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

[Eggsnham]

Euthanasia is just inherently wrong. The very idea of it is just twisted.

Voluntary euthanasia is perfectly fine in my eyes. Involuntary euthanasia, however...

OT: Wasn't there some lady a few years ago who was infamous for saying things just like this?

In any case, what this person has said is fucked up, but is it really worth getting hyped up about? Maybe if you knew the family that was affected personally, or if the woman who sent the letter made threats about hurting the kid herself, but otherwise it just sounds like another case of a hateful nutcase being a hateful nutcase.

 

[Nicha11]

I feel the amount of people in this thread supporting this letter writer's hatred to be a little strange.
If the worst thing in someone's life is that a few time a month a kid is loud in the neighbor's backyard,
you've got a pretty sweet life going. If their response to his sound pollution is an anonymous (and poorly
written) letter spewing vitriol about how he should be put down because he's a 'retard' baby or what not, then
perhaps it is the writer of the letter who needs help for their mental illness, not the child.

 

[BlackFlyme]

Perhaps we ought to wait until then before we brush off the Aktion T4 programmes, however.

Provided a state with the power to decide which citizens will live or die survive the calamity.

We don't even need a system like that. Whoever works gets food for one person. Children included.

Those unable to work starve.

Jesus Christ that was disturbing to read. Do you realize how many people work irregular hours?

Unless the government gave out food for simply possessing a job factories would grind to a halt, packages would never get delivered, and stores would have to be fully automated because everyone would be avoiding any job that did not offer a full 40 hour week.

And if kids were required to work, how would they get an education?

I've worked in a factory for years, and there have been periods where I did not have work. Sometimes a dry streak can last for weeks. Seems funny now, that my manager always describes the industry as being either "feast or famine."

If the worst thing in someone's life is that a few times a month a kid is loud in the neighbor's backyard, you've got a pretty sweet life going.

Also this. People seem to be glossing over the fact that it was the grandmother who received the letter, not the parents. The kid isn't there 24/7. He doesn't even live in the same town.

 

[Lilani]

I agree with whoever wrote the letter.

We're not in a situation in our society where we absolutely need everyone to survive. If someone is harboring a child like that at the cost of everyone else and being a drain on society, then it is better to have the kid euthanized.

For everyone's sake.

Because your contribution to society is completely efficient and ecologically friendly, as you spend time browsing and posting in an Internet chat forum on a video games web site vie a computer, run by electricity, built in China, harboring God knows how many poisonous chemicals and artificial materials. And the fact that you (presumably) play video games and watch anime are also not at all in excess of what is required to survive. Because excess is the foundation of western society, and you do not at all indulge in that excess.

 

[Lilani]

I feel the amount of people in this thread supporting this letter writer's hatred to be a little strange.
If the worst thing in someone's life is that a few time a month a kid is loud in the neighbor's backyard,
you've got a pretty sweet life going. If their response to his sound pollution is an anonymous (and poorly
written) letter spewing vitriol about how he should be put down because he's a 'retard' baby or what not, then
perhaps it is the writer of the letter who needs help for their mental illness, not the child.

Just so you know, you don't have to manually press return every time you hit the end of a line while typing. If you just keep tying in the text box, the words will automatically continue to the next line. This should make posting for you a lot easier, and a lot easier for everyone else to read ;-)

 

[Korolev]

That is terrible. Unfortunately, it is not that uncommon. Disabled people get subjected to a lot of abuse. Perhaps not as much abuse as they suffered 50 or more years ago, but disabled folks still face a lot of discrimination. All human beings deserve good treatment, regardless of disabilities or lack thereof. Anyone who truly hateful of the disabled is a bad person.

Apologies if you are Autistic and take offense at the term "disabled". I know that some Autistic people are not disabled, but quite a few are and this child (the one who was the subject of the abusive letter) is fairly profoundly disabled as a result of his Autism.

 

[BarbaricGoose]

That's pretty fucked up. Although I'd be lying if I said I couldn't see where she was coming from. Completely unacceptable and horrible, but if I had to live next door to a screaming autistic kid, I might lose my temper too. That being said, I wouldn't tell the parents that they should euthanize/harvest the organs of their child. It almost seems like sending a letter like that could be illegal, and interpreted as a threat. If I was sent a letter like that I think I'd call the police. All those exclamation points... yikes.

I agree with whoever wrote the letter.

We're not in a situation in our society where we absolutely need everyone to survive. If someone is harboring a child like that at the cost of everyone else and being a drain on society, then it is better to have the kid euthanized.

For everyone's sake.

Because your contribution to society is completely efficient and ecologically friendly, as you spend time browsing and posting in an Internet chat forum on a video games web site vie a computer, run by electricity, built in China, harboring God knows how many poisonous chemicals and artificial materials. And the fact that you (presumably) play video games and watch anime are also not at all in excess of what is required to survive. Because excess is the foundation of western society, and you do not at all indulge in that excess.

Spoiler: Pound it!

Spoiler: And while you're at it, high five yourself!

 

[Nicha11]

I feel the amount of people in this thread supporting this letter writer's hatred to be a little strange.
If the worst thing in someone's life is that a few time a month a kid is loud in the neighbor's backyard,
you've got a pretty sweet life going. If their response to his sound pollution is an anonymous (and poorly
written) letter spewing vitriol about how he should be put down because he's a 'retard' baby or what not, then
perhaps it is the writer of the letter who needs help for their mental illness, not the child.

Just so you know, you don't have to manually press return every time you hit the end of a line while typing. If you just keep tying in the text box, the words will automatically continue to the next line. This should make posting for you a lot easier, and a lot easier for everyone else to read ;-)

Never! I hate long lines of text!

 

[asinann]

I kind of sympathise. I doubt they literally believe that the disabled should be euthanized; they're frustrated because they have to deal with that shit in their homes and have probably been dealing with it for some time.

People say a lot of shit when they're frustrated. Besides, what kind of parent lets their low functioning autistic child run the street, acting up? At least she took it out on them instead of the kid.

I get what you're saying. Although I do think she could have handled this situation a lot better. A letter simply asking them to keep the kid under control would have sufficed.

Polite tends to not work with people who let their children run free.

 

[Crystalite]

I'd hate to see what that woman would do if one of her own children had an accident and became disabled...

 

[TAGM]

I agree with whoever wrote the letter.

We're not in a situation in our society where we absolutely need everyone to survive. If someone is harboring a child like that at the cost of everyone else and being a drain on society, then it is better to have the kid euthanized.

For everyone's sake.

Because your contribution to society is completely efficient and ecologically friendly, as you spend time browsing and posting in an Internet chat forum on a video games web site vie a computer, run by electricity, built in China, harboring God knows how many poisonous chemicals and artificial materials. And the fact that you (presumably) play video games and watch anime are also not at all in excess of what is required to survive. Because excess is the foundation of western society, and you do not at all indulge in that excess.

I earned all of that through hard work and making tough decisions.

Like the hard decision of who in the world deserves to live or die, it seems.
Because, you know, if you're normal and do some hard work, well, you've earned the right to have your excess.
But if you can't work hard because of physical or mental defects, well, fuck you! You haven't earned the right to live, so off you pop to the euthanasia clinic.
Oh, yes, and if you're causing a bother to the general public, go get euthanized! After all, needs of the many and whatnot.

Seriously, your morality and ideals pushing into communist, or even Nazi territory. I'm not even using those words to be hip and edgy, either - I'm being completely literal.
And I hope I don't have to explain why pushing into that kind of territory might just be a bad idea. I mean, I can, if you really want me to, but I hope I don't.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I had one experience with an severely autistic person. Couldn't speak. couldn't express anything at all. Never will be able to function in society, and not capable of taking care of himself.

I just have to ask, what quality of life is that? What is that individual going to do when his parents are gone?

I understand there functioning autistics, and ya know right on. I just don't understand what the point of living is if you can't function, ya know?

 

[scorptatious]

I can't really understand the thought process a lot of people on here seem to have when it comes to supporting the lady who wrote the letter when it comes to euthanizing the kid.

I can understand being frustrated with him, that's natural, but there's no good reason to wish death on him.

I kind of sympathise. I doubt they literally believe that the disabled should be euthanized; they're frustrated because they have to deal with that shit in their homes and have probably been dealing with it for some time.

People say a lot of shit when they're frustrated. Besides, what kind of parent lets their low functioning autistic child run the street, acting up? At least she took it out on them instead of the kid.

I get what you're saying. Although I do think she could have handled this situation a lot better. A letter simply asking them to keep the kid under control would have sufficed.

Polite tends to not work with people who let their children run free.

Neither does threatening their children with death. What's your point?

Also, according to the video in this link:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/08/19/ontario-family-shocked-when-they-receive-letter-telling-them-to-euthanize-autistic-child/

They have the kid play in the backyard as he tends to run off if he's at the park. Plus the mom has MS, so she wouldn't be able to catch him if he did that.

So no, they don't let him run free.

 

[Griffolion]

-snip-

To me, you're okay making a complaint regarding noise, and that's it. Perhaps just a verbal request to the parent of an unruly child or perhaps a comment to an establishment you're in requesting if they could settle the situation. If the child is autistic, I'd give a much wider berth, since you know that they have a cognitive condition that can cause them to exhibit that sort of behaviour more.

OT:

Writing a letter essentially telling you to kill your child. What. The. Hell.? I get screaming isn't exactly pleasant to nearby people, but when did that ever sound like a good idea to anyone?

It's especially worse that she actually wrote a letter. It wasn't just a passing comment at the time in anger or something. This woman had the time to cool down, process her thoughts, actually write them onto paper, and then send it.

Seriously, wow.

 

[TAGM]

Can these people even survive if they aren't consistently given handouts or special treatment?

Really, is it so unreasonable to expect people to live entirely off of their work? Like, they work, they get paid, they survive that way.

Hell, it's even easy to get behind programs to help people get to a point where they can contribute like everyone else. Like foodstamps and the like.

But if they're never going to get to that point because they simply cannot function on a high enough level, then what good are they?

If they can get to the point where they can live completely independent of special treatment or programs (if they need living assistance, then they can pay for it themselves), then just ignore me.

I get where you're coming from, but at the same time, killing people off because they can't function at a high enough level is a very dangerous thing to do, for one more selfish reason in particular:
What defines high enough?
Someone - someone in power - could very easily come round with that idea, and say that your contribution wasn't high enough, and suddenly, you're on the list for death.
Never mind the inherent selfishness for killing people for something against their control just because it causes you - or even you and some other people - a mild inconvenience at best.

 

[Captain Anon]

However, if the child is outside and constantly wailing, there is something wrong.

I don't know how much you know about autistic kids, but that isn't always the case. This obviously wasn't the first time it's happened, and she called him a "wild animal child" which I'm guessing means pretty severe autism. And there are times when they are simply inconsolable, but he needs fresh air and human interaction just as anyone else does so they can't just keep him in all the time.

The woman went out of her way to not only express her grievances, but also to personally insult the child and the parents.

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 completely agree and it makes me sick when I see this kind of shit seriously if it was my son and someone sent this I'd be like "who the fuck sent this?! who in their right fucking mind would dare do this sick, hateful piece of shit under my door, I'm gonna find who the fuck sent this and shove my foot up this cowardly witch's ass". great now i'm angry my day has been fucking ruined

 

[Vareoth]

Can these people even survive if they aren't consistently given handouts or special treatment?

Really, is it so unreasonable to expect people to live entirely off of their work? Like, they work, they get paid, they survive that way.

Hell, it's even easy to get behind programs to help people get to a point where they can contribute like everyone else. Like foodstamps and the like.

But if they're never going to get to that point because they simply cannot function on a high enough level, then what good are they?

If they can get to the point where they can live completely independent of special treatment or programs (if they need living assistance, then they can pay for it themselves), then just ignore me.

Thankfully I can just ignore your utilitarianist extremist opinion, right? I shall also refrain from making comparisons between your ideas and Nazist doctrine, though you are making it easy for someone to do just that.

You can think whatever you wish, however. There is no limit on foolishness for this race. And I'm certainly not arrogant enough to think myself worthy of making big decisions that negatively impact other people's lives...

 

[Vizanto]

Frankly Ratherdull, your terribleness as a human being is a much bigger drain on society than an autistic kid who screams occasionally.

 

[Sean951]

Well... The reaction of the letter-writer being as horrific as it was, I can't help but sympathize, depending on how loud the kid is.

I support the use of eugenics in order to end genetic diseases. If you get pregnant, and the child's genetics show that they will suffer from a genetic disorder, then either science needs to find a way to fix that or the prospective mother should be given the mifepristone (the abortion pill). It is not fair to the child to be brought in to the world with such an inherent and un-fixable disadvantage or to society, which now has to dedicate resources to an individual who could not contribute to society instead of, say, buying new books for schools or fixing infrastructure.

Autism would be difficult, as there seem to be many different degrees and I am unsure if they can tell how bad it will be until the child is born. It's a difficult situation, but I know that I would rather be dead than unable to function at a higher level. I also never believed that human life is inherently sacred, murder is wrong because it violates the rules that society needs to function and other random death is horrific because despite what people may think, I do have empathy for people losing loved ones.

 

[Doclector]

Can these people even survive if they aren't consistently given handouts or special treatment?

Really, is it so unreasonable to expect people to live entirely off of their work? Like, they work, they get paid, they survive that way.

Hell, it's even easy to get behind programs to help people get to a point where they can contribute like everyone else. Like foodstamps and the like.

But if they're never going to get to that point because they simply cannot function on a high enough level, then what good are they?

If they can get to the point where they can live completely independent of special treatment or programs (if they need living assistance, then they can pay for it themselves), then just ignore me.

I was never given any real help. I was rarely given handouts, and even when I did, I only used them when I needed them.

Meanwhile, normal society makes things incredibly difficult with their intolerance, close-mindedness and hatred. And yeah, I'm high functioning, but don't think I don't have problems. I can't connect, I struggle to understand other people, and so I get worried and paranoid. I'd be surprised if I ever had a relationship, "meaningful" or otherwise.

But y'know what? I'm at university. Most of the year, I live independantly, and doing a damn sight better at it than some people who are considered "able". Sure I have problems, I have crisis' but dammit, I'm still here. I have friends, friends who I've supported when they needed me. I don't have a job yet, but I'm determined to make the people who finally let me in glad they took a chance on me.

And all around me what do I see coming from the "normal" part of society? More stupidity, more celebrity absurdity, all of this bullshit. I ain't saying normal people are stupid as a whole, but dammit, it's hard to believe that some of you are calling for a genocide of everyone who doesn't fit, no, who wasn't ALLOWED into your society, when autistic people are FAR from the biggest problem we have.

And y'know what, it makes me happy. It makes me happy to know that even with all my problems, the fact that I had to teach myself through a process of trial and error and constant practice (that is still ongoing today) how to properly interact with other people, I am a hell of a better man than anyone who would call for such a thing.

TLR: Any proposed method of genocide of autistic people, be it via euthanasia or through abortion is wrong. It has always been wrong. It will always be wrong. There is no discussion to be had there. Case. Fucking. Closed.