Rosemary Kennedy Dies at 86

cnn.com ^ | 1/8/05

[sassbox]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rosemary Kennedy, the oldest sister of President John F. Kennedy and the inspiration for the Special Olympics, died Friday. She was 86.

[Peach]

This is the daughter that Joe Kennedy had lobotomized, as I recall. What a tragic family...often of their own making.

[Texas Eagle]

As she got older, however, her father worried that his daughter's mild condition would lead her into situations that could damage the family's reputation.

At least she would've had an excuse. What's Teddy's?

[July 4th]

I think you're right. I seem to remember reading that she was mildly retarded and aggressive, and that the lobotomy was simply to make her less aggressive...but it didn't work as planned, and she was basically forced into round-the-clock care for the rest of her life.

[handy old one]

I keep forgeting what is my problem???

[wagglebee]

You're right. Her family couldn't accept the fact that she had a disability so they shut her away from the public.

[sassbox]

indeed - it's so sad that a young woman who apparently was functioning pretty normally (writing diaries, going to parties, etc) was turned into a retard because of her father's fear of her being promiscuous, while her brothers were allowed to whore around to no end, without any punishment from dad. it's just outrageous what happened to Rosemary.

[raybbr]

I know I will get flamed for this:

Did she drown?

[South40]

They shouold have lobotomized Phat Teddy.

[DoughtyOne]

As if the family's rep could be besmirched worse than this act would.

The Kennedy family history is a classic case of family dynamics, and how a traggic parental situation can infect a nation with negative consequences.

If only Bob Barker had focused on the Kennedy's instead of little puppies.

[Slyfox]

Rosemary Kennedy was NOT retarded. This is a myth. She had learning problems that the family interpeted as mental retardation. At an age where a child learns to do complex addition and multiplication Rosemary could do it very well. She had a hard time reading left to right. She was 'slower than other children'. She spoke later than the others and had a hard time managing a spoon as a baby.

She was not well-coordinated. Old Joe Kennedy could not tolerate losers and it was a huge problem to be the odd girl out when assembled with all the athletic Kennedy's. Who would not be depressed if you could not keep with your brothers and sisters and your father read you the riot act because you were not nimble like the rest of them?

Dr. James W. Watts, who performed the lobotomy on her, is quoted to have said that at the time of the procedure Rosemary was suffering from depression and not mental retardation. In the 1940's, even though a lobotomy was new and really experimental, it was never done for metal retardation but only for mental illness.

The Sins of the Father by Ronald Kessler

[Eric in the Ozarks]

What a tortured family.

[skinkinthegrass]

I know I will get flamed for this: Did she drown?

NO. ...bad things, happen only if your female and dating "Old Joe's" Kennedy Boys. ..its' like being friends with the Klintoons. 8^)

[ladiesview61]

The Kennedy family is just disgusting. And they call themselves good Irish Catholics. Good Irish Catholics don't chop out half their kids' brains because they are mildly retarded. I hate those self righteous, fat headed sick people!

[sine_nomine]

Old Joe was much worse than most people realize, working with the Mafia, cheating all his friends, chasing his sons' girlfriends, lobotomizing Rosemary while his wife was out of town. It was suggested in one book (Sins of the Father?) that Joe had the operation done because Rosemary was talking too much. That was connected with his fondness for young women. I don't know how much can be asserted about all that. A fraction of the truth about Joe is bad enough.

The family was not tragic. God gave them what they brought upon themselves.

[Chode]

think anybody will get flack for using the word retarded?
most retarded Kennedy sounds better or Sister of Other Retarded Kennedy In Senate

besides, it was the lobotomy that made her retarded and i think Old Joe gave the WRONG kid the operation.

she was "Hard to Handle" translates to she was a little too easy for a Female member of the Kennedy Klan... something reserved for the Males

"But as she got older, her father worried that his daughter's mild condition would lead her into situations that could damage the family's reputation."

yeah, right... and the other "sane" family members didn't do far more damage than Rosemary could ever possibly have?

Old Joe was worried about reputation of a family that produced a murderer, multiple drunks, drug addicts, whore mongers, punks who slept with the baby sitter and one who offed himself playing football while skiing for starters

Rosemary was the ONLY Kennedy you could ever really feel sorry for.

RIP

p.s. the doctor that developed the frontal lobotomy not only won a Nobel Prize, he was later beaten him to death by one of his patients

[digger48]

I didn't think my opinion of "Camelot" could get any lower.

I was wrong.