{"id":10871,"date":"2010-06-16T04:52:09","date_gmt":"2010-06-16T09:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=10871"},"modified":"2010-06-16T05:06:38","modified_gmt":"2010-06-16T10:06:38","slug":"the-edge-of-eugenics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/06\/16\/the-edge-of-eugenics\/","title":{"rendered":"The Edge of Eugenics"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Edge of Eugenics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mendoza Legislation AB2072 Nudges California Back to Eugenics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Edwin Black
\nJune 14th 2010<\/p>\n

California eugenics has a direct link to Nazi Germany\u2019s war of extermination
\nagainst Jews and all other Europeans deemed less worthy than the Aryan
\nmaster race. In the first two decades of the twentieth century, American
\neugenics launched a campaign to create a white, blue-eyed, blond-haired
\nmaster race in America, a biological ideal they called \u201cNordic.\u201d A key
\ncenter for the pseudoscience of eugenics sprang up in California. It was
\nfrom California that eugenicists, backed by wealthy philanthropies such as
\nthe Carnegie Institution, created racist pseudo-medical brochures and
\nproposed legislation to eliminate the existence of all people on earth who
\ndid not resemble the Nordic ideal.<\/p>\n

How? Eugenicists wanted to create public gas chambers, marriage prohibition,
\nconcentration camps, and other elimination strategies for those perceived as
\n\u201cdisabled\u201d or less than the eugenic version of perfect. Legislation was
\ncrafted to slowly implement their goals on a state-by-state level.<\/p>\n

Euthanasia laws were introduced in Ohio by the social worker professions as
\nearly as 1908\u2014and defeated. Marriage restriction and concentration camp
\nconfinement laws for those with vision problems were proffered in New York
\nby the ophthalmology profession\u2014and defeated.<\/p>\n

But through an extensive and pernicious campaign of fake science and
\nacademic fraud at the highest echelon, eugenicists were able to achieve
\nforced sterilization laws in twenty-seven states. Ultimately, some 65,000
\nAmericans were coercively sterilized, many without knowing it. Often the
\nreasons were no more than gossip about moral character, presumed illiteracy,
\npoverty, or the commission of a petty economic crime. In 1909, California
\nbecame the third state to adopt such laws and over the coming few decades,
\nabout a third, and sometimes more, of all these 65,000 forced sterilizations
\noccurred in California. In 1933 alone, at least 1,278 coercive
\nsterilizations were performed in the state, 700 on women.<\/p>\n

The state’s two leading sterilization mills in 1933 were Sonoma State Home
\nwith 388 operations and Patton State Hospital with 363 operations. Other
\nsterilization centers included Agnews, Mendocino, Napa, Norwalk, Stockton,
\nand Pacific Colony state hospitals.<\/p>\n

In the twenties, Adolf Hitler studied American eugenic theories and
\nCalifornia\u2019s statutes and emulated them in Nazi Germany with great ferocity
\nand velocity, renaming the Nordic type as \u201cAryan.\u201d In \u201cMein Kampf,\u201d
\npublished in 1925, Hitler quoted American eugenic ideology and openly
\ndisplayed a thorough knowledge of American eugenics. \u201cThere is today one
\nstate,\u201d wrote Hitler, \u201cin which at least weak beginnings toward a better
\nconception (of immigration) are noticeable. Of course, it is not our model
\nGerman Republic, but the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hitler proudly told his comrades just how closely he followed the progress
\nof the American eugenics movement. \u201cI have studied with great interest,\u201d he
\ntold a fellow Nazi, \u201cthe laws of several American states concerning
\nprevention of reproduction by people whose progeny would, in all
\nprobability, be of no value or be injurious to the racial stock.\u201d Hitler
\neven wrote a fan letter to American eugenics leader Madison Grant calling
\nhis race-based eugenics book, \u201cThe Passing of the Great Race,\u201d his
\n\u201cbible.\u201d The deaf were among the Reich\u2019s earliest targets for elimination
\nand covered by the first wave of Nazi legislation in 1933.<\/p>\n

In 1934, as Germany’s sterilizations were accelerating beyond 5,000 per
\nmonth, the California eugenics leader C. M. Goethe, upon returning from
\nGermany where he sat on a Nazi eugenics court, ebulliently bragged to a
\nPasadena colleague, \u201cYou will be interested to know that your work has
\nplayed a powerful part in shaping the opinions of the group of intellectuals
\nwho are behind Hitler in this epoch-making program. Everywhere I sensed that
\ntheir opinions have been tremendously stimulated by American thought . . . I
\nwant you, my dear friend, to carry this thought with you for the rest of
\nyour life, that you have really jolted into action a great government of 6
\nmillion people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many thought eugenics was a buried part of California\u2019s past. Now it seems
\nthat new legislation, AB2072, may nudge the state back to the slippery
\neugenic slope. The target of opportunity is the state\u2019s deaf community. They
\nare an easy target and find it hard to stand up to the powerful medical
\neconomic interest of the audiology profession and the cochlear ear implant
\nindustry who are lobbying hard for AB2072, a law that will create a climate
\nthat can quickly subhumanize, marginalize, and medically modernize an entire
\ncultural group out of existence. This porous ill-defined legislation,
\nsponsored by Assemblymember Tony Mendoza (56th District)\u2014probably without
\nthinking through the impact\u2014has for all intents and purposes identified the
\ndeaf as social misfits that require state intervention.<\/p>\n

Mendoza\u2019s legislation calls for every newborn to be tested. Families with a
\ndeaf infant are to receive an \u201cinformative\u201d brochure\u2014devoid of oversight and
\ndetached from the wishes of the deaf community\u2014that will in realistic terms
\nbe under the control of the audiology industry. This brochure will in
\nessence sell cochlear implants as a medical marvel that will obsolete the
\ndeaf and their well-developed culture of community. This has been a goal of
\nthe eugenics world and its tax-exempt foundations since eugenics pioneer
\nAlexander Graham Bell\u2014a leader of the early eugenic societies\u2014spotlighted
\nthe deaf for elimination.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a problem. The deaf only look like an easy target. They only
\nseem like freaks to be eliminated. In fact, they have a well-developed and
\ndistinct culture of communication using sign language and they do not wish
\nto be exiled from their own unborn children and grandchildren. They respond
\nto email in moments and faster than any newsman. They command a lyrical
\nsense of the English language that is at once poetic and fiercely precise.
\nThey are wonderful artists. Their technologic world of video phones and
\nother adaptive equipment became commonplace when Skype and Instant Messaging
\nwere still being invented. They may be deaf, but they correctly hear the
\nhymn of eugenics in AB2072, and they heard it sooner than Assemblyman
\nMendoza.<\/p>\n

Butch Zein, a fifth generation Bay Area deaf man told me, \u201cThe fact that
\nthere will be no oversight, and that the organizations will have free rein
\nto modify the brochure later on, reeks of what had happened during Nazi
\nReich when Germany lost control of oversight and allowed Hitler and his SS
\ngroup to develop propaganda against the Jews. That\u2019s the parallel I am
\nseeing right now. It\u2019s their intent to wipe out “Deaf” by encouraging
\nparents that their deaf child can become hearing when in fact they knew
\nit\u2019s not true and that the technology is far from perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

No cultural, ethnic, religious, or other special group in California should
\nbe targeted by legislation designed to obsolete their existence. AB2072 does
\nexactly this and Mendoza may go down in history as the founding father of
\nCalifornia\u2019s return to eugenics. If he does not know this now, he may learn
\nit soon. Surely, once the brochure law goes into effect, the amendments,
\nenhancements, and enforcements will gain velocity down the eugenic slope. If
\nthis brochure is not that important, why are the million-dollar corporations
\nand foundations lined up to so enthusiastically support it?<\/p>\n

Once the deaf are gone, then it is visually impaired, then the obese, and
\nthen perhaps immigrants, and then me. After me, guess who\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

Edwin Black is the author of the bestselling, award-winning IBM and the
\nHolocaust and his book on American eugenics, War Against the Weak. He will
\nbe lecturing on eugenics in Sacramento June 15 and 16.<\/p>\n

Source:
\nhttp:\/\/www.thecuttingedgenews.com\/index.php?article=12275<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Edge of Eugenics Mendoza Legislation AB2072 Nudges California Back to Eugenics Edwin Black June 14th 2010 California eugenics has a direct link to Nazi Germany\u2019s war of extermination against Jews and all other Europeans deemed less worthy than the…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[5190,5197,5192,5208,4621,5193,1840,35,5206,5187,24,5184,62,5188,5196,5186,5203,5204,5198,5189,4167,5191,2410,5205,5207,5195,5199,5200,181,5201,5202,5185,5194],"class_list":["post-10871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-ab2072","tag-adolf-hitler","tag-alexander-graham-bell","tag-america","tag-article","tag-audiology","tag-california","tag-community","tag-concentration-camps","tag-cultural","tag-deaf","tag-edwin-black","tag-english","tag-ethnic","tag-eugenic-ideology","tag-eugenics","tag-euthanasia-laws","tag-gas-chambers","tag-germany","tag-immigrants","tag-language","tag-legislation","tag-marriage","tag-marriage-prohibition","tag-nazi-germany","tag-newborn","tag-nordic","tag-patton-state-hospital","tag-religious","tag-sonoma-state-home","tag-sterilization","tag-the-edge-of-eugenics","tag-tony-mendoza"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-2Pl","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1336,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/03\/10\/important-note-about-through-deaf-eyes-on-pbs-in-texas\/","url_meta":{"origin":10871,"position":0},"title":"Important Note about “THROUGH DEAF EYES” on PBS in Texas","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"** NOTE: IT WILL NOT BE AIRED ON AUSTIN PBS (KLRU) on that day MARCH 21st. The information directly from the AUSTIN PBS: Through Deaf Eyes will air locally on KLRU on April 9 from 8-10 p.m. and we will repeat the program on April 12 from 2-4 a.m. (It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15559,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/08\/23\/deaf-man-battling-to-join-army-after-auditing-rotc\/","url_meta":{"origin":10871,"position":1},"title":"Deaf man battling to join Army after auditing ROTC","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Deaf man battling to join Army after auditing ROTC By JULIE WATSON The Associated Press NORTHRIDGE, Calif. \u2014 Keith Nolan spent a decade applying repeatedly to the Army's Reserve Officers Training Corps' program before the deaf man's tenacity paid off and a commander finally let him audit the classes. Nolan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14076,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/04\/24\/a-special-screening-of-ingelore-austin\/","url_meta":{"origin":10871,"position":2},"title":"A Special Screening of Ingelore – Austin","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF MEDIA RELEASE Contact: Keena Miller \u2013 Texas School for the Deaf 512-462-5328, cell: 512-658-4444 Keena.miller@tsd.state.tx.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE A Special Screening of Ingelore The Chronicles of a Young Woman Growing Up Deaf and Jewish in Nazi-controlled Germany and Her Escape to America Followed by a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13984,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/04\/19\/ingelore-film-at-tsd\/","url_meta":{"origin":10871,"position":3},"title":"Ingelore Film at TSD","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Please join us for a special film screening of Ingelore Followed by a discussion with Ingelore Herz Honigstein and her son Frank Stiefel, Director\/Producer May 5, 2011 at 7:00 PM Texas School for the Deaf Auditorium 1102 South Congress Austin, Texas Free and Open to the community Ingelore Herz Honigstein\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Ingelore_DeafSchool_Austin.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13981,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/04\/19\/ingelore-movie-invitation-dallas-holocaust\/","url_meta":{"origin":10871,"position":4},"title":"“Ingelore” Movie Invitation Dallas Holocaust","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dallas Holocaust Museum Invites the Deaf Community to watch the premiere of \"Ingelore\" A story of a Deaf Jewish girl in Nazi Germany Wednesday, May 4, 2011 6pm - Refreshments 7pm - Movie 8pm-8:30pm - Q & A with Ingelore and her son who directed the movie Angelika Film\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/Ingelore_Evite_DeafSchool.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15244,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/08\/02\/job-opportunity-abilene\/","url_meta":{"origin":10871,"position":5},"title":"Job Opportunity – Abilene","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Job Opportunity - Abilene RESPONSIBLE TO: Executive Director for Salary, Hard of Hearing Specialist for Supervision, Deafness Resource Specialist for Supervision HOURS: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm REQUIREMENTS: College degree preferred; not required Have knowledge and ability to address the unique communication needs and issue of persons who are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10871"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10872,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10871\/revisions\/10872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}