State Secret: Thousands Secretly Sterilized

[dutchdemocrat]

N.C. Woman Among 65,000 Sterilized by Gov't, Often Without Their Knowledge, in Twentieth Century

WINDFALL, N.C., May 15, 2005 — Beneath the surface of this Southern town, with its lush evergreens and winding riverbanks, is a largely forgotten legacy of pain, secrecy, and human indignity.

"My heart still bleeds, and it will forever bleed, because of what had happened to me," local resident Elaine Riddick said. From the early 1900s to the 1970s, some 65,000 men and women were sterilized in this country, many without their knowledge, as part of a government eugenics program to keep so-called undesirables from reproducing.

"The procedures that were done here were done to poor folks," said Steven Selden, a professor at the University of Maryland. "They were thought to be poor because they had bad genes or bad inheritance, if you will. And so they would be the focus of the sterilization."

Sterilized Without Her Knowledge

Riddick was raped and became pregnant at the age of 13. Social workers labeled her promiscuous and too feeble-minded to ever be a responsible parent. So, after giving birth in 1968, Riddick was sterilized without being told. She learned the truth years later, when she married and tried to have more children. "They took so much away from me," Riddick said. "They took away my spirit and my soul."

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Health/story?id=708780

[Swamp Rat]

1. Oi cara!

Tudo bem? :hi:

Check out Edin Black's book on eugenics:
http://www.waragainsttheweak.com/

[Heidi]

3. War Against the Weak.

Quite simply one of the best books I've read in 20 years. That information should be taught in public schools, in my opinion.

[Swamp Rat]

4. I saw his lecture on CSPAN about a year and a half ago.

The forces that control this government will not allow the truth to be told to the children nor the American public in general. Very few will have access to this information because the people who did the genocide then are the same ones in control of this country now... of course, I am speaking of their children and apprentices, and students and followers after them.

[Heidi]

5. That's why I think it's important for us . . .

who know the truth to teach it to the kids in our lives, wherever we live. For example, my Swiss goddaughters revere American Indians, but had no absolutely no knowledge about the genocide of American Indians (i.e., the Cherokee Trail of Tears, smallpox blankets distributed by the government to various tribes). Nor had my goddaughters ever heard of the concept of slavery.

I'll see if I can find a video of Mr. Black's lecture online. I'd like to see it.

[Swamp Rat]

6. Let me know if CSPAN still has it.

I will watch it again and tell others. I actually saw it live, but there must be an archive of it somewhere. I had just moved back from Brasil - my paradise - to fight for America from within when I happened to turn on CSPAN... maybe I will tell minhas crianças sobre o "Genocídio Americano I, II, III, IV, V, VI... "

[Heidi]

7. Is it this one?

http://www.booktv.org/misc/southernbook_101203.asp

[Swamp Rat]

8. I believe so, but I cannot open the stream.

The error message says they are having a "network problem." I will try again later.

Thanks for the link. :)

[Heidi]

9. I got that error message, too.

But I plan to have my SO (inhouse techie) tell me what I might be doing wrong so that I can watch it.

Love your peace sign, Swamp Rat.

[Swamp Rat]

11. We aren't doing anything wrong.

The problem is at the source. I have seen this before. Either the file no longer exists in the archives, there is a broken internal link at a server, or possibly some other outside interference. Most likely it is a broken link.

I had to leave you with a peace sign after showing you those ugly images. :)

[Heidi]

13. I'll check back with it later. (nt)

[unhappycamper]

2. self-delete

[NMMNG]

10. Yup

I've worked with developmentally disabled individuals for 18 years and even into the 70's it was routine, even mandated by law in some places, for them to be sterilized or have hysterectomies to keep them from reproducing 'more of their kind'. I also learned of the same tactics being used on the mentally ill and the poor. It's an outrage and shame that people could do that (among all of the other abuses heaped on such vulnerable individuals).

[Heidi]

12. I just nominated this thread . . .

for "Greatest." We've gotta get the facts out there. I've seen enough eugenics-tinged posts at DU (i.e. "stupid people should not be allowed to reproduce") that I'm convinced there are a lot of progressives who don't know the truth about eugenics in the U.S.