AP tastefully renders Terri's alleged "I want to live!" plea

[BurtWorm]

I rendered this tastelessly as "aaaa...WAAAAAA!!!!" and wound up offending delicate sensibilities here at DU.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Brain-Damaged-Woman.html?


The state judge was expected to announce a decision by noon Saturday on a motion by the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, claiming Schiavo tried to say ``I want to live'' just minutes before the feeding tube was removed a week ago. The parents say Schiavo said ``AHHHHH'' and ``WAAAAAAA'' when asked to repeat the phrase ``I want to live.''

[Dookus]

1. I think she was trying to say...

Aaaah waaaahnt you all to fuck off and let me die.

[BurtWorm]

3. Careful, Dookus.

It was just such speculating that offended the sensibilities. ;)

[BiggJawn]

26. The "sensibilities" can French MY "Cinnamon Ring", too.

"Ooooooh! we don't want the lurking FREEPERS to think we're callous, uncaring people!"

Who's more uncaring? Some of us who find this whole macabre circus comically IRONIC, or the willing participants down there in FloriDUH?

When afronted by such degenerate madness as the Schiavo Circus Maximus, I'm sorry, it's either laugh or go insane. There comes a point when you're so pissed-off you can't get any more pissed-off.

Then you start in with the gallows humour.

[_TJ_]

13. Ha Ha Haaaaaah !

Nice one :D

[janx]

16. There's no question in my mind.

That is precisely what she said.

[ohio_liberal]

2. ....

:D

[Demit]

4. Interesting. I've seen some reports that the AH had 7 H's in it, and the

WA only 5 A's. Other reports had it in lower case. It's very confusing; I don't know who I can believe.

[BurtWorm]

10. It's like, is it Qaddafi, or Kaddaffy, or Gaddaffeigh?

:shrug:

[Demit]

11. TRÉS interpretive, yes.

Alas, the reports do not attempt to transcribe the Ah's and Wa's the poor thing has been making at random these last 15 years, so I consider them somewhat incomplete.

[CatWoman]

25. and were the letters in superscript, or merely script?

was the "w" raised?

and what of the "h"?

[Demit]

28. If they had been in superscript I would have been very suspicious

As everyone knows, hospice patients' talking in superscript became obsolete after the year 1973.

[Stop_the_War]

5. She was trying to say "Ahh WAAAA to LEAVE"

[ima_sinnic]

6. like someone who can't hear, see, or think can "repeat" anything

...

i wish god would, by a miracle, grant Terri the ability to speak one time. wouldn't her opportunistic, money-grubbing, self-centered parents be shocked and stunned if she said, "please, I just want to die in peace." they'd probably try to shut her up.

[Demit]

29. Yes, can you see Bill O'Reilly? "Shut up! Just SHUT UP! (Cut her mic!!)"

[Devlzown]

7. She can be a spokesperson for Aiwa!

n/t

[thebigidea]

8. if I could speak in her state, i'd be muttering KILL ME ala Aliens

but of course, you can't speak in her state.

delusional fucking bastards.

[mzmolly]

9. If she was asked to sing Peter Cottontail she may have tried to.

This disgusting RW media propaganda fest is going to backfire.

The Right Wing zealots are threatening their precious RW candidates with a job loss if they don't physically bust Terry out of the hospice now.

The media, in trying to help the RW cause is actually going to hurt them in the long run.

Time to draft them Constitution Candidates to talk about the lack of RW purity among the current RW politicians folks.

[OrlandoGator]

12. In context, the AP articles are quoting the printed text of the court docs

n/t

[BurtWorm]

15. I should have consulted them before attempting to render what I

heard the sounds their friend made to capture Terri's "quote" on CNN yesterday morning. Unfortunately, the transcript wasn't released yet, so I made due with my own transliteration.

[janx]

14. Even funnier is listening to reporters on the cable channels

do it: aaahhh...WAAAAHHH! Some of them try their best to be subdued. Others go for it. ;-)

[dogtag]

17. If only Attorney Weller

had immediately called in those murderous doubting doctors to hear for themselves Terri's remarkable utterances, the Shindlers might have prevailed. Instead Ms. Weller sat on this startling information for an entire week before presenting it in an emergency session in Judge Greer's court.

Why isn't she being sanctioned for either being a liar OR for being ineffective counsel? Pick one.

[tammywammy]

23. I thought I had read about the Weller account earlier than yesterday

But, it wasn't in an actual court document until yesterday.

It's really neither here nor there, but you know if such a miracle occurred, I would have expected the attorney to immediate call in medical professionals and put a call into Judge Greer's, you know, BEFORE the tube was removed.

If this was made up, and not, as I think, hope turning nothing into something, that she's sanctioned.

[SidDithers]

18. Actually, I think it was "To blaaave..."

Which, as we all know, actually means "to bluff", so she was probably playing poker, and owe's somebody money.



At least, that's what Miracle Max would say.

Sid

[asjr]

21. LOL --good one!

[Amaya]

22. Thanks for the laugh!

:D

[Az]

19. Our minds are easily able to find patterns where there are none

Particularly when we want a pattern to be there or are told ahead of time what pattern to see.

This was a common occurrence a couple decades ago during the backmasking craze in rock albums. People were told to listen closely to record tracks being played backwards. They were told what to listen for. And then in the chaotic sound of the playback they would hear what they were told to hear.

Its simply how the brain works. We favor finding patterns even when they are not there. Evolutionarily speaking it is better to err in favor of finding a pattern that may be critical than it is to miss one that is really there.

Imagine two cavemen watching shadows in the jungle. The one more prone to see patterns in the shadows will take off running at the first hint of danger. The more skeptical caveman will sit around pondering the import of the shadows while the saver tooth tiger has already starting chewing on his leg.

[tmooses]

20. I Can't help but think what this circus is doing for those at the

hospice where Terri Schiavo is. Having had both parents go through hospice, I know it's all about the dignity of those who are living their last days in this world. This should not be happening. Caregivers at hospice are IMHO some of the cream of humanity. They dedicate their lives so others and their loved ones will make the passing easier and less painful.

[cestpaspossible]

24. The article incorrectly identifies

her parent's lawyers as "Her lawyers".

[Misskittycat]

30. I noticed that, too.

I've e-mailed AP before when they do sloppy things like that. Probably makes no difference to them,though.

[Oeditpus Rex]

32. Something makes a difference

AP frequently moves updates slugged "CORRECTIVE" or with "RECAST" or other notes to editors about changes. Unfortunately, deadlines do not always allow for newspapers to run these. And as we often say on a copy editors' board, "Hundreds of papers use AP unedited."

[cestpaspossible]

33. I have no doubt it is intentional nt

[merh]

27. If this were in fact what she "said"

Couldn't she be saying "I want to die" or "I want it to end" or "I want you to leave me alone" or "I want you out of here" or "I want a cookie"?

I really feel sorry for that judge. If it were me, I would have arranged a clandestine meeting with TS so that I could say I personally tried to communicate with her and she did not communicate in any way with me.

[Bouncy Ball]

31. Exactly.

They filled in what they WANTED her to say or what they THOUGHT she should say.

What most of these nutcase fundies are forgetting is that, without the brain matter to FORM a thought, how is she going to speak it?

I mean, we FORM thoughts in our heads before (granted it's less than a split second) we speak them. She can't even THINK, how's she supposed to talk?

[BurtWorm]

34. Or I want a place to stay

Get your bootie on the floor tonight
Make my day.