[Ohio-talk] Disabilities and their portrayal

[Deborah Kendrick]

Kaiti, 
I've written quite a bit about this stuff myself over the years, and will
try to find time to send you some pieces later.  Meanwhile, let me direct
you to perhaps the best book to help shape your thinking in this area. 
BY TRUST BETRAYED, by Hugh Gallagher.  
The focus of the book is the unearthing of facts surrounding the Holocaust.
Six million jews were murdered.  What many people donot know is that the
very first victims of Hitler's insanity were people with mental and physical
disabilities.  This is more widely recognized today, but when Hugh's book
was published, 1999 I think it was, this was completely new information to
most.  
Some of the first gas chambers were actually housed within hospitals, where
patients deemed expendable due to mental or physical imperfection, were
transported from ward to execution.  
All of this is gripping, gut-wrenching stuff, but I am thrilled that someone
young and intelligent is grabbing hold of it. 
Keep exploring this trail, please.  It is uphill work, but extremely
important work. 
Deborah
-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti
Shelton
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 11:38 AM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Disabilities and their portrayal

Yes, I referenced her speech "The Right to Live in the World" in my message.
I briefly met her at convention as well, but now that I'm taking a bioethics
course I'm starting to get a really clear idea of just how right she was.  I
agreed with the points of her speech when I first heard it in Orlando, but
it's baffling to actually see this stuff play out in front of you.  

Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton---2016
Music Therapy Major, Psychology Minor, Clarinet Ohio Association of Blind
Students, President NFB Community Service Group, Service Project Committee
Chair Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David
Andrews
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 11:33 AM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Disabilities and their portrayal

Are you familiar with Dr. Adrienne Asch, a blind bio-ethesist who recently
passed away.  She fought this stuff for years.  She addressed nfb convention
this year, which can be found in the August-September Braille Monitor.

Dave

At 10:21 AM 1/30/2014, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>
>
>I made quite a stir in my medical ethics class this morning.  We were 
>asked to consider an example from our book, which concerned a 10 year 
>old boy who was according to the book having all these horrible issues 
>as a result of CP.  Some of the things the book claimed about this boy 
>were not characteristics of CP at all, and it even claimed that CP was 
>genetic itself rather than caused by complications.  The question was, 
>"Is it moral to kill Johnny via lethal injection to end his pain and 
>the suffering of his parents?"  I wasn't going to say anything at 
>first, but then I started questioning things.  Is it moral to kill 
>someone if you think they're in pain, but they don't have the autonomy 
>to
tell you whether they are or not?
>Is it moral to kill a child when his parents are making the request?  
>Is it moral to make this decision without full and accurate knowledge 
>of what the condition really is?
>
>
>
>And you know what happened?  When I contradicted the book the professor 
>was first flustered, then when I started answering questions with the 
>knowledge I had he told me I was ahead of the curve, and proceeded with 
>his lecture, using the false information and pretenses the book provided.
I was shocked.
>This is a class of pre-med majors (and me who is the only non-medical 
>specific person in the class), and it boggled me that this sort of 
>stuff would be fed to the next generation of doctors, dietitions, 
>exercise scientists, etc.  I know this is just an undergraduate class, 
>but shouldn't doctors always take a patient-centered approach, or a 
>human-centered approach for that matter?  And I'm reminded of "The 
>Right to Live in the World," and how what that speech says applies to 
>this situation.  The misinformation in my bioethics textbook only 
>substantiates the claim that people with disabilities lead miserable or 
>terribly painful lives, and that misninformation in the minds and hands 
>of future doctors is a scary thing to me.
>
>
>
>Anyway, just thought I'd continue discussion on this topic with others 
>who will get it.  I'm sorry if I ranted a little; I got a little 
>passionate on this issue.
>
>
>
>Kaiti Shelton
>
>University of Dayton---2016
>
>Music Therapy Major, Psychology Minor, Clarinet
>
>Ohio Association of Blind Students, President
>
>NFB Community Service Group, Service Project Committee Chair
>
>Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma


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