Eugenics is meant to create healthier, stronger and more intelligent people, to save resources, and lessen human suffering. Sounds great on paper right? Eugenics is a sick social philosophy that is mostly based off of Charles Darwin's works. Learning about this topic in class put everything in a deeper perspective for me. It was almost depressing watch the people with a disability go through with that. I believe it is pretty messed up that it goes on today. I would expect for someone to realize how wrong this is and that everyone should have the right to life a life and reproduce.
The Nazi party use eugenics for human subject research. They would explore the world of their anatomy as if it was a frog in biology class. However, I wonder what medical research we wouldn’t have if Aktion T4 didn’t happen. I wonder if in the long run it saved more lives then it destroyed. This could be a false idea but it is plauseable nonetheless. If this never happened would we have the human genome project today? I think for what bad they did it did provide some good. Even though there is no way to describe in words how messed up it is. We shouldn’t just accuse the Nazi party for this however. Americans sterilized people with disabilities for years. 5 states apologized for doing such.
I don’t understand how one could do this with out a conscious. How can someone go dissect a disabled person and then just go have lunch and then get right back to work. That is so messed up. I can not get over the movie we saw in class though.
In the movie they showed the building. Tiergarten Strafe number 4, this is were T4 came from. They would drive black buses that the German kids would call buses of death. Could you imagine how traumatizing that would be knowing that there are people on that bus and they are going to a building to die and that’s it. That was their life and now its over. I would be absolutely terrified of those busses if I was a young boy in Germany at this period. I’m sure that many of them were in fear of the black buses.
In the movie they had people in wheel chairs giving the tour of the building. I couldn’t imagine how hard that must have been for them. They found people’s organs in jars, people hair in bails as if they were hay, and they had a room full of prosthetics. The people that were killed were used as animals. Using their hair for pillows stuffing. Stealing their gold fillings as if it were ivories in an elephant or a hippo.
I discover through my reading that it started with a woman wanting to kill her child. Her son had two missing limbs, blind, and possibly mental disabled. He became known as the Knauer baby. She talked to Hitler wondering if she could have her son killed for lack of purpose. They decided for the killing of the Knauer baby. This led to the T4 project eventfully.
They then created 6 hospitals devoted to the research and the elimination of this group of people. When a child was newly born, they would check the child for any sign of a disability. If there was, then the folks at Aktion T4 was notified. They would take the child to a kill chamber and their parents were reassured that the child was just taken to an asylum.
It is very obscure that it still goes on today without anyone actually being that concerned about it. There have been anti-discrimatory laws created for it yet it still continues. This is totally inhumane.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Murderball
Murderball is a sport that quadriplegics can play. It is also called wheelchair rugby and is a very competitive sport. Team USA and Team Canada have huge rivalry. The former all-star from America, Joe Soares, was cut from the team and went to coach the Canadian wheel-chair rugby team. They won the United States team in Gothensburg, Sweden.
The movie inspired me to believe them not be disabled. I could not imagine how much stress was they U.S team was under during the finals. I felt a lot of sympathy and pity on the American team, not because of them having a disability, but because they lost to the Canadian team rivalry. Joe Soares was a definite betrayer of America. He just need to be the center of attention and the best. Ironically enough at the end of the movie New Zealand was the victorious team in the Paralympics.
The movie problematized the concept of normality and ability through the whole movie numerous times. They are all competitive males all in a huge contact sport. “Normal” males do the same thing with other various sports. These men discussed sex and alcohol which, not to be stereotypical, but what “normal” males do. A shot was taking with the men pulling pranks and playing cards. If I told you this though you would just assume able bodied males just chilling. I really see no difference between these men and their doing and a non-paraplegic.
The creators of the film did a very good job by making the audience understand what people with a disability go through everyday life without making people with disabilities seem like they should be pitied. They made everyone real. They created an atmosphere that you will find in many other sport related movies with the same educational feel. It had real life drama. It gave a perspective of wheelchair rugby for a paraplegic that hasn’t played before. It also offered an intense sports game to sit on the edge with. The movie was made extremely well in the sense of it not being a depressing movie.
The movie inspired me to believe them not be disabled. I could not imagine how much stress was they U.S team was under during the finals. I felt a lot of sympathy and pity on the American team, not because of them having a disability, but because they lost to the Canadian team rivalry. Joe Soares was a definite betrayer of America. He just need to be the center of attention and the best. Ironically enough at the end of the movie New Zealand was the victorious team in the Paralympics.
The movie problematized the concept of normality and ability through the whole movie numerous times. They are all competitive males all in a huge contact sport. “Normal” males do the same thing with other various sports. These men discussed sex and alcohol which, not to be stereotypical, but what “normal” males do. A shot was taking with the men pulling pranks and playing cards. If I told you this though you would just assume able bodied males just chilling. I really see no difference between these men and their doing and a non-paraplegic.
The creators of the film did a very good job by making the audience understand what people with a disability go through everyday life without making people with disabilities seem like they should be pitied. They made everyone real. They created an atmosphere that you will find in many other sport related movies with the same educational feel. It had real life drama. It gave a perspective of wheelchair rugby for a paraplegic that hasn’t played before. It also offered an intense sports game to sit on the edge with. The movie was made extremely well in the sense of it not being a depressing movie.
Monday, September 29, 2008
This week
In class, we had two gentlemen come in to talk to us about their "disability." Larry and Eric both have Cerebral Palsy or CP. They both had wheelchairs but one wore socks on his hands. They had two different cases of Cerebral Palsy, one mild and one more than mild. I noticed they both had trouble speaking but they loved it. They talked about all their adventures through life being 'disabled' and how they can do the same things as people without Cerebral Palsy. I asked them questions that would concern anyone disabled or not. I asked what their political standing was and they were well informed. One of the men said that people wouldn't vote for Barak Obama because of his background. Same thing goes for them. People think that because they are different they should be able to do what others do as well. Larry told us a story about paragliding. I have never done that and i am considered 'normal' in society's outlook. This man has done something i have not. He is definitely capable of anything. His goal in talking to our class was to educate the minds to show that they are people, and that is all. They are just people like me, you, and the presidential candidate.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Chapter 3
In chapter three, Jon talks about learning disabilities. Not only his, but others and their history. I can safely say that I agree with him on the idea of the school system. If kids like Brent went to school feeling scared what would make him want to go? A supportive learning environment. They shouldn’t consider children with learning disabilities flawed. The education system is flawed. Why? The only reason people put children in ridiculous environments is because they think that something is ‘wrong’ with them. They are convinced they are faulty and need to be repaired. I know people with LD. My girlfriend is has a learning disability. She was home schooled until she was a freshman. She never had to worry about being criticized but she knows it’s out there.
On the other hand, I also have thoughts about this point: Ours schools system are doing their part in helping children with learning disabilities. I am sure if something like this were to happen back in the day, children with learning disabilities wouldn’t even be able to become educated. They would not be able to attend schools. What if we didn’t have these special education programs? Where would you be? People just need something to poke at, they need to ridicule something. I’m sure in some cases a specific school’s special education program isn’t as good as the next. But I am also well aware of schools with a wonderful special education program. Some children will go hide in restrooms and some will be happy to be in a school and learning. I think that you should be happy what you have. Disabled or not, you must be grateful. I know how harsh I seem but I like to be radical on both sides of the topic.
Brent couldn’t read and was put in a group of children who read slow. He made it his goal to try not to read. This means when he grew older he just plain couldn’t read. Now imagine if he didn’t try to get out of reading. What if he just applied himself? Could he read then? I think that Jon Mooney and Brent almost make themselves out to be superior. As if because they have a disability, they are better. Which is really not a bad way to look at it, but I think that their cockiness is what got them as far as they are now. Mooney obviously did become a success and wrote a book. Which I do give kudos upon but rather than rubbing it in the face of people that didn’t believe in him, why doesn’t he just use it as proof that one’s ‘handicap’ just makes him a better person. So in conclusion I can't disagree nor agree at this point.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
This I bieleve
This I Believe…
I personally believe that I have an unnatural empathy for people with disabilities. It is in people’s nature to fear people with disabilities. I have a huge mass of empathy for people with disabilities and this may be true for a lot of people. My empathy may come from the “natural fear” that I think people get. I have been able to deal with people having disabilities throughout my life. My mother has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She had a rough childhood and a vad previous marriage which made it develop.
It was around the winter months when it hit her hard. I was just going through the pubescent part of my life and I started noticing her head always looking at the ground. She just couldn’t raise it up in public. My family and I would go to church and she would just tell us things like: “I don’t feel well.” Or “I will just go next time.” She would make us, the children of the family, go to the grocery store to get food for that night. All she would do was lay in bed.
I didn’t know why she was like this. Eventually, I asked my father what was going on. He told me that my mother’s past marriage was an abusive one. He also told me that my grandmother abused her verbally throughout most of her young adult life. He told me that she has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I knew what this was only through my grandfather having “Shell Shock.” I asked my father if we can fix it. He told me that it is a seasonal thing and that this year has been really rough on her so these couple of months are for her to recoup.
Seeing my mother in such a deep depression made my heart ache. I hated seeing her so anti-social and lazy. That is the complete opposite of the mother I knew. I suppose that the manhood instinct came about and I felt as if I needed to protect my mother from such things. Not just my mother though but all people who are susceptible to traumatic experiences that happen to them or has a disability. It makes me so blue when I see someone who is down now. Every person I see who looks sad puts me in their mood, as if it was a contagious cold. For a while I thought it was very pathetic. My moods would switch at just a glance of someone.
My mother eventually came out of her depression and made her life worth living again. She talked to us about it and it made her feel so much better. Of course it took her time to get back to normal but she did it.
I personally believe that I have an unnatural empathy for people with disabilities. It is in people’s nature to fear people with disabilities. I have a huge mass of empathy for people with disabilities and this may be true for a lot of people. My empathy may come from the “natural fear” that I think people get. I have been able to deal with people having disabilities throughout my life. My mother has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She had a rough childhood and a vad previous marriage which made it develop.
It was around the winter months when it hit her hard. I was just going through the pubescent part of my life and I started noticing her head always looking at the ground. She just couldn’t raise it up in public. My family and I would go to church and she would just tell us things like: “I don’t feel well.” Or “I will just go next time.” She would make us, the children of the family, go to the grocery store to get food for that night. All she would do was lay in bed.
I didn’t know why she was like this. Eventually, I asked my father what was going on. He told me that my mother’s past marriage was an abusive one. He also told me that my grandmother abused her verbally throughout most of her young adult life. He told me that she has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I knew what this was only through my grandfather having “Shell Shock.” I asked my father if we can fix it. He told me that it is a seasonal thing and that this year has been really rough on her so these couple of months are for her to recoup.
Seeing my mother in such a deep depression made my heart ache. I hated seeing her so anti-social and lazy. That is the complete opposite of the mother I knew. I suppose that the manhood instinct came about and I felt as if I needed to protect my mother from such things. Not just my mother though but all people who are susceptible to traumatic experiences that happen to them or has a disability. It makes me so blue when I see someone who is down now. Every person I see who looks sad puts me in their mood, as if it was a contagious cold. For a while I thought it was very pathetic. My moods would switch at just a glance of someone.
My mother eventually came out of her depression and made her life worth living again. She talked to us about it and it made her feel so much better. Of course it took her time to get back to normal but she did it.
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