A few years ago I started an online advocacy group for individuals with Down syndrome and their family members, #321Advocate. My goal was simple: to better equip people to be effective grassroots advocates. Many people asked me how to advocate, want and need direction and need to have other people help them understand the realities and unintended consequences of legislation. My launch point came from a blog I did called “Stop Whining and Start Advocating.” It’s a really good read.

The rules of the group are pretty clear: Be nice. Be respectful. Don’t sell your stuff. Focus on advocacy. Have vigorous conversation but don’t waste time complaining. Period. It has been pretty successful. We have some super smart people in the group. We have new parents. We have seasoned advocates. We have terrified people. We have people who want to learn. Most importantly, we have people who want to make a difference for people with Down syndrome.

You would have to be living under a rock to not know that tensions are high in our country right now. To say 2020 has brought lots of challenges would be an understatement. This close to the election and with tensions so high, I knew there would most likely be some high-charged discussions. As a rule, people interested in advocacy are also passionate about their beliefs and this group is no different.

We don’t always agree on everything. No one does.

So Monday, I posted this to the group. While it was intended for our #321Advocate group members, you can change a few words here and there and apply it to almost any of us. I encourage you to not just read this, but I encourage you to maybe adopt this with your social media and conversations.

Fellow advocates – Most everyone in this group is passionate about our advocacy. We are three weeks from an election, and the Supreme Court nomination process begins today. Emotions, tensions, and the stress level are high. Though I believe everyone in this group wants the absolute best for people with Down syndrome and other disabilities, we all come to this from different places. While we are generally able to come to consensus on most public policy issues, we have wide differences in philosophy and ideology shaped by our own life experiences. When emotions are this charged, it is even more important that we go out of our way to be respectful of others in this group. Really, it is important to be respectful period. That said, I am asking all of you to please be tolerant of differences in this group. Name calling and invoking emotionally charged words to make your point will force the moderators to remove comments. Additionally, if posts become too contentious, we may be forced to turn off commenting or remove posts. It is good to share information and try to educate one another, but sometimes we must agree to disagree and move on.

If you have a concern about a post or a comment, I invite you to please send me a private message. It is not a good use of our time and does nothing to further #321Advocate’s goals by going back and forth on this issue. Removal of comments/posts is at the discretion of the admin/moderators. We usually try to notify the author when we remove comments and explain why.

Finally, #321Advocate is a nonpartisan group. It is not affiliated with any political party or candidate. #321Advocate is an independent Facebook group and is not affiliated with any national organization. I started this group in May 2017 for the purpose of empowering individuals with Down syndrome and their family members to become more effective grassroots advocates. I never envisioned it growing so quickly which, in my opinion, clearly demonstrates the need for a group such as #321Advocate. This group seeks to share any and all resources that may empower advocates to advocate in the best interest of individuals with Down syndrome and their families. Thank you in advance for understanding and following our guidelines.

We don’t always agree. Be civil anyhow.