Posted on 01/07/2005 9:19:50 PM PST by Gomez
Retarded Kennedy Sister Dies at 86
Jan 7, 11:39 PM (ET)
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
(AP) The Kennedy family children are seen in a boat in this undated photo. From left, are: Eunice, Jack,... Full Image
WASHINGTON (AP) - Rosemary Kennedy, the oldest sister of President John F. Kennedy and the inspiration for the Special Olympics, died Friday. She was 86.
Kennedy, the third child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy, was born mentally retarded and underwent a lobotomy when she was 23. She lived most of her life in a Jefferson, Wis., institution, the St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children.
She died in a Wisconsin hospital with her brother, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, and her sisters at her side, the family said.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews1.iwon.com ...
How many books have you read on the Kennedy clan? I have read many, and at worst, Rosemary was described as "boisterous" by those close to the family.
Joe knew exactly what he was doing when he put her through this procedure. He would let NOTHING get in the way of his greedy political ambitions, even his own child with some behavior problems.
All I'm seeing on these threads is sympathy for a poor girl who was scarred for life at the hands of her disgusting, deceitful father. He is the one to be mocked, although I'm sure right now he is somewhere a little bit warmer than here, and has no clue what's going on here on God's earth.
Momma Rosemary was said to have not grieved for her daughter Kit when she was killed in an airplane crash. I have read this many, many times by reliable sources in various books about the Kennedys. She said her daughter deserved the fate for marrying outside the Catholic church. I certainly don't call that love.
People like Joe Kennedy make me conclude that either there is no God, or there is a God with a fiery hell. Lobotomies were used for severe -behavorial- problems, not to "improve" upon one's IQ.
It was well known that they made a person "lifeless" from the start... thus they were used for violent criminals regardless of IQ... Joe Kennedy knew what would happen. Her very mild retardation (she could read and write) was merely a convenient excuse to make her a nonsexual zombie.
First, I don't think any poster has been intentionally disrespectful to Rosemary Kennedy. God rest her soul.
As for Ol' Joe, I believe the opposite is true. He wanted poor Rosemary to be put away for good. Among other options he could have pursued...Wouldn't a convent have taken her in? and surely there were institutions in those days, not as grim as the Fernald School, a reform school in Waltham and hardly a place for an heiress, that would quietly admit a "boisterous" young lady without the need of undergoing a lobotomy.
I think for most of us, the name Kennedy actually means retardation and hence makes mentioning retardation a bit redundant.
The wrong Kennedy got the lobotomy. A better candidate would have been fat Teddy.
Lobotomies were performed on too many people that drugs would have preserved as functioning citizens.
Joe Kennedy couldn't stand to have a child of his be other than normal but all of the males he helped spawn turned out to be sex crazed idiots.
Only one problem with that scenario. A lucid Rosemary could have talked to reporters. A lobotomized Rosemary couldn't. And don't think Joe didn't consider this when he made the decision.
Lyndon Johnson was a war criminal.
No kidding. How long have the Kennedy's held political power in Mass?...70+ years?
Apparently only the male Kennedy children were allowed to be sex-crazed maniacs.
Why would she be a Kennedy "sister"? Isn't she just as much as a Kennedy as John, Bobby and Ted?
That would not be respectful. At least she was not alone when she died.
I totally agree with you, God only knows how many other things Old Joe did that we'll never know about!
Retarded Kennedy. Isn't that an oxymoron?
I don't think so. However, I do think yours is somewhat uninformed.
Rosemary was not "retarded", as the MSM now chooses to call her. I defy you to show proof that she was. She had behavioral problems, and Joe Sr. couldn't have that in his quest for his sons to become a dynasty. So she was lobotomized.
By the way, ever hear the story about how Joe Jr. died? He was on a very, very dangerous mission to one-up Jack Kennedy for his PT-109 exploits. I guess you could say Joe Sr. was indirectly responsible for that one as well.
I do not have access to the medical records of Rosemary Kennedy, and I doubt that anybody else on this board has. A woman has died and her death is being used as an excuse to vent on the Kennedy family for political reasons. I have read this and other threads on the lobotomy that Joe Kennedy had performed on his daughter, and although there is a lot of heat, there is zero enlightenment as to authenticated facts. Not going along with the general assumptions about the matter does not put me in sympathy with the Kennedy's politically or otherwise. I actually have read a good many books on the Kennedy family over the years and there is more than one point of view about the state of mental development of Rosemary Kennedy. I make no judgment on her treatment as I have no facts to base an opinion on. I do think that the theory that Joe Kennedy had the lobotomy done for male chauvinist reasons is a crock. Pop psychology at best. He was a repulsive and ethically bent person IMO, but not such a monster that he would deliberately destroy his child's brain.
Good Lord..........!
I certainly don't call that love either. How callous the Kennedys must be.
No thanks, beave. No research necessary. My point was simply that, even taking your interesting discourse into account, one would think that you might mention it to your wife before having your daughter lobotmized. No, I'll stay in my comfy seat on the justifiably-crowded hate Kennedy bandwagon. BTW, this episode, while justifying Kennedy "hatred" is far from the brightest jewel in the crown. My personal favorite is Teddy's impassioned advocacy of the Immigration Act of 1965, but there are so many, there's plenty for everyone.
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