According to a Bill McClellan column in the St Louis Post-Dispatch, Larkin R. Dennis wrote: I'm very sorry . . . but not so sorry that the thought of a retard strangling himself with a Lay-Z-Boy doesn't make me break into hysterical laughter. But seriously folks, our society needs to get to know Angelman syndrome. We need to grow closer as a community and love our 'tards."
According to the article, she then rideculed the parents of other mentally handicapped children who complained about her extremely poor taste: They posted angry notes on her blog. Some threatened to complain to Washington University. The student mocked and taunted the parents.
Her mother wrote: "People - puh-leeze! You visit a blog to read the personal ramblings of a college student who may or may not express a politically correct viewoint on a subject in which you have an emotional investment and you feel you can dictate both the tone and the content of said essays. You may not. Oh wait! I get it! You have to assault my daughter with your gramatically challenged rants because you will never be able to direct your frustration where it really belongs: your 'little angel.' Let's take a survey: Despite growing pressure in this country to never say or write anything which has the teeth to offend so much as a blade of grass, how many readers think Death by Barcalounger is hilarious? I do, so blame me for my daughter's ability to twist tragedy into sarcastic irony."
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/columnists.nsf/billmcclellan/story/0EF26355F91ADF25862570D300385ED1?OpenDocument
She seems to have removed the original post from her blog here, but has posted an insincere apology: http://shinyobjects.blogspot.com/
Here is the tragic story of the boy's death:
http://www.johnwill.net/matthew/BOY.htm
nice to know that others see it as distasteful,as many amongst the Angelman Community do.Keep up the good work on your blog.
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