And precisely who is the determiner of being “stupid” enough to deserve sterilization?
Your definition may be taking welfare. Somebody else’s definition of “stupid” may be that you have “unenlightened” or “reactionary” ideas such as thinking evolution is unscientific or thinking that the right of citizens to keep and bear arms isn't limited to the National Guard.
I happen to agree that most of our modern government-run welfare system should be shut down and turned over to churches and private secular charities, but that's not the point. Do we want to follow the model of Sparta and have the government inspecting newborn babies to see if they'll be allowed to live so unproductive babies don't become a drain on society?
I don't want to give government that kind of power.
Now if someone wants to pass a law that any unmarried mother with more than a certain number of kids won't get any increase in her food stamps if she has an additional child without being married, that's a public policy question of whether to give people benefits, not taking away rights. I can see arguments both for and against that kind of policy, I'm concerned that it would become a way to coerce people into getting abortions, and I'm not sure the public good of promoting marriage is worth giving people the idea that the government would rather you kill your baby than pay to help you feed it.
But forcing sterilization is totally unacceptable — period.
Jim Robinson wrote on Thursday, June 23, 2011 1:41:41 PM: “FR is a pro-God, pro-life, pro-family, pro-liberty site. We do not support government forcing anything on anyone, much less forced sterilization. You can either keep this NAZI-like crap to yourself or get the hell off of FR! Choice is yours.”
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!
I saw your post and the banning of “I buried my guns” after I wrote my response. Thank you again!!!
This kind of crap makes conservatives look like racist pigs. It needs to be punished so the rest of us don't get a black eye.
BykrBayb posted on Thursday, June 23, 2011 1:45:40 PM: “Would you issue exemptions from your forced sterilization program to disabled vets with traumatic brain injuries, or should they be treated like all the other “retards?” Would Trig Palin be allowed an exemption, even though he is exactly the type person you're targeting? These are not rhetorical questions. I'd like an honest answer, if you're capable of such... Thank you Jim. Some of the comments can be very hurtful to people caring for disabled family members. God bless you.”
Just one word — Amen!
trisham posted on Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:37:50 PM: “It is difficult to believe that there might be anyone here that would support that kind of thing. Unfortunately, we seem to be beset with trolls lately.”
DJ MacWoW posted on Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:29:37 PM: “One has to wonder about people like that. Was he serious? Are there really people that filled with hate and prejudice that believe they are really conservative?”
Unfortunately, yes.
The modern conservative movement predates the modern pro-life movement. There was a day that being pro-life wasn't assumed in economic conservative or nationalistic conservative circles.
Even as late as the early 1980s, I remember a few people who were generally regarded as conservative Republicans, including elected officials on the local level and Republican Party officials, who were arguing that it was entirely appropriate to encourage abortion in inner-city communities to reduce the welfare burden. Of course people didn't say that publicly with reporters listening, but it definitely **WAS** being said privately by a few people in the Republican Party circles in which I grew up, and from what I have been told, it was being said more often in the Goldwater era though even then it wasn't considered something good for conservatives to say in “polite company.”
That was garbage then, it's garbage now, and fortunately we have a lot fewer conservatives today spouting that garbage.
I am really, really, really glad to see nearly everybody on Free Republic who has posted so far bashing this guy. The rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness are not negotiable. Abortion and eugenics are both contrary to any form of constitutional government.
A big thanks to a lot of people — that's the reason for the long “ping” list. You need to be thanked for defending people's right to life, even if they have mothers who have made really bad choices and are in demographic groups unlikely to generate conservative votes. The right to life is not something that can be compromised; the state has no right to kill people unless they've been found guilty of a capital crime by due process of law, and by definition that doesn't apply to babies.
Thanks for a very well thought out and emotional response. The right to life comes from God. When we pose that some may not warrant that right, or should be sterilized of otherwise inhibited for whatever reasons we rationalize, then we are playing God. And just who do we think we are that we can improve on His plan?
Such palpably disgusting thoughts as were presented here by I Buried My Guns cannot go unanswered. It’s up to all of us to condemn any and all such garbage. It cannot go unchallenged.
This is absolutely true, and I'm afraid too many contemporary conservatives don't understand this. We read that so-and-so who lived back in the Good Old Days was a "conservative" and we tend to identify with him and want to defend him, but he may not really be worthy of our defense (at least on all issues). Nationalist "blood and soil" type right wingers (such as one had in Europe) could be very bad news, and as for "economic conservatives," what do they really care for besides dollars and cents?
Lothrop Stoddard was an early twentieth century "conservative" and he was both a racialist and a friend and supporter of Margaret Sanger. (This is why I am leery of ethno-nationalist "conservatives" like the people at Vdare).
BRAVO!!! Wonderful post.
In the old days only leftists wanted eugenics, such as Mrgaret Sanger
Thank you for compiling all those statements. It has been uplifting seeing what most of the FReepers on this thread have had to say. FReepers and chocolatiers (not necessarily in that order) are the greatest people on earth.
Hear, hear!
Thanks for an excellent post, and thanks for the ping.
excellent recap, darrellmaurina.