Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The difference between IGNORANCE & STUPIDITY...


I was walking through Wal-Mart yesterday with my son, Salem, trying to grab a few groceries, after a long day of sledding. As I approached the front of the store, I noticed the lines where backed up all the way into the greeting card isle. Without thinking before I spoke, I blurted out, "these lines are ridiculous, & why doesn't the stupid and ignorant managers have more lanes open." Salem told me that you can't be both, which one did you mean? Knowing I have ALWAYS tried to watch what I say around my children, I stopped to think about what I had said~~~I had plenty of time, since the lines were so backed up!~ Since having a child with Autism, every since I can remember, even as a child, I hated when people used the word, "retarded", "stupid", or "handicapped"! As I tried to figure it out, I said, "Salem, what are you talking about?"...He then proceeded to tell me the difference between the two, which he stated the following: IGNORANCE IS THE UNWILLINGNESS TO TAKE IN KNOWLEDGE, STUPIDITY IS THE ABSENCE OF KNOWLEDGE...IN OTHER WORDS~~IF YOU ARE IGNORANT, YOU CAN LEARN SOMETHING, YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO...IF YOU ARE STUPID, YOU JUST CAN'T LEARN!.....Amazing I still learn something new everyday:)~~so I know I'm not ignorant, nor stupid:)
I love you Salem, and blessed to have such an intelligent child:)

2 comments:

Dana said...

He is an amazing young man. (I love watching him walk down the halls at school-confident and in charge!) It will be interesting to see where those traits lead him. I hope I can have him in class some day.

Toyin O. said...

Salem sounds very intelligent; I learnt something new today:)