We live in a world that’s constantly calculating the value of people with disabilities, even though we know that they’re priceless.
In Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” the pre-reformed Ebenezer Scrooge says that if the poor and crippled are going to die “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population,” words he bitterly regrets when the Ghost of Christmas Present shows him one of these “surplus” people – Tiny Tim.
Echoes of Scrooge were found in a recent viral video in which a Dutch public health official appears to explain to a man with Down syndrome that he’s costing society approximately “48,000 Euros a year,” almost 10 times what so-called “normal” persons cost annually.
“Wow,” says the young man with Down syndrome.
The video understandably sparked outrage on social media. But as it turns out, the outrage in this instance was misplaced.