First things first – if you’re new here, welcome! Since Nathan’s image hit the interwebs on Monday, I’ve noticed a surge in traffic, so I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who shared the photo or decided to come visit after seeing it in their News Feed.
Bringing the Sunshine is a blog about the life of a family with two kids who have special needs. Through words and images posted here, I strive to inform and inspire all types of people and advocate for individuals who are differently-abled. I hope you’ll find something here that meets your needs. Be sure to sign up for updates via email or RSS feed, and to like us on Facebook.
As of my bedtime last night, Nathan’s IDSC for Life photo had been shared over 21,000 times on Facebook. I can’t even begin to guess how many people actually saw it. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it all. But I’m happy, because IDSC for Life has gained thousands of new followers this week!
Friends of mine have reported seeing Nathan in Missouri, California, Canada, Kentucky… Several have told me that he popped up in their feed, posted by friends that have never heard of us, and they had to do a double take because they weren’t expecting to actually KNOW the kid in the photo. Maybe Nathan will get that high value modeling contract now…then I could pay someone to clean my house and I’d be able to blog every day!
It’s been funny to me to see how many of the people commenting on the image think Nathan is a girl! Does he look like a girl to you? Maybe it’s the fact that he appears to be still and quiet, which of course in real life he is not. At all. Ever. Unless he is sleeping. Which he doesn’t do nearly enough.
Many individuals shared Nathan’s captioned image, but it was also posted by “Mothering” magazine on their page. Their audience was not quite as receptive as that of the IDSC for Life’s fans, but it still has received an overall positive reaction. I was bracing myself for the worst, to be honest. But for every “this baby is f–ing ugly y is it in my news feed” there were 100 comments saying “she” was beautiful, cute, sweet, and precious.
I can live with that.
Some of the comments on Mothering’s page have been interesting. One commenter said, “Mosaic Downs are less affected than every cell having the defect. This child looks like a mosaic. Those are the ones that have the faculties to act in the tv programs. Severe Downs have many horrible problems early, can barely speak, and often die young of leukemia.” In my experience, almost no one knows what mosaic Down syndrome is (I had to explain it to my stepmother just this week), so this commenter knows at least a little about Ds, but…then he went on to assert a bunch of “facts” that just aren’t true.
It’s also been interesting to see people jump to conclusions about the IDSC for Life being a bunch of “right wingers”. As soon as you use the phrase “for life” people who are pro-choice get their hackles up (and just for the record, I’m not saying it doesn’t go both ways…) Diane Grover, founder of IDSC for Life, and I had a very productive comment conversation on the Mothering thread with a woman who is pro-choice about the IDSC for Life’s position. The exchange is what inspired yesterday’s post on common ground – that wasn’t the piece I initially set out to write. Take a few minutes to read it if you haven’t seen it already.
Have a great weekend!
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Nathan is in Texas too–his picture was posted this morning in our DSACT group!
Nathan is also in KS. I just saw him yesterday on FB in a NFP and me post. What a beautiful boy! You are indeed blessed.
Nathan is flying around FB here in Washington! As for him looking like a girl – he does bear a striking resemblance to my daughter, but it’s just the same head-shape & haircut, I think. I’m sure in person he looks all-boy. 🙂 Keep up the good work!
I’m in Australia and I shared his picture too, and a few of my friends shared it after that. I don’t think he looks like a girl normally, but the little outfit he’s wearing in this picture looks like a dress so that may explain the girl comments! Boy or girl he’s a cutie patootie!
And a number of people in New Zealand are loving Nathan as well! I did the OMG, it’s Nathan when he poopd up on my FB page- like I know him!!! Well I feel like I do anyway and HE’s sooo very cute. Since when was there a ‘line’ as to which people with DS were ‘good enough’ anyway. I have two signiificant people
with DS in my life, and the one with more significant impairments causes us a lot less challenge than the ‘very able’ person, so lets not go there!!!!
No offense to anyone on that “Mothering Magazine” facebook page, but wow. There were some ugly comments. They are mainly by the same one or two people, some of who I wonder even have children based on the overwhelming nastiness they were spewing. I think actually HAVING a child makes the biggest influence on your opinions about choice, testing, inclusion, and the value of life. Andi, I applaud you for being strong enough not to respond to any of the comments other than verifying Nathan’s gender. You’ve got thicker skin than I do. I would’ve gone “viral” on the first ugly commenter!
Obviously, my Momma Bear instinct kicked in – whose wouldn’t? But the nasty comments (and there were a lot of them, but mostly from the same small pool of people) really weren’t directed toward Nathan, my son. They weren’t even directed at me. Most had to do with people assuming (wrongly) that the image was posted as an anti-choice statement. Too often in the abortion debate, the other side is viewed as The Enemy, and things go downhill from there.
There is no arguing with someone who wishes to take offense (and chooses to start the conversation with “F… you.” as part of their outrageous outrage) where there was none intended, so there was no point in speaking up. Some people are just nasty – nothing I can do about that. To put it another way – I was fairly confident that I would have a hard time finding much common ground with someone who is sucking a rainbow penis lollipop (popsicle?) in her profile picture and has what I’ll describe as an adult-themed illustration as her timeline image. 🙂 Risk vs. reward…
However, further down in the comments, IDSC for Life and I had a productive conversation with a commenter who was much more reasonable. Though she may not be fully on board now, she acknowledged that she had learned something from the exchange, which is why it was worth it to speak up at that point.
One thing I’ve known ever since this blog began to attract readers from outside my circle of friends and family is that there would eventually come a day when people would target me, my children, or my family. Opening up your life to the world and taking a stand for something you believe in carries that risk. I think it’s worth it, though, if I’m helping others through their struggles and opening people’s eyes to a world that they may have avoiding seeing before.
Yeah, I saw “Rainbow Brite.” Probably not much point in arguing with her, especially when she uses phrases like, “Keep your rosaries off my ovaries.”
While I applaud her use of rhyming, she’s not someone that you could have an adult, productive exchange of ideas with.
As always, I am extremely proud to have you as a friend. Whether you think so or not, you are extra-special in your own right. 🙂 Love you!
Nathan is a worldwide traveler! Awesomesauce. 🙂
Nathan is in Finland too – he’s adorable! <3