Angry mom sends letter to family of autistic child telling them to have him euthanized.

[Queen Michael]

Though I'm probably pretty alone with that, I'm on the mom's side.

Actually, I've been reading through all the replies to this thread, and pretty many are on the mother's side, me included. Okay, so most of those of us who are on the mother's side agree that talking about euthanasia is going too far, but on the whole we still sympathize with her plight.

 

[SadisticFire]

So, because I have autism, I'm not allowed to have kids?

I'm sorry but FUCK THAT.

I'm not saying I will be a father someday, nor do I want to be one anytime soon. And I can kinda agree in the sense that if a person is unable to care for themselves, it might not be a good idea for them to have kids.

But saying that people like me should be prevented from breeding just because we may "taint the gene pool" as you say, it sorta comes off as disgusting.

Have a pleasant day mein fuhrer.

And now, mods, you are free to punish me.

Of course it comes off disgusting. We have morals of 'the right to live'. Without natural selection we're progressively making our gene pool worse and worse, because we never let anyone die with science and medicine. That also goes for the fact we keep treating minor diseases with AB's so we're forcing them to become drug resistant. I'm not saying you don't deserve to have kids, but it's better for the humans as a species. Life isn't fair, some people are rolled unlucky lives. All I can say if you want to have kids, but have a genetic disability is to adopt. There's thousands and thousands of kids suffering with no parent. No one to care for them. Adopt them, show love to them. They're suffering, and compared to making other people suffer with giving birth to someone with a disability, adopting is so much better.
POST SCRIPT: Also due note, that many people diagnosed with autism/ADHD/many other disabilities actually do not have them. Our current society(Atleast in America. Yay America) has a HUGE habbit of over diagnoses. In America 80% of males are diagnosed with ADHD, but only ten percent of them actually have it.(I don't actually have a citation to it. It was a factoid that I remember in one of my classes)

snip

Yes you could say that. But it doesn't change the fact we're introducing people with diseases we have to treat. There's a genotype that appears at age ~7. It makes you keeps turning and turning your muscles till your digestive system gets cut off, you can't walk, or do anything but barely crawl. We can treat said disease. But once that disease is in everyone(Or a large majority) and we somehow run out of the ability to treat said disease. What then? We now have thousands, and thousands of people with this disease, dying a slow painful death. I'm not saying there isn't natural selection in a sense, but it's dancing to a different tune. One of intelligence, and wealth. Not physical capability and health.

 

[Aesir23]

While I get that they can be annoying (once was in a class with a girl who would scream at the top of her lungs at random intervals) it is absolutely not ok to send their family a letter telling them their child should be euthanized. Not only is it just plain wrong, it is incredibly childish in a way that is beyond imagination. Obviously, I'm not in this woman's shoes but the fact that she would send the letter seems to speak of very little self control on her end.

So, because I have autism, I'm not allowed to have kids?

I'm sorry but FUCK THAT.

I'm not saying I will be a father someday, nor do I want to be one anytime soon. And I can kinda agree in the sense that if a person is unable to care for themselves, it might not be a good idea for them to have kids.

But saying that people like me should be prevented from breeding just because we may "taint the gene pool" as you say, it sorta comes off as disgusting.

Have a pleasant day mein fuhrer.

And now, mods, you are free to punish me.

Of course it comes off disgusting. We have morals of 'the right to live'. Without natural selection we're progressively making our gene pool worse and worse, because we never let anyone die with science and medicine. That also goes for the fact we keep treating minor diseases with AB's so we're forcing them to become drug resistant. I'm not saying you don't deserve to have kids, but it's better for the humans as a species. Life isn't fair, some people are rolled unlucky lives. All I can say if you want to have kids, but have a genetic disability is to adopt. There's thousands and thousands of kids suffering with no parent. No one to care for them. Adopt them, show love to them. They're suffering, and compared to making other people suffer with giving birth to someone with a disability, adopting is so much better.

While I agree that people should definitely look into adoption because of all of the kids in the system who need loving homes, to say that someone shouldn't have children just because they have an genetic illness or disability so they don't 'taint' the gene pool is reprehensible. Especially when there are some genetic illnesses out there that actually do have a positive side effect. Sickle cell anemia, for example, can make someone more resistant to Malaria and if they do contract it they'll suffer less severe symptoms. Besides, if only genetically healthy people were allowed to have children how would we, as a species, eventually develop defences against these things?

Also, as one of those people born with a genetic illness, I am quite happy to be here and I'm glad that my mother chose to have children in spite of her illness. Obviously I'm not speaking for everyone as there are more severe cases than my own, but to say that my mother has "made me suffer" by giving birth to me would be quite a long shot.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Your kid was born with severe brain damage and/or deformations and would normally die within a week? Of course you have to spend hundreds of thousands on treatment, therapy and equipment to make sure it remains in this state as long as possible. Because some self-righteous people say you have to. Because morals and stuff.

Remember, we're talking about a teenager who spends his days running screaming through the garden here. There's room for doubt he's even aware of the concept of life and death.

Pssst. Even severely autistic kids generally don't die of their condition.

Also I know plenty of non-autistic kids who spend all their time running screaming through the garden. I'm pretty sure they're sane and know the concept of life and death.

 

[oZode]

Of course it comes off disgusting. We have morals of 'the right to live'. Without natural selection we're progressively making our gene pool worse and worse, because we never let anyone die with science and medicine. That also goes for the fact we keep treating minor diseases with AB's so we're forcing them to become drug resistant. I'm not saying you don't deserve to have kids, but it's better for the humans as a species. Life isn't fair, some people are rolled unlucky lives. All I can say if you want to have kids, but have a genetic disability is to adopt. There's thousands and thousands of kids suffering with no parent. No one to care for them. Adopt them, show love to them. They're suffering, and compared to making other people suffer with giving birth to someone with a disability, adopting is so much better.

Autistics if they can get a wife have every right to have their own children. A policy to stop autistics from reproducing would be pointless as autism half the time isn't even properly defined, a person with slightly deviant behavior may be considered autistic for instance.

There may be some weird impairment with the way some think, but the definition of Autism has gone so broad that there are people out there who despite being 'autistic' lead lives like a "normal" person.

 

[sageoftruth]

It's like witnessing the internet, only with pen and paper. Can't believe she wrote all those exclamation marks by hand.

 

[Envy Omicron]

Judging by the unnecessary abundance of questions marks and exclamation points, plus the general tone of the letter, I, as an individual with Asperger's Syndrome, have come to the conclusion that the mother who wrote this letter is most likely a vile, insipid, absolutely abysmal human being, and I pity whatever children she has.

 

[Tenkage]

Judging by the unnecessary abundance of questions marks and exclamation points, plus the general tone of the letter, I, as an individual with Asperger's Syndrome, have come to the conclusion that the mother who wrote this letter is most likely a vile, insipid, absolutely abysmal human being, and I pity whatever children she has.

I completely agree, I too am autistic and I find this sick to my stomach that someone like this exists

 

[oZode]

Everyone's autistic nowadays.

Just the fact I have been diagnosed despite me doing perfectly fine in school and even having a couple friends since elementary amazes me.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

Then again, there are some people who find it funny to joke about throwing a crying baby out of a plane, so clearly some adults have a screwy, selfish mind.

It's ignorent and selfish to take a baby on board a plane, the eustachian tube is soft and often compress in babies when they are exposed to those pressure differences and cause immense pain to the baby.

Really? I was on a flight where a baby sat in the row in front of us. Baby didn't seem to be in any pain. It wasn't crying either (it was making other noise though).

So I'm wondering if that only happens up to a certain age or not with every baby.

"often" and "those pressure differences" being the operative words.
It's the main reason why babies start crying after the initial take off.

 

[Greg White]

On the one hand, yes the letter was very inappropriate.

On the other...a mental disability does only go so far to excuse driving everyone else crazy. The kid may not be able to help it, but that still doesn't make it any less annoying and people can only take so much.

 

[Grimwald]

Hrmmm, okay.

Disclaimer: I can only speak as a Brit living in Britain, so this no way is aimed at the US or Canada or whatever. Each culture has it's merits and it's not so forward thinking aspects.

As someone who has a sibling who is a "low-functioning autistic person" ( no better way to put it ) this does not surprise or upset me.

Simply because this set of opinions is quite endemic even today.
Sure, people have understanding and most people have consciously moved away from locking them up, out of site, out of mind or frankly eugenics but this does not preclude people from having subconscious, automatic reactions when a child with special needs is nearby either audibly or visually. Sure they appreciate that a child with special needs has a right to exist, but not next door. Good Lord No.

So it is quite understandable that someone would have a knee-jerk reaction and almost accidentally blurt out something highly inflammatory, to actually write a letter requires at least some forethought or maybe even afterthought, "Shit, did I write this, Christ, I am a horrible person" and crumple the letter and set fire to it, but still, people.

Autistic individuals who are "low-functioning" are very high in requirements in some capacity or another, emotional, physical and monetary. Often the government (local or national) is unwilling or unable to free up the resources to provide extra capacity to deal with the needs of parents who have the oft unenviable task of caring for someone with a special needs child.

This isn't helped when the local government believes that the best way to "deal with this" is to put autistic/special needs individuals broad-brush, regardless of the chance to actually get anything out of it, into the standard education system. This does no one any favours and increases tensions and frankly can put unsuspecting children and staff at risk. Don't take this as a "lock-em-up" argument, however they require special care, treatment and patience.

This does not just stem to the 9-3:30 ( or your local equivalent ) of school hours, but outside that period too, 24/7, and if a child is constantly wailing, outside of meaning nothing, then there has to be the consideration that care is not being provided by the local authority to assist the parents.

You may be thinking that why should local government ( or national, you pick ) should pay up, why your tax dollars/pounds/yen/bits of bone and shards of wood, should go to providing support for these parents, then you have to consider that no parent got into bed one night and set their reproductive system to "autistic" to get an autistic child and that simply nature took it's course and they got what they got. That they may not be able to provide adequate support for that child, especially as they reach the teenage period of their life.

If it were you who had this child and their behavior proved unmanageable, wouldn't you want help?

And since 2 in 100 children born in the US have autism, it might be you.



I appreciate this may come over as preachy, but I think there is a lot to cover in one angry woman's letter that goes beyond "What an awful woman" and is more an exaggerated megaphone of a culture not yet adapted to the concept of having people around them who do not fulfill their criteria of normalcy.

And I can attest to that, part of the reason I left home at 17 was because I found it very, very difficult to deal with my brother on a daily basis.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

*sigh*

We're never going to see Jim's dragon dildo aren't we?

 

[Garrett]

Humans are cruel animals, very cruel.

On one hand, we have people, capable people, that botched they luck throw in life and due to it were pushed (well, technically they were pushed by us) into comitting crime (say, stole food because they were hungry) when all they needed was just a bit of help from us, more fortunate humans. And what we do to them? We throw them with murderers and rapists to facilities which, few countires aside, do exactly the opposite of what they were created for. They push people that were not quite sure yet into full criminality. We literally destroy their chances at "normal, decent" lives for one mistake which was made under pressure and bad luck and we say they deserve this.

On the other hand, we have people, very unfortunate people, that completely botched their luck throw on birth with critical failure (I'm not particulary talking about the kid from the article, just in general, people beyond help). Due to this they have pretty much no chance for "normal, decent" live unless they roll critical success on life luck throw, though chances for that are rather miserable. Hell, some of them don't even know what is happening around them. And we put them before life of hardship and pain with zero-to-none chance to overcome this and load of self-loathing on the chance they'll actually realize how much trouble and pain they give to people around who take care of them. And in this situation, where it's more merciful to put the bullet in their head instead of making them go through this, we "help" them saying "Hey, look at the bright side, at least you're breathing" like just breathing was the best thing ever (and don't get me even started on people who were unfortunate enough to survive accidents with heavy injuries like say, full body paralyzation where they can effectively only breath). Sure, it's not their fault, but life isn't fair.

And you all hypocrites, ask yourself and answer honsetly. Just how many times did you say or think something along the lines "I'm going to kill you"? No, it wasn't different, it's exactly the same. And putting those thoughts onto paper instead of keeping them to yourself doesn't make her more of monster, or you less. Granted, she should handle it better. Much more effective and constructive way would be to go to the parent and say something like "If you won't stop this child from wailing in xxx seconds, I'm going to kick it until it stops wailing and preferably moving.". Or even cut the middle man and go straight to the kicking. But yeah, I'm pretty much on the side of the woman. Though I might be a little biased since all I need is a kid, any kid, no retardation needed, entering my field of vision or just hearing them to make me want to acquaint their faces with the pavement.

Inb4 "Well, you... prick! I guess it would be more merciful to put the bullet in your head?" - yes, it would be. That'd be nice.

 

[lacktheknack]

Yeah you got me there, honestly I don't know what severe autistic children are like.
They do sound pretty bad, is there seriously nothing people can do to control them? From what you've described, the angry letter doesn't sound so far fetched with it's description of a "wild animal kid". I suppose I'm just too optimistic that things will work out.

Trying to control a child who's suffering from a fit cause by severe autism is like trying to control a windstorm. They're frantically trying to shut out offending stimuli/communicate a need/expressing distress, but their body keeps getting in the way.

Check Youtube for the mute autistic girl who learned how to type. She gives some pretty sad insights into what she faces daily.

<youtube=xMBzJleeOno>

 

[Andy Shandy]

You know what, random person that apparently typed this letter, that will never see this anyway. As someone who has an autistic brother (although luckily, only "mildly")

Fuck you, you absolutely sickening arsehole of a human being. I would tell you to go kill yourself, but that would be hypocritical considering, so I can only hope that you move away as far as possible from humanity, so that no-one has to put up with whatever stupid, ridiculous shite falls out of the poisonous sewer you call a mouth.

Okay, that felt good to vent.

 

[Rangerboy87]

One wonders how many people in the community quietly support whoever sent that, even if they'd not gone the step of writing their own hate speech.

Judging how the community is rallying behind the boy's family and they are looking for the woman so they can take legal action against her. I bet she's in the middle of it pretending to be supportive, since she was so brave in standing up to this, she didn't even own up to doing it.

This is just atrocious! Just when I think society is making gains in treating children with exceptionalities as equals, we get idiots like this.

To those who have thought she acted as a frustrated and concerned parent, no concerned mother would ever address a child like that. This is simply a hateful woman who denigrates the human race far more than that autistic boy.

 

[Robert Marrs]

Its pretty sad that some woman wrote this. She obviously has mental issues. What bothers me more is people calling for her to be charged with a crime. She did not threaten anyone. She just wrote a bunch of really mean things to somebody. The day that is a crime is the day I lose faith in freedom of speech.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

"It scares the hell out of my normal children!!!!!!!!!

He is a nuisance to everyone and will always be that way!!!!!! Who the hell is going to care for him????????? No employer will hire him, no normal girl is going to marry/love him and you are not going to live forever!!

T]hey should take whatever non retarded body parts he possesses and donate it to science. What the hell else good is he to anyone!!!!

You had a retarded kid, deal with it... properly!!!!! What right do you have to do this to hard working people!!!!!!!!!



I don't care if he was being louder than a fucking jet engine. There is never an excuse for that."



I'd like to write this jacka--woman an angry letter about her abuse and rape of the "exclamation" and "question" marks.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

After reading a few of the comments, I have come to the conclusion that a lot of people weighing in on this have no actual understanding of autistic children and are righting this off as just another kid throwing a regular tantrum, due not to being autistic but because of bad parenting.


Reminds me of gaming. You know, game's cause violence. Because people need something to blame, rather then accept that some things happen without having someone there to point the finger at.