The wrong parable
by digby
I wasn’t going to mention this little Sarah Palin New Year’s flap because it’s a little bit much even for an animal lover like me:
Facebook photos posted by Sarah Palin showing her son Trig using the family dog as a step stool unleashed online fury on Friday reminiscent of the public reaction to the disclosure that Mitt Romney had once driven with his dog strapped on the car’s roof.
Trig, 6, who has Down Syndrome, is shown stepping on the back of the family’s black Labrador while it lies on the kitchen floor in order to reach the sink. The dog appears unruffled.
The Facebook post by Palin, who was the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, drew more than 12,000 comments by midday Friday, ranging from cries of animal abuse to those seconding Palin’s praise for the youngest of her five children.
“May 2015 see every stumbling block turned into a stepping stone on the path forward,” Palin wrote on her Facebook page.
“Trig just reminded me. He, determined to help wash dishes with an oblivious mama not acknowledging his signs for ‘up!’, found me and a lazy dog blocking his way. He made his stepping stone,” Palin wrote.
People were upset that he stepped on the dog and I agree that’s a terrible lesson for kids. But it does appear the dog didn’t mind. He looks like a nice pup who probably loves Trig.
However, Palin’s little parable is all wrong. The obvious lesson coming from a Republican celebrity like her has to be: “may 2015 offer many opportunities to step on the vulnerable to get what you want.” There, fixed.
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