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How My Intellectually Disabled Brother is like Many Trump Voters
An uninformed citizen, he uses name recognition and parental pressure to guide his selection
I’m probably going to get some grief for this blog from some family members, but I need to write this: my brother Joe should not be voting. Especially when his woefully-uninformed vote “cancels” out my highly-informed vote.
Joe is a special human being who has special needs. Because he was born with “brain damage” — the result of a lack of oxygen during his birth, he is developmentally disabled. Chronologically, he is in his early 60s but intellectually he is not. Joe acts and thinks like a tween.
My brother lives on his own with support from aides who help him run errands, shop, eat right, get exercise, and do laundry. He had a job as a janitor and then a greeter at an amusement park for 25 years before he retired.
Joe is a sweetheart who is thoughtful and funny. He’s a single man who has been a good uncle to his many nieces and nephews. He is also stubborn, nosy, and has a frustrating habit of saying, “I don’t know” when you know he does know and just doesn’t want to answer a question. He often has a hard time expressing himself and an even more difficult time keeping his apartment and himself tidy and…
