[2+2 Is Run By Scumbags]

Joe - best of luck in your fundraising. I have an 8-year-old nephew (who I love a ton) who is Chromosome 18p deficient. There are a variety of problems when a person has problems with their chromosomes - having an extra chromosome 21 is named Down Syndrome. My nephew was exceptionally small as a baby, but has been on growth hormones for several years and is now almost average height. He is just now learning to read. It can be difficult to understand him when he speaks. He is also the single nicest person I've ever met - he just does not have a mean bone in his body.

 

I mention all this because I found it strange that you, as a parent to a 22q girl, used the word "retarded" in your post. That is a word that has a strong negative connotation in our culture. To say that someone is "retarded" is to imply that due to perhaps a missing part of a chromosome, that person is less than worthy or less human than others without this condition. I equate it to insulting someone for being gay by calling them a f*****t. Being gay is not an insult. Neither is missing part of a chromosome.

 

I'm not trying to police the Internet, nor do I have much hope i will influence others. I just wanted to bring this point to your attention.

 

Hi Opie,

 

Thanks for pointing this out. It actually allows me to make a distinction. The word "retard" has a very negative connotation for me, but I personally NEVER equate it to someone with lets say, CP, Downs, or even 22q. For me, there's a very big difference between "retarded", and "mentally challenged". People with Downs, 22q, or CP may possibly be mentally challenged due to their malady, but I never mix or confuse the mentally challenged with people who act "retardedly".

 

I also am very lucky to be in medical sales and get to work with patients who might be mentally challenged. And usually, they are some of the smartest and wittiest people I meet in my line of work. They actually have very sharp minds, and even bigger hearts, but they are considered mentally challenged, and I will NEVER consider these people "retarded".

 

Again, thanks for bringing this up. From my life experiences, I've learned the above lesson, and it gives me a chance to get on my soap box and speak about it to other people.

 

Joe

[2+2 Is Run By Scumbags]

I just wanted to add here that since this shitstorm began, PP has privately apologized to me for the way he handled this. I really don't feel like posting this in the 2+2 thread just yet because some of the people in that thread are completely retarded and their views are a little warped.

 

Just to make sure I am clear, I never asked for any money. I posted that the podcast was happening, and people could learn more about 22q at the website. He read just the beginning and thought I would be asking for money for a charity and just deleted it.

 

And to make one more thing very clear, The guys at VPR approached me about doing this podcast for charity, I never asked them to do it. John has the biggest heart of just about anyone over there. When he was asked why he was doing this, he responded to me that "if his daughter had a problem, and needed help, he'd hope someone would do this for him". So when people talk about paying something forward, it has to start from the first step. It takes a pretty big person or group of people to take that first step. John, Brandon, and Kevin are that group.

 

The whole 2+2 policy chat and Mason's personal defense (and selfless plug for his charity) are just a footnote (but a very big footnote) to this story.

 

I am thankful to Daniel, and everyone else here for taking this fight up over there. Indirectly, you have started to raise awareness for 22q, which is my purpose and goal every day for my daughter.

 

 

Joe

[2+2 Is Run By Scumbags]

I was the original person to post, and have the DM "run in" with Professionalpoker. I was really pissed about him pointing out how big or small the foundation was. The point of the foundation, and what the radio show is trying to get across is we need to raise awareness for this. The 22q deletion is almost as common as Downs, but no one knows about it because the testing for it has only been in existence for abvout 15 years, and currently, we are trying to get pre-natal screening pushed through the government so more kids can be detected early on. My daughter has 22q, but we didn't know until she was almost 2, and when we did find out, we had no answers for her because she has whats called a microdeletion. So my wife (who is now on the board for the foundation) and I volunteer our time and efforts to try to raise awareness for these kids and their families, so the next kid doesn't have to wonder what the hell he or she has.

 

So as you can se, when Professionalpoker makes his statement about the foundation, it screams ignorance. But worse, it screams that he really doesn't care and doesn't want to be aware, and thats the worst kind of person for us and what we're trying to do.

 

Daniel, thank you for taking the time to start this thread. By doing this, you have already started to do what we as a family are trying to accomplish every day; raise awareness for 22q.

 

And Hockey Guy, thanks again for re-starting that thread. You had much better success than I did.

 

Joe