I've never thought much of Eugene Robinson's opinion writing, which always tends to resort to the lowest common denominator where everything boils down to racism. But his recent remarks on the Rachel Maddow show made me feel compelled to comment on his willfully ignorant stupidity:
"He's not a little weird, he's really weird," Robinson said of Santorum. "And some of his positions that he has taken are just so weird that I think that some Republicans are off-put. Not everybody is not going to be down, for example, with the story of how he and his wife handled the stillborn child. It was a body that they took home to kind of sleep with it, introduce it to the rest of the family. It's a very weird story."
For obvious reasons, this addled bit of thinking bothers me more than just a little bit. First off, it's not accurate; Santorum's son lived for two hours after birth. But that doesn't even really matter. A baby that was deeply wanted and loved, yet was stillborn or short-lived, is an epically tragic personal event.
And it's not just the loss of the child. When I think back to the loss of my son after only two all-too-brief days, we also mourned the life we had been planning (with ultrasound images we cherish), the family of five we were going to be but were no longer, the dream of raising a twin boy and girl (who were kicking at each other just minutes before they were born).
We sang the alphabet song and Silent Night to our lost son--not just a "body." We bathed him, put lotion on his body, and dressed him. We held him, and hugged him and, yes, we brought his tiny body back to our hospital room just because we wanted desperately to be with him for as long as we possibly could. When we buried him several days later, we held him and kissed him good-bye.
And, you know what? We're still mourning. We're still trying to find the light. This, a year later. And I'm not sure we'll ever actually find the end of this horrid tunnel. Just thinking about it brings me right back to the entrance.
So, tell me, Eugene. Does any of that strike you as "weird?" Because, it occurs to me that you seem to be confusing "weird" with "love." With all due respect, which is very little, I can't say I'm "down" with that.
Posted by Ryan at January 5, 2012 08:29 PM | TrackBackWhen I first started hearing about this, and certain people describing the behavior as "creepy," I immediately pictured you beating those people with an axe handle. Which is somehow good, because I usually picture you as the dirty mushroom.
Posted by: LearnedFoot at January 6, 2012 08:18 AMI had the same reaction as LearnedFoot. I immediately thought of you, Ryan, and your family, and little Finn. I thought of you describing how tenderly you and your wife took care of his tiny body.
I will never ever pretend that I know what's going on in the minds and hearts of the parents who have experienced the death of an infant. And I will never belittle those parents.
Eugene Robinson is an ass.
Posted by: Keith at January 6, 2012 11:38 AMWhen this story first broke, as with the other commentors above, I thought of your family and how you dealt with your own personal tragedy. What loathsome asses those who ridiculed the Santorums are. To use such a personal tragedy to make fun of a politician from the opposing party is odious.
But then, what can you expect from people who see fetuses as something to get rid of if they aren't convenient?
Posted by: elaine at February 3, 2012 09:32 PM
Stumble It!
