Registered: Jan 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 13002

quote:

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The Associated Press

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Gov. Mark R. Warner apologized Thursday for Virginia's forced sterilization of thousands of people from 1924 to 1979, calling it "a shameful effort" that must never be repeated.

Virginia conducted about 7,450 sterilizations under the banner of eugenics, or selective human breeding and social engineering. On Thursday, it became the first of the 30 states that conducted such sterilizations to apologize. There were more than 60,000 eugenics victims nationwide. Warner's apology coincides with the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Buck v. Bell decision upholding Virginia's eugenics law, which became a model for other states.

"Today, I offer the commonwealth's sincere apology for Virginia's participation in eugenics," the Democratic governor said in the statement. "The eugenics movement was a shameful effort in which state government never should have been involved." Del. Mitchell Van Yahres read the statement aloud at the unveiling of a highway marker in Charlottesville honoring the memory of Carrie Buck, who was an 18-year-old unwed mother when she became the first person forcibly sterilized under Virginia's 1924 law.

The law targeted almost any human shortcoming that was believed to be hereditary, including mental illness, mental retardation, epilepsy, alcoholism and criminal behavior. Rose Brooks, 61, who was sterilized under the program and helped unveil the highway marker, called Warner's apology "pretty good."

She said she was taken to the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded for sterilization because she had twin boys out of wedlock at the age of 17. The twins were taken from her and adopted, and she did not hear from them until 1991 when the twins contacted her by phone.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Oregon. America.
Posts: 2076

it's funny that you'd mention this, as my girlfriends psych class was just discussing the 'test' that was given to these people and I'm not fucking kidding about this:

They had to answer questions about certain types of revolvers and another about sports.

If they failed some of these really strange questions they'd get sterilized.

It was an early I.Q. type test, although not by the creator of the I.Q. test. I don't know other details, nor do I have a copy of the test, although if someone can find it I'm sure it'd be worth a read.

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Registered: Jan 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 13002

my 'wow!' comment btw was wow that it happened in the first place, and wow that a public apology was made about it. Fair play to the Governor on that one.

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Registered: Nov 2001
Location: Rio de los Brazos de Dios
Posts: 3876

I am utterly amazed! I didn't even know this was going on!
I must get me a list of those thirty states. Now that I am old and feeble and stupid as Mugtoe says we can't have this type of thing going on.

Bersides eugenics is a horrible concept. We can't have the world peopled by "beautiful people".

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oxsan


Don't kick until yer spurred.

Last edited by oxsan on 05-03-2002 at 01:35 PM

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Registered: Apr 2001
Location:
Posts: 16728

quote:

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Originally posted by oxsan
I am utterly amazed! I didn't even know this was going on!
I must get me a list of those thirty states. Now that I am old and feeble and stupid as Mugtoe says we can't have this type of thing going on.

Bersides eugenics is a hirrible concept. We can't have the world peopled by "beautiful people".

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I live in Virginia and have never heard of it.

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