downs syndrome blog02

Every loving parent wants what’s best for their children. For the parents of those born with a mental disability, it must be so difficult to come to terms with the knowledge that their offspring will struggle to keep up with their peers. One such mother decided to cope with her feelings by documenting her experience raising an infant with Down syndrome in an online blog. However, in recent weeks the title of this personal report has become the topic of some nasty dispute on Japanese public forums. For better or worse, the woman calls her blog God’s Defective Goods.

On May 28, a woman going by the username HayaMama, started a blog titled God’s Defective Goods to document her experiences raising a baby with Down syndrome. In her initial post she explains her reasoning behind the title, saying this:

“To some extent, I can’t stand this harassment from God. I am another who has apparently been given a deformed child, one of God’s inferior goods. Comparing a defective child to defective merchandise seems appropriate. I’m not going to gloss over the whole thing; I don’t want that. I feel that I am passing along my honest experiences without tacking on any extra emotions.”

downs syndrome blog01

In the days leading up to the child’s birth, there was no indication that this woman’s baby would be anything less than normal, but once they came into this world, the doctor suggested having the chromosomes tested, and much to the mother’s dismay, the infant was diagnosed as having Down syndrome. This no-frills blog is apparently the mother’s way of facing the reality of this situation, but not everyone on the Internet approves of her approach.

Here are some of the things, both good and bad, that Japanese Internet users have to say about the dehumanizing title of her blog:

“The terminology, ‘God’s Defective Goods,’ is too blunt!”
“’God’s Defective Goods’ is cruelly straightforward. Should we be treating these people like inferior products?!”
“To attach that kind of title, you’re the defective one!”
“What percentage of the offended women here are actually mothers, and how many of them have handicapped children?”
“I admit, just reading the title gets me riled up.”
“If you actually read the blog’s content, I doubt you’d be so critical.”
“It’s preferable to the lip service that some people give their ‘little angels’”
“This is not the kind of language that a mother should use on her blog.”
“I see this getting all sorts of criticism, but I think it’s the truth.”
“When black humor is used in relation to childcare, it sure gets some unexpected criticism.”

Personally, I can’t fault the woman for feeling the way that she does about a situation that is less than ideal, but I question her desire to post about it in such harsh and unforgiving terms on a public forum. If the blog is meant to help others in a similar situation, then could she not come up with language that reads less like resentment? And if it is being written for purely personal reasons, then would a diary not suffice?

What do you think, readers? Does this blog title come as a fair representation of the child’s disability, or does someone really need to take a time out? Tell us your stance in the comments.

Source: Byoukan Sunday (Japanese)
Images: God’s Defective Goods on Ameblo