"Hey, pot? This is kettle. You're black."

[40cakes]

Carrie Heaton's 13-year-old autistic son functions on the level of a 4-year-old. She tries to "keep an eye on him", but sometimes he escapes her and wanders into neighbors' homes, taking things without permission. The neighbors, fed up with his actions, erected an insulting sign in the Heatons' yard.

Now, I think everyone in this situation has some fault. This isn't a master thief; it's a kid. If you don't want him wandering into your home, lock your door. That being said, how does one, as a parent of a special-needs child, lose sight of him from time to time, especially when one knows that said child likes to wander around town and go into houses? At least one would hear the front door close as he left, right?

So while this is a sad story all around, I still can't help but chuckle when told what the neighbors' sign says: "CAUTION, RETARD'S IN AREA."

Comments

[cheekybaby.livejournal.com]

Oh, NO! That's awful on like 18 levels.

[fadingembers.livejournal.com]

It is! When I was originally linked to the story, the blog post about it typed out what the sign said, and I figured it was a mistake on the author's part. Then I read a printer-friendly copy of the article, and it reprinted the text. And then I saw the picture in the article. Maaaaaan.

[nesmith.livejournal.com]

"Retard's"? Makes you wonder who the real reatrd is.

[sarcasticval.livejournal.com]

I'm sad that the article didn't pick up on that.

[chaosblue.livejournal.com]

Your right. It's very sad.

[fadingembers.livejournal.com]

I believe you meant "your write." Duh.

[chaosblue.livejournal.com]

But that would of been a overload of bad grammer!

[fadingembers.livejournal.com]

ME TOO! I desperately want to know the reaction of the signmakers when that was pointed out to them, DAMMIT!

[fadingembers.livejournal.com]

Did you mean to mispell the second "retard"? ;)

But yeah, seriously. It reminds me of the people who bastardize English, then claim that immigrants should get kicked out for not speakin' the layngwij.

[nesmith.livejournal.com]

Oy. It's an axiom that when you criticize someone else's grammar, you make a mistake or two yourself...

[nothingjerk.livejournal.com]

Man I remember when they made my eighbors take down that sign about me. its a shame that it happens again somehwere in the country

[aphelant.livejournal.com]

OH THE IRONY.

[scathachdhu.livejournal.com]

I probably shouldn't find that as funny as I do.

[flyinglobster.livejournal.com]

Man, it completely fails to surprise me that this is in Utah, long known as a bastion of good sense, tolerance and... man, I can't keep this joke up any more. These people are assholes, all around.

[fadingembers.livejournal.com]

They really don't mind the autistic thing, what upsets them most is that the young lad only wants to take on one wife when he grows up.

[restivemind.livejournal.com]

Maybe that's the wrong perspective. Maybe the sign is for the child to read to protect him from accidentally wandering into his neighbors...