Days like these cause me to stay inside and do a lot of reading and reasearching, and if you know me well, you know that I will most definitely learn a lot about special education or about history whenever that happens.
Today was no exception, and I found myself watching a documentary for class about the Virginia Lynchburg Colony that fell into the Eugenics movement in the early 1900s. If you don't know what that movement entails, don't worry, I didn't either. If you are queasy or if social justice issues fire you up(as they do me), then let me first warn you that this post will cause you to wield some unruly anger against the perpetrators of this movement.
During this time period the Lynchburg Colony (also referred to as the Virginia Colony) was an asylum created for those with epilepsy and the "feeble-minded," which was a loose term that can be interpreted as those with mental disabilities. In the time period, this institution actually ended up being a place where welfare workers would send those seen as "socially inept" or "mentally retarded."
In reality, these workers rounded up the poor, the homeless, orphans, the uneducated, run aways, criminals, and those who were not accepted in the local community. Honestly, there were no real tests or standards for admittance into the Virginia Colony besides someone having the power over another to admit them. To make matters worse, the director of the colony wanted to sterilize the residents, and he had friend, Dr. Laughlin, who helped draft a law that allowed for the sterilization of inmates, criminals, the homeless, the poor, and the "feeble-minded." Not only was this law actually passed and put into affect in 1924, but the Supreme Court actually upheld this law in 1927 in Buck v. Bell. Mr. Strode, who represented Lynchburg, and Mr. Whitehead, who represented the plaintiff, Carrie Buck, were in cahoots with Dr. Laughlin and Dr. Pretty to uphold this sterilization policy. Yeah, how about that for the liberty and justice for all!
Just in case that did not enrage you enough, let me also explain that many of these children and teenagers who found themselves in this institution were not actually informed that they were being sterilized. Oh no, if there was any explanation or choice at all, these innocent individuals were told that they were being given an operation in order to improve and ensure their good health. Imagine the surprise and humiliation these individuals felt years later when they were released from the institution, married, and found out they could not have children.
Why was this done? Because a premise of the Eugenics Movement is that those with "bad genes" that cause these tendencies in individuals are passed on when someone with those "bad genes" have a child. Not only does this scarily remind me of a white elitist argument, but this movement actually historically inspired the Nazi's in Germany to sterilize, separate, and finally slaughter those who were presumed to have inferior genes. The Germans thanked the US scientists that promoted this theory, and these American scientists actually praised and encouraged the Germans for what they were doing, saying that the Germans were beating them at their own game.
A part of me is thankful that we could learn from those mistakes, and these scientists were discounted due to lack of real valid scientific evidence, but the lasting affect for these people's lives cannot be compensated. In fact, the state still refused to pay for reversal surgeries for these individuals at the time of this documentary (which may have been in the 90's judging by the nappy hair and the shoulder pads).
All in all this documentary is an eery reminder that we need to stay informed and engaged with how those with disabilities are treated in our society. There are still institutions where wards rape or beat patients, there are still enclaves and group homes that can get away with paying those with mental disabilities well below minimum wage, and there are still injustices and discrimination occurring everywhere. Despite this pervasive problem, I am willing to bet that a majority of the American society feels as though these problems have been solved through the ADA and other legal measures that have ensured that those with disabilities can have equal access. But I ask, what is the value of a law if we as the people do not make sure that it is implemented with fairness and fidelity?
Today was no exception, and I found myself watching a documentary for class about the Virginia Lynchburg Colony that fell into the Eugenics movement in the early 1900s. If you don't know what that movement entails, don't worry, I didn't either. If you are queasy or if social justice issues fire you up(as they do me), then let me first warn you that this post will cause you to wield some unruly anger against the perpetrators of this movement.
During this time period the Lynchburg Colony (also referred to as the Virginia Colony) was an asylum created for those with epilepsy and the "feeble-minded," which was a loose term that can be interpreted as those with mental disabilities. In the time period, this institution actually ended up being a place where welfare workers would send those seen as "socially inept" or "mentally retarded."
In reality, these workers rounded up the poor, the homeless, orphans, the uneducated, run aways, criminals, and those who were not accepted in the local community. Honestly, there were no real tests or standards for admittance into the Virginia Colony besides someone having the power over another to admit them. To make matters worse, the director of the colony wanted to sterilize the residents, and he had friend, Dr. Laughlin, who helped draft a law that allowed for the sterilization of inmates, criminals, the homeless, the poor, and the "feeble-minded." Not only was this law actually passed and put into affect in 1924, but the Supreme Court actually upheld this law in 1927 in Buck v. Bell. Mr. Strode, who represented Lynchburg, and Mr. Whitehead, who represented the plaintiff, Carrie Buck, were in cahoots with Dr. Laughlin and Dr. Pretty to uphold this sterilization policy. Yeah, how about that for the liberty and justice for all!
Just in case that did not enrage you enough, let me also explain that many of these children and teenagers who found themselves in this institution were not actually informed that they were being sterilized. Oh no, if there was any explanation or choice at all, these innocent individuals were told that they were being given an operation in order to improve and ensure their good health. Imagine the surprise and humiliation these individuals felt years later when they were released from the institution, married, and found out they could not have children.
Why was this done? Because a premise of the Eugenics Movement is that those with "bad genes" that cause these tendencies in individuals are passed on when someone with those "bad genes" have a child. Not only does this scarily remind me of a white elitist argument, but this movement actually historically inspired the Nazi's in Germany to sterilize, separate, and finally slaughter those who were presumed to have inferior genes. The Germans thanked the US scientists that promoted this theory, and these American scientists actually praised and encouraged the Germans for what they were doing, saying that the Germans were beating them at their own game.
A part of me is thankful that we could learn from those mistakes, and these scientists were discounted due to lack of real valid scientific evidence, but the lasting affect for these people's lives cannot be compensated. In fact, the state still refused to pay for reversal surgeries for these individuals at the time of this documentary (which may have been in the 90's judging by the nappy hair and the shoulder pads).
All in all this documentary is an eery reminder that we need to stay informed and engaged with how those with disabilities are treated in our society. There are still institutions where wards rape or beat patients, there are still enclaves and group homes that can get away with paying those with mental disabilities well below minimum wage, and there are still injustices and discrimination occurring everywhere. Despite this pervasive problem, I am willing to bet that a majority of the American society feels as though these problems have been solved through the ADA and other legal measures that have ensured that those with disabilities can have equal access. But I ask, what is the value of a law if we as the people do not make sure that it is implemented with fairness and fidelity?
