Foolish Little Girl...

...thoughtless little girl...

My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the "Extra Large Medium" episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine's day. Although they gave me red hair on the show, I am really a blonde. I also wore a red wig for my role in " Smudge" but I was a blonde in "Life Goes On". I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line "I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska" was very funny. I think the word is "sarcasm".

In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.

There is nothing wrong with laughing at yourself. There's nothing wrong with laughing at disability, if it's done in a way that won't offend the people around you. That's where I draw the line. It's a matter of common sense if you're going to take it upon yourself to mock the disabled community by involving more than a million people to see, whether they wanted to or not. But more importantly, if you are going to ridicule a crippled or Down syndrome human being, it's important to take into consideration that maybe, just maybe you will be hurting even one person who has been afflicted with Down's. Or any disability. And to hurt that one disabled person and that family, is a selfish and mindless act.