Sarah Palin Erupts on Facebook Over 'Scary' Censoring of Photo of Her Son
Even after all these years, the Mama Grizzly still lives on.
In a post criticizing Facebook after they deleted a meme that involved her son Trig, former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin lashed out at the social media giant, saying they had stigmatized her Down syndrome-afflicted son while he was “acting like a normal kid.”
According to AOL, the meme was originally posted to Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. It showed 10-year-old Trig crying. The meme was apparently designed to indicate how “bratty” Democrats were being over their anti-Brett Kavanaugh protests.
Instead, Instagram said it “demeans” people with Down syndrome. Whether or not they realized it was her son isn’t clear; Palin hadn’t tagged him or mentioned that he was the one in the photo, although it’s fairly common knowledge John McCain’s former running mate had a child with the condition. Either way, the situation prompted an angry response from Palin.
“CENSORSHIP is to sharing opinions as LYNCHING is to justice!” Palin wrote in a Friday Instagram post which included a picture of the removal message she’d received from Instagram.
“Unbelievable. Instagram took down a post of my son Trig acting like a normal kid ~ which I am so proud he can do. My heart soars when Trig proves he’s a ‘normal’ kid❣️ I can’t even explain how it tickles our whole family.”
“But the intolerant powers-that-be, sitting in a seat of judgement, think not?” she continued.
“The nauseating, downright evil hypocrisy from their parent company, Facebook, continues ~ but only aimed at commonsense conservatives? When Obama was POTUS, he MOCKED children with Down Syndrome on late night tv, and nary a word of outrage from these same folks. But they’ll censor my post of my most favorite person in the world… Inexplicable. Unbelievable. And scary.”
She also had a swipe at Facebook for their recent algorithm shifts, shifts which have especially cut traffic at conservative outlets.
“Facebook continues to censor traffic flow to my website, too,” she said.
“Ummm, Zuckerberg, you were in Alaska recently.. did you not learn a thing about Mama Grizzlies when you visited?”
Palin got numerous messages of support — along with some pushback, of course.
“That’s her kid, she doesn’t look at him as disabled. She was just making a point [about] people acting like little kids!” one individual wrote
Another person said, “She can’t show a picture of her own son crying like a baby? … All I see is a little boy fussing in a store.”
The other side of the debate seemed to center on replies like this: “Why would you compare this to your developmentally delayed son? What is wrong with you?”
I don’t know whether the respondent has a developmentally delayed child. I can tell you one person who does, however: Sarah Palin. She didn’t find the meme demeaning. She saw him as another child, having a crying fit — much like certain political protesters are.
Even if it wasn’t a comparison you or I would have made, that’s not the point. The point is that it’s not the kind of thing Instagram ought to be censoring. This is one of the most noxious attitudes that has emerged on social media since the 2016 election: “I wouldn’t have posted something like this. Take this rubbish from my sight, Mr. Zuckerberg!”
You don’t have to particularly like what Sarah Palin posted. It may even, for some unknown reason, offend you. The great irony here is that it makes you sound like exactly the kind of person Sarah Palin was mocking. And, quite frankly, you deserve it.
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