Pete
Repete
So I am reading the story of Eunice Kennedy Shriver because she died and as Kennedy's go she did the most good which is admirable.
It was touching that she did so much for the mentally ill, starting the Special Olympics and all. She also was responsible for care of her sister Rose who was her inspiration for the Special Olympics. Rose Kennedy was "mildly retarded". I remembered Rose Kennedy died a few years so I looked her up and read that despite the fact she was only "mildly" retarded Joe Kennedy had her lobotomized when she was 23 years old resulting in her being almost a complete vegetable and required her to being institutionalized. Prior to the lobotomy she was cognizant and even wrote a daily journal.
While allowing a lobotomy could be attributed to the stupidity of the medical establishment way back then it stuck me more that Kennedy was more worried about her mood swings and that she would run away and get pregnant which would cause the family shame.
I guess having your 23 year old daughters brain scrambled to the point she crapped in her pants daily is not nearly as shameful as her getting knocked up or having some sort of outburst during a party in 1941.
I suppose hindsight is 20-20 but even in 1941 going into someones brain and scraping parts of it out cannot be a wise decision.
It was touching that she did so much for the mentally ill, starting the Special Olympics and all. She also was responsible for care of her sister Rose who was her inspiration for the Special Olympics. Rose Kennedy was "mildly retarded". I remembered Rose Kennedy died a few years so I looked her up and read that despite the fact she was only "mildly" retarded Joe Kennedy had her lobotomized when she was 23 years old resulting in her being almost a complete vegetable and required her to being institutionalized. Prior to the lobotomy she was cognizant and even wrote a daily journal.
While allowing a lobotomy could be attributed to the stupidity of the medical establishment way back then it stuck me more that Kennedy was more worried about her mood swings and that she would run away and get pregnant which would cause the family shame.
I guess having your 23 year old daughters brain scrambled to the point she crapped in her pants daily is not nearly as shameful as her getting knocked up or having some sort of outburst during a party in 1941.
I suppose hindsight is 20-20 but even in 1941 going into someones brain and scraping parts of it out cannot be a wise decision.