jlabrecque1, apparently you are not familiar with the Olmstead Act, 1999. A Supreme court decision resulting from a 1995 law suit in Georgia on behalf of 2 women who were wrongly and continuously institutionalized (locked away and "charged" with mental illness) for MANY years. This occured in 1995!! The medical staff said they were ok to live on their own. But the facility would not release them to decent housing.
I work for pretty much the same NYS agency that ran Willowbrook all of those years ago. It is now called The Office of People with Developmental Disabilities - I am a nurse and a manager of a community residence in upstate New York. I am so PROUD of far we have come in terms of caring for the developmentally disabled. Not only do I work for a DDSO - I also have a brother who lives in one of the DDSO houses. It is so important that we never forget the tragedies that were the NY State Schools.
@cadburyeggman The word is a shortened version of "mentally retarded". There is nothing wrong with using "retarded". And those hospitals, as bad as they were, can not be compared to Nazi concentration camps where the people sent there were purposefully enslaved, starved, experimented on, and killed.
@jlabrecque1 In the 60's Willowbrook Dr's conducted Hepatitis experiments on healthy patients. Once institutionalized it's usually impossible to get out on your own. Often one has to be deemed able to leave by a Dr. The guy that was in the clip may have tried to leave earlier, but may not have been able to without approval. This is still part of the system and may be considered enslavement. Starving, while not being purposeful, seems like something that easily could have happened. Nazi'ssucktho
@Areesu These people are not well and need help. You don't let an insane or mentally disabled person who can harm themselves or others out on the streets unless they are deemed able by medical professionals. I'm not defending the awful conditions of this institution, just saying that they are far from Nazi death camps. Perfectly healthy people were sent there to work and die, not to receive help or protect society.
@jlabrecque1 Not all of the individuals @ Willowbrook were mentally retarded/ mentally ill. What Geraldo never mentions is that some of the state schools patients were actually normal, but became mentally retarded by association. They were sent away if they were promiscuous, became unwed mothers, had epilepsy, were blind or deaf - it wasn't just the mentally retarded. It wasn't just for safety, it was for convenience - it was what you did in those days.
@jlabrecque1 "just saying that they are far from Nazi death camps"
They tested on the children, just so you know. Children lived in their own filth. They were abandoned there by their families because services weren't available, and yes children did die in those conditions because of Hepatitis.
@jlabrecque1@jlabrecque1 I have to respectfully disagree, the word "retarded" back in the '70's and before then meant you were almost nothing, hardly a person. As for the institutions being compared to concentration comps, inmates were forced to clean the bathrooms, bathe patients, pick vegatables, ect. at various institutions. I could have ended up at one myself had a been born ten or fifteen years earlier than I was. Not a concentration camp indeed.
@jlabrecque1 Also people who were deemed "feeble-minded" were sterilized at various institutions up until 1974 because it was believed by the U.S. Supreme Court that "One generation of imbiciles is enough."
An amazing and sad story. Bernard, at 21, though physically showing some signs of being different, his mond was sharp and anyone could see that he understood more than what anyone at Willowbrook wanted him to. I'm glad to see that Bernard has been able to at least physically escape from Willowbrook, though I doubt that he could ever forget the conditions he lived in while there.
YOU GO BERNARD!!! Had Geraldo not brought the disgrace of Willowbrook to light no telling what may have happened to Bernard.
johnny10301968 6 months ago 2
:D Yay Bernard! <3
D: Poor guy, it looks like it hurts for him to speak.
But at least he's doing well for himself :3
Katzykeens 10 months ago 4
ugh cerebral palsy does effect the brain
isarose1 10 months ago
jlabrecque1, apparently you are not familiar with the Olmstead Act, 1999. A Supreme court decision resulting from a 1995 law suit in Georgia on behalf of 2 women who were wrongly and continuously institutionalized (locked away and "charged" with mental illness) for MANY years. This occured in 1995!! The medical staff said they were ok to live on their own. But the facility would not release them to decent housing.
SelahSpirit 11 months ago
This just breaks my heart. I hope he has had a better and fulfilling life.
fleurdubijou 11 months ago
I work and have worked with people in the past who came from willowbrook. Lots of them currently reside here in long island, ny.
puertoricanman2 1 year ago
I work for pretty much the same NYS agency that ran Willowbrook all of those years ago. It is now called The Office of People with Developmental Disabilities - I am a nurse and a manager of a community residence in upstate New York. I am so PROUD of far we have come in terms of caring for the developmentally disabled. Not only do I work for a DDSO - I also have a brother who lives in one of the DDSO houses. It is so important that we never forget the tragedies that were the NY State Schools.
CobaltGirl84 1 year ago
i was 3 years old and in building 12 when this was takin.
jb55101 1 year ago
@cadburyeggman Retard also means late. As in they learn later than others, or slower, or develop slower.
Areesu 1 year ago
@cadburyeggman The word is a shortened version of "mentally retarded". There is nothing wrong with using "retarded". And those hospitals, as bad as they were, can not be compared to Nazi concentration camps where the people sent there were purposefully enslaved, starved, experimented on, and killed.
jlabrecque1 1 year ago
@jlabrecque1 In the 60's Willowbrook Dr's conducted Hepatitis experiments on healthy patients. Once institutionalized it's usually impossible to get out on your own. Often one has to be deemed able to leave by a Dr. The guy that was in the clip may have tried to leave earlier, but may not have been able to without approval. This is still part of the system and may be considered enslavement. Starving, while not being purposeful, seems like something that easily could have happened. Nazi'ssucktho
Areesu 1 year ago
@Areesu These people are not well and need help. You don't let an insane or mentally disabled person who can harm themselves or others out on the streets unless they are deemed able by medical professionals. I'm not defending the awful conditions of this institution, just saying that they are far from Nazi death camps. Perfectly healthy people were sent there to work and die, not to receive help or protect society.
jlabrecque1 1 year ago
@jlabrecque1 Not all of the individuals @ Willowbrook were mentally retarded/ mentally ill. What Geraldo never mentions is that some of the state schools patients were actually normal, but became mentally retarded by association. They were sent away if they were promiscuous, became unwed mothers, had epilepsy, were blind or deaf - it wasn't just the mentally retarded. It wasn't just for safety, it was for convenience - it was what you did in those days.
CobaltGirl84 1 year ago
@jlabrecque1 "just saying that they are far from Nazi death camps"
They tested on the children, just so you know. Children lived in their own filth. They were abandoned there by their families because services weren't available, and yes children did die in those conditions because of Hepatitis.
Roisia 10 months ago
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@Roisia In some cases they were worse, than Nazi concentration camps..
LovehammerMedia 3 months ago
@jlabrecque1 @jlabrecque1 I have to respectfully disagree, the word "retarded" back in the '70's and before then meant you were almost nothing, hardly a person. As for the institutions being compared to concentration comps, inmates were forced to clean the bathrooms, bathe patients, pick vegatables, ect. at various institutions. I could have ended up at one myself had a been born ten or fifteen years earlier than I was. Not a concentration camp indeed.
TRJH1972 11 months ago
@jlabrecque1 Also people who were deemed "feeble-minded" were sterilized at various institutions up until 1974 because it was believed by the U.S. Supreme Court that "One generation of imbiciles is enough."
TRJH1972 11 months ago
An amazing and sad story. Bernard, at 21, though physically showing some signs of being different, his mond was sharp and anyone could see that he understood more than what anyone at Willowbrook wanted him to. I'm glad to see that Bernard has been able to at least physically escape from Willowbrook, though I doubt that he could ever forget the conditions he lived in while there.
EyeinTeaJay 1 year ago 11