’s parents Mr. and Mrs. Fuckface. What a heartless piece of shit you must be and what a miserable life you must have to be able to think like you do. You actually have my sympathy but I would still enjoy a few quick stomps, motherfucker.