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NH State Rep Suggests People With Disabilities Should Be Sent To Siberia
March 14th, 2011I just heard of comments made by New Hampshire State Representative Martin Harty to the effect that people with disabilities should either be killed or sent to Siberia. I am not entirely surprised this kind of attitude still exists. But I am saddened.
Harty was elected at the mid-terms and confesses he hasn't really got a clue what he's doing. He's 91 years old and served under Patton during World War II. Some of his comments included:
"The world population has gotten too big and the world is being inherited by too many defective people [...] I mean all the defective people, the drug addicts, mentally ill, the retarded — all of them. [...] I believe if we had a Siberia we should send them to this and they would all freeze and die and we will be rid of them"
I admit, at times like these, I find it difficult to build a coherent argument to refute these kinds of comments. There is not much that can be said in the face of such bigotry.
Here are some thoughts, unordered and unpacked:
- The United States has a long history of eugenics.
- 52% of Americans would rather be dead than disabled.
- Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" is an argument for euthanasia.
- Physician-assisted suicide is legal in the US states of Montana, Oregon and Washington State.
It's not a good time to have a disability in the United States.
Update - 15 March 2011
It appears Harty has resigned as a result of the backlash from his comments.
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