VENT

Most of you know that I am obsessive and compulsive and when I have a goal or something on my mind, I must get it done right then. Well, Justin and I had to run a few errands today, and naturally the grocery store was one of those. Does anyone else hate going to the grocery store like I do? Going to the grocery store is an event, especially here in Dothan. Now that the "Spring Breakers" are making there way down to the beach for their drunk fests, they get to travel through our wonderful city. As if Dothan is not crowded enough, thousands of these "spring breakers" come through here once a year and flood the circle, as well as the grocery stores. Well, as I was shopping and trying not to lose my mind, as well as patience, there was this group of very cute, young girls who looked to be about 18-19 years old. They were stocking up on groceries for the week and I couldn't help but over hear what they were talking about. One of the girls was talking about losing weight (she had none to lose anyway) and another one was talking about how she could not wait to get a tan. In the mean time a kid walked down the aisle and appeared to have a mental disability. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a HUGE and passionate advocate for special needs and that's the caliber student that I teach. Anyway, the little boy (about 14 years old) was walking towards us (myself and this group of girls) looking for his mom. He was talking to himself and trying to figure out where his mom was. Me being concerned, I stopped him and asked him if he needed help finding his mom. He said thank you and we moved on down the aisle to go to another aisle to look for her. I was telling him that this was such a big store and it was hard to find someone when you get split up. While we were walking, this group of girls starts laughing and making noises imitating him. We found his mother and I struck up a conversation with her. I told her what a sweet guy he was and how polite he was. They both thanked me and I went on with my shopping. I let the group of girls' comments roll off my back and kept on. Four aisles later, the group of girls were back. I moved my cart on down the aisle and stopped. As I leaned down to pick up something, one of the girls said to her friends, "There's that woman who helped out that creepy retard." WELL, I lost it at this point and told myself to let it go. I couldn't. I never get that mad and today I did. I pushed my cart towards the girls, walked over to them and simply asked them if any of them ever knew what it was like to know somebody with a mental disorder. They just starred at me and rolled their eyes. I was very polite and told them that that little boy was scared and did not understand how to even start looking for his mom. I told them that if they wanted to pass judgement, they should look in the mirror. I know that I shouldn't have said anything at all, but that was completely unacceptable. As I walked away, I felt horrible for saying anything to them because they were young and naive. At the same time, I felt like I stood up for him along with the many others like him. On the drive home, I could not stop thinking about it and how bad it upset me. I said a little prayer and tried to forget about it. I told Justin about it when I got home. No matter the situation, Justin always knows the right thing to say to me. I'm sure that my confronting them had no impact, but I hope that group of girls will some day understand that people like that little boy deserve the right to an education just like you and me. People with special needs don't just deserve an education, but deserve respect and a chance at leading as normal a life as you and me.

I deal with similar circumstances everyday with the students that I teach, but even they understand the severity of the situation and have more compassion than that group of girls at the age of 18.