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My dad had an Uncle Charles (probably born around 1910) who didn't live with the family. He was what was called a "spastic" -- probably cerebral palsy. The fa

by gumby 3y ago

My dad had an Uncle Charles (probably born around 1910) who didn't live with the family. He was what was called a "spastic" -- probably cerebral palsy. The family (out in the bush) couldn't look after him so he was committed to an institution. My dad visited him as a kid. Uncle Charles had never been taught to read or write but he was an excellent chess player and (like his brother, my grandfather) could do complex arithmetic in his head. What a waste of a life for him! On my grandmother's side, her youngest sister Jean wasn't allowed to marry because her job was to look after the parents when they got old. And when they passed on she had no skills as she hadn't been able to acquire any. What a waste of a life for her! Most of 20th century Australia was tough.

ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
I know a guy with CP, who is quite rich. The thing about CP, is that it usually only affects the body (sometimes, with deadly results), but the mind is often quite sharp. This guy was (and still is) a serial entrepreneur. Really sharp. I would not be surprised to find out that he has used his visible handicap to lull people into thinking he was easy meat.
- bitwize 3y ago
  Eric S. Raymond has mild cerebral palsy. Both he and his doctor hypothesize that in CP, like autism, the same neural miswiring that gives rise to the condition can, in some cases, also bestow greater insight or intelligence.
pjc50 3y ago
Ireland had a variant of this where women who got inconveniently pregnant were sent away to forced labour institutions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_Laundries_in_Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_Laundries_in_Ireland If women died from the conditions, they could be buried in unmarked graves: > In Dublin in 1993, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity – owners and operators of the laundry in High Park, Drumcondra – had lost money in share dealings on the stock exchange; to cover their losses, they sold part of the land in their convent to a property developer. This led to the discovery of 133 unmarked graves. The Sisters arranged to have the remains cremated and reburied in a mass grave at Glasnevin Cemetery, splitting the cost of the reburial with the developer who had bought the land. It later transpired that there were 22 more corpses than the sisters had applied for permission to exhume, and death certificates existed for only 75 of the original 133, despite it being a criminal offence to fail to register a death that occurs on one's premises.[3] In all, 155 corpses were exhumed, and cremated There was also unmarked graves for babies: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60464447 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60464447 (see also institutions in both Australia, Canada and possibly New Zealand for forcibly removing children from certain ethnic minorties, known as "residential schools")
veltas 3y ago
I know people to this day that didn't leave home and are supported by the state to care for parents who can't look after themselves, because they feel guilty about abandoning them, and don't have any skills. When their parents die they will most likely be unable to find work or integrate with society.
aa-jv 3y ago
>Most of 20th century Australia was tough. White Stolen Generation here, checking in. Can't stand the place, personally.
- gumby 3y ago
  Yeah, being a wog kid during White Australia was pretty bad, though of course much worse for my mum who was a woman and one of those dangerous types those laws were trying to keep out.
  - aa-jv 3y ago
    My Mum was 17 when she had me, my father was an asshole who left her standing at the altar, but the one entity that screwed my Mum and me over, more than any other, was our own government ..
koromak 3y ago
My great-aunt was the family butler. Her parents designated her as the caretaker, and thats what she did her entire life. No marrying, no job, no nothing. She's spent the last 20 years of her life living completely alone. She's the last one alive from her generation. Its a sad story.

by gumby 3y ago

ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago

I know a guy with CP, who is quite rich. The thing about CP, is that it usually only affects the body (sometimes, with deadly results), but the mind is often quite sharp. This guy was (and still is) a serial entrepreneur. Really sharp. I would not be surprised to find out that he has used his visible handicap to lull people into thinking he was easy meat.

bitwize 3y ago
Eric S. Raymond has mild cerebral palsy. Both he and his doctor hypothesize that in CP, like autism, the same neural miswiring that gives rise to the condition can, in some cases, also bestow greater insight or intelligence.

pjc50 3y ago

Ireland had a variant of this where women who got inconveniently pregnant were sent away to forced labour institutions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_Laundries_in_Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_Laundries_in_Ireland If women died from the conditions, they could be buried in unmarked graves: > In Dublin in 1993, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity – owners and operators of the laundry in High Park, Drumcondra – had lost money in share dealings on the stock exchange; to cover their losses, they sold part of the land in their convent to a property developer. This led to the discovery of 133 unmarked graves. The Sisters arranged to have the remains cremated and reburied in a mass grave at Glasnevin Cemetery, splitting the cost of the reburial with the developer who had bought the land. It later transpired that there were 22 more corpses than the sisters had applied for permission to exhume, and death certificates existed for only 75 of the original 133, despite it being a criminal offence to fail to register a death that occurs on one's premises.[3] In all, 155 corpses were exhumed, and cremated There was also unmarked graves for babies: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60464447 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60464447 (see also institutions in both Australia, Canada and possibly New Zealand for forcibly removing children from certain ethnic minorties, known as "residential schools")

veltas 3y ago

I know people to this day that didn't leave home and are supported by the state to care for parents who can't look after themselves, because they feel guilty about abandoning them, and don't have any skills. When their parents die they will most likely be unable to find work or integrate with society.

aa-jv 3y ago

>Most of 20th century Australia was tough. White Stolen Generation here, checking in. Can't stand the place, personally.

gumby 3y ago
Yeah, being a wog kid during White Australia was pretty bad, though of course much worse for my mum who was a woman and one of those dangerous types those laws were trying to keep out.
- aa-jv 3y ago
  My Mum was 17 when she had me, my father was an asshole who left her standing at the altar, but the one entity that screwed my Mum and me over, more than any other, was our own government ..

koromak 3y ago

My great-aunt was the family butler. Her parents designated her as the caretaker, and thats what she did her entire life. No marrying, no job, no nothing. She's spent the last 20 years of her life living completely alone. She's the last one alive from her generation. Its a sad story.