Is the Tabula Rasa a strawman? (Exchange on Reddit)

Decemberists - "Oh Valencia" 

Our backyard.

Prompt at the Slate Star Codex subreddit: 
Is the Tabula Rasa a strawman or do lots of people believe it?

Me: 

As my wife and I always try to keep in mind (and as I emphasize in my latest book) half of everyone is below average.

Anne works with special needs kids at the local high school. She thinks the world would be much better if everyone had to spend some time working with special needs people, if only to be forcefully shown that other types of minds exist. And then realize "special needs" is a spectrum.

Reply:

I’m curious; could you please expand upon that?

I have encountered this sort of sentiment before, but I’m afraid I’ve never understood it. I have not spent much time with special needs/disabled individuals, and it has seemed to me that it would be worthwhile to engage in GATTACA-esque programs to remove those traits from society. I think that this would improve the lives of those who would otherwise exist in a disabled state; while yes, these would be different individuals than currently existed, both the lives that would take their place and society as a whole would be better off.

But then, I’m conceptualizing these people as being drains on society. I recognize that this position entirely lacks empathy, is monstrous or a Nazi position etc. That’s why im earnestly asking; what sort of benefits do you think society would gain if everyone spent time with special needs people? I am not at all married to my position, and would be happier with more mainstream beliefs… If the arguments were convincing.

Thank you for your time, and I hope you’re willing to reply. I’m asking earnestly for my own growth, but I know Reddit can be full of people who want to argue.

Me:

Thanks for asking, especially w/o being a jerk! (Not saying that is common on this reddit, but elsewhere.)

A few points:

1. To the OP's question -- are we blank slates? Special needs kids prove this to be not the case. And special needs kids aren't some distinct category that we can point to as "the exception that proves the rule." Humans exist on a spectrum, all the way out to the non-verbal, non-moving kids.
2. Anne and I think that a lot of society's problems come from a lack of compassion and cognitive empathy. We project our minds onto others and then blame them for being "stupid." But if we could all interact with people with brain damage, severe autism, Down's Syndrome, etc., we might have a better understanding of human diversity. This could, perhaps, allow us to be more open to understanding others who aren't obviously different from us but actually are.

#2 is in no way a policy prescription. What parents should or shouldn't do and what society should and shouldn't allow are separate questions. A few of Anne's kids are happier than most "normal" people. But some are, as I mentioned, non-verbal, non-moving, and non-interactive.

I tend to find Peter Singer's path of logic in his latest Practical Ethics to be persuasive, even though, as I argue in the philosophical chapters of Losing My Religions, I'm not a utilitarian.

Take care and stay well. Thanks again.