It's hard to contain my rage after reading about this case on the blog of my good friend Godless Poutine. A Michigan woman named Kelli Stapleton, who had wrote a blog about the daily struggles of being a parent to an autistic child was arrested for trying to kill herself and her autistic daughter. What was the response of her supporters/fans of her blog? Did they condemn this horrible act of violence? No, they establish a legal defense fund for her, and beg people to donate. Here's a paragraph from their fundraising appeal:
Our friend Kelli Stapleton is currently being held in jail without bond, awaiting further action regarding a tragic incident with her autistic daughter. We believe in Kelli. We believe in her right to a fair and just trial with proper legal counsel and experts in these extreme circumstances.
"Our friend"? "Tragic incident with her autistic daughter?" By still calling her their friend, and raising money for her defense they are showing their solidarity with her, and calling this a "tragic inident with her autistic daughter", they almost make it sound like she was injured during a robbery attempt, not nearly murdered by the very mother that they are trying to help. It gets worse, they try to excuse away her behavior, and turns on a massive dose of victim blaming, quotes via the fundraising page:
Autism plays a role in this situation but this issue goes beyond autism, it includes any parent who is being abused by their child. Feeling hopeless and responsible for a child who is harming you is overwhelming. Kelli needs help to ensure she is able to give that message. Legal fees and attorney's are expensive and we realize the cost will most likely quadruple but we wanted to set a goal that is realistic and attainable in a short time.
I don't know if her daughter did turn violent on her, or if this is a load of BS intended to make us feel sorry for Kelli, and blame her daughter for her near death, but even if true, it would not justify trying to kill her. Kelli was a grown woman who should have known better to try and handle this some other way than trying to committ murder.
