The Shameful Exploitation of Gus Walz
Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, have a daughter Hope, 23, and son Gus,17. The family was in the spotlight at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) when Tim Walz took the stage to make his acceptance speech. The media kept the cameras on the family throughout the speech to capture their responses to this momentous occasion. Gus erupted with emotion throughout the speech. He was sobbing uncontrollably as he jumped up and down shouting and pointing, “That’s my dad!” His mom and sister lovingly calmed him periodically when he seemed beside himself. Many who were watching recognized immediately that Gus has a neurodevelopmental disorder because millions of us have experienced this in our own families. Unbridled emotion to this extreme is not typical of 17-year-old boys but it is a common characteristic in a broad spectrum of disabilities afflicting millions of American children. Most Americans knew little about the Walz family prior to the Governor’s nomination. We soon learned that Gus has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), anxiety disorder and non-verbal learning.
The mainstream and social media went wild exploiting the moment. Coverage of Gus was nonstop and those with agendas all across the political spectrum worked hard to make it something it wasn’t.
Author Christina Wyman’s interpretation transformed the unchecked emotion of a disabled child into a vision for the future: “The exchange between Walz and his son is meaningful for reasons bigger than them and bigger than politics. When I was a public-school teacher, I was surrounded by boys who were socially conditioned to use profanity and their fists to express emotion. As a career educator, I continue to witness boys conditioned to display a toxic, aggressive version of masculinity. It’s the kind exemplified by the sort of brazen selfishness, cruelty and misogyny that was amplified during Donald Trump’s term as president. Walz and his wife, Gwen, raised a joyful son. The result of their raising him that way is a young man who knows that healthy boys aren’t afraid to cry and they’re not afraid to show love. I wonder if Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz, and the examples set by their families, have the power to change how we think about boys and men. I hope that their efforts create more joyful opportunities to usher in conversations about a new, healthier, and sustainable masculinity.”
Equally despicable was the tweet from Jay Weber, a radio talk show host on WISN in Milwaukee. “Sorry, but this is embarrassing for both father and son. If the Walzs represent today’s American man, this country is screwed: ‘Meet my son, Gus. He’s a blubbering bitch boy. His mother and I are very proud’.” Weber apologized when he learned Gus is disabled. He seems oblivious to how disgusting his remarks were regardless of the kid’s health status.
Not surprisingly, the media and politicians completely missed the real significance of Gus’s emotional response to his dad’s nomination. The incidence of neurodevelopmental disabilities has exploded over the past 25 years and we have a childhood chronic disease epidemic in our country. There is no greater threat to our future than neglecting to address the root causes head on. Why isn’t this front-page news?
These are indisputable facts:
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Autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders are related, have similar symptoms, and are not well understood. The causes are thought to be both genetic and environmental and the emphasis has been more on treating than eradicating.
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In 2000, 1 in 1,500 kids was diagnosed with autism. Today, 1 in 36 has autism. Screening and diagnosing have not changed. This is an increase in incidence.
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40% of teens have a mental health diagnosis.
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Millions of American children are being medicated for neuro/mental disorders, providing a lifelong revenue stream to the pharmaceutical industry.
In the United States, the corruption that exists between the regulators and the regulated and the stranglehold special interests have on legislators have prevented serious, aggressive work on identifying and eliminating root causes of the diseases that are robbing American children of a future. The pharmaceutical and food industries have a chokehold on media ad revenues reducing the media to corporate mouthpieces. Those who dare to expose how ultra-processed foods and toxic chemicals in food and drugs are resulting in mass poisoning of children and adults are immediately made pariahs and outcasts by vicious and corrupt corporations and government agencies abetted by the corrupt media.
Other countries are taking direct aim at the problem. The Australian Autism and ADHD Foundation has this to say: “Unless we address the root causes and educate the public and policy makers, pharmaceutical companies will continue to seek medical solutions to treat these disorders and will continue to convince our doctors and policy makers that “medication” is best practice.
Unless we bite the bullet and publish more research that shows that we can reverse these trends through changes in diet, nutrition, and lifestyle factors, thirty years from now, we will have a greatly reduced able-adult population. Our children and grandchildren will live in a world where the health and economic costs of an increasingly aging and disabled population will be unsupportable.
The reality is that for Autism and ADHD, there have been no medical advancements in disease prevention, and there are no medical cures in sight. Very little research is being done in prevention. Hence, the incidence is rising faster than ever.”
It was a sweet coincidence when, the day after the DNC ended, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Bobby) suspended his candidacy for President and threw his support behind Donald Trump. This seemed like a highly unlikely alliance but Bobby’s explanation of his motivation made perfect sense.
Despite having 100,000 volunteers in a 50-state organization and having obtained more than a million nominating signatures, Kennedy had to get out of the race. The corrupt Democratic party tried to destroy him at every turn – keeping him from a primary, suing to keep him off the ballot, censoring his speech and doing everything they could to portray him as a lunatic.
Kennedy made it clear that he and Trump have major disagreements but have also found they are aligned on important issues. They have agreed to disagree publicly and privately, essential in a free society and an approach embraced by people who are not afraid to engage in honest debate.
Bobby Kennedy has been a champion in the fight against the childhood, chronic disease epidemic in our country. He calls it the “war on our children.” He decries the fact that we spend more than any nation on healthcare and are “the sickest people on earth” with the highest chronic disease rate. 2/3 of American adults and children have chronic diseases. This statistic was less than 1% fifty years ago. 74% of Americans are overweight or obese (50% of children). Half of Americans are pre-diabetic or diabetic (1/3 of kids). Kennedy has demonstrated courage in aggressively pursuing the causes of chronic illness and calling out the pharmaceutical and food industries, government agencies and elected officials for their contributions. No one has been attacked and villainized more than Kennedy but he will not back down.
The promise of his alliance with Trump is that Kennedy will be positioned to address critical issues that are most instrumental in producing our chronic health crisis. He cites rooting out corruption in health agencies like CDC and FDA and staffing them with honest scientists and doctors free of corporate funding, ending subsidies of “bad food”, getting toxic chemicals out of food and drugs, and shifting the incentives in health care systems from chronic disease management to health as high priorities.
Bobby Kennedy believes that our love for our children can be unifying. He called on every American to “love our kids more than we hate each other.” We can look forward with hope and optimism to President Trump unshackling Kennedy to follow the truth wherever it leads.
Gus Walz became an unexpected celebrity at the DNC. Those with a microphone should be asking why there is an explosion of neurodevelopmental disease in America’s children. An honest media would be part of the pressure campaign to insist on answers. They opted instead to engage in the shameful exploitation of Gus Walz.