Saturday, April 17, 2010

Talking Point #9

"The individual is prior to society, which comes into existence only through the voluntary contract of individuals trying to maximize their own self interest"

This a very cynical quote. This states the basic concept of utilitarian individualism. When I read this I immediately thought of Thomas Hobbes who wrote Leviathan. Hobbes was a philosopher who thought humans were naturally born evil.

"According to Shayne, the notion of Down syndrome often obscures our ability to recognize the child as a child."

Unfortunately this theory is more accurate than it should be. Kids do get overlooked as being average and as a result do not lead as great a life as there is a potential to. They get placed in special education classes early on and sometimes this need not be the case. Therefore down syndrome kids find it tougher to return to mainstream because they are already started off disadvantaged.

"people with Down syndrome are joined in their struggle for citizenship by other oppressed groups."

This article just likes to make points that are so cheerful. This point has validity to it. Going through history you pick out the obvious African Americans and women. Those can also be made a case for now but not as severe as say gay people. Gay people are a group that certainly can be related to people with Down syndrome in the quote's context. Little people are another group.

"Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome" by Christopher Kliewer makes a very strong argument. Overall he argues to treat everyone equally. He uses excellent examples of down syndrome students who fit right in once they are given the chance. He uses an example with women at the end but I'm going to add African Americans to that example. Those groups were once treated unfairly but through tough fighting they have gained much higher status than where they were. He says other groups that are oppressed also need to fight for a better status as well. However I feel that other groups who have the "power" should just accept everyone for who they are. I believe Kliewer feels the same way but he does not end the article this way so I was slightly confused. Can anyone clarify this?

1 comment:

  1. I had something totally different for your first quote but your probably right. Also, I too think that it isn't fair that Down syndrome students are placed right away into special classes.

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