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Can we stop pretending that downs people are all drooling smiley faces that can’t think at all?

There is a massive spectrum of capabilities and genetic complexities associated with it.

My sister has Downs and she was incredibly bright until she had a stroke as a child. There are Downs people who live mostly normal lives.

And also, yes, I’ve had some awesome times with my sister, and the look of joy on her face when she plays sports is one of the purest things on Earth. But there was also a lot of crying and yelling and fighting in my life caring for her. The highs are definitely high, and the lows are low.

It is a disability, but I hate how anything stupid is represented by Downs features.

The image/caption adds absolutely nothing to the top text.

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teslekova@sh.itjust.works ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Huh. I did not know that Downs isn’t necessarily associated with an intellectual deficit. That is useful information, thanks mate. I can see how it’d be damn frustrating seeing that as a default belief in society.

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- panda_abyss@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  It usually is, but it’s a wide spectrum
  
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Return_of_Chippy@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
Nobody is pretending that.

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- panda_abyss@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
  I’m overly sensitive here for sure, but Downs jokes are a kind of red line for me. It’s a losing battle, so I don’t speak up often when I see them.
  
  The top part is funny without the downs joke, so I point this example out as just needless.
  
  Btw I didn’t downvote you, don’t really feel like your comment is downvoted worthy.
  
  People do pretend that downs people are eternally happy or something though. You can see it on Reddit (spits) threads whenever Downs comes up.
  
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  - Return_of_Chippy@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
    Yeah, its an individual personal line for you. I can respect that you’d feel frustrated/offended/annoyed/upset (whatever you feel). I’m of the opinion that everyone has one or more red lines like that. If humor danced around everybody’s individual red lines we’d have no humor. So not every joke is for everyone and that’s okay. That along with the fact I was raised to use humor to help process trauma/negative emotions. For me personally, anything is on the table if the intent is to be funny and genuine hate isn’t involved.
    
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