If you're a special needs parent, you've probably seen the letter by now. It's been making the rounds for a few days. It was written and delivered anonymously to a family in Newcastle, Ontario, in response to their autistic child's presence in their neighborhood. I'll link to it, sure, but I won't quote it at length. I'll give you a few words from the letter, and you can probably get the drift.
A number of people have come out in support of the family and have sent gifts and words of encouragement. That's great. These people have big hearts. Other people are determined to find out who wrote the letter so the author can be publicly excoriated. A guy in Utah with an autistic son has offered a $100 reward to identify whoever wrote the letter. That's not so great. That kind of thing can start a witch hunt, and random people who have nothing to do with the letter will come under suspicion because they once yelled at the neighbor kids for being too noisy, or something like that. Instead of trying to play detective and expose the author, it would be more constructive if people tried to do something positive to help the family.
A number of people have come out in support of the family and have sent gifts and words of encouragement. That's great. These people have big hearts. Other people are determined to find out who wrote the letter so the author can be publicly excoriated. A guy in Utah with an autistic son has offered a $100 reward to identify whoever wrote the letter. That's not so great. That kind of thing can start a witch hunt, and random people who have nothing to do with the letter will come under suspicion because they once yelled at the neighbor kids for being too noisy, or something like that.
ReplyDeleteInstead of trying to play detective and expose the author, it would be more constructive if people tried to do something positive to help the family.