I’ve been feeling a bit weepy lately and certain things will set me off. I’ve had two incidents in particular that stick out.
One comes from a documentary from last night. It was called Unforgotten and was about a “school” for the mentally ill called Willowbrook in New Jersey. Due to budget cuts the residents of this facility were subjected to hideous abuse and neglect because there were 50 patients to a care giver. It was exposed by the investigative journalism of Geraldo Rivera. Apparently, he used to be a serious and respected reporter. The footage they showed of this place was horrific and it showed an interview with a young man named Bernard, taken at the time. He had been imprisoned in this hell for 18 years, not cared for properly and not allowed to go to school. He had been diagnosed as mentally retarded but in fact had cerebral palsy. There was nothing wrong with his mind. Today he works for an advocacy group helping to make sure what happened to him never happens to anyone else, but you can hear the regret in his voice when he thinks back. He said if he had been allowed an education he could have been a lawyer, he always wanted to be a civil rights lawyer. Triumph of the human spirit, thy name is Bernard. But the saddest part came when he talked about Sunday’s. That was visiting day at the facility and he said that 3 o’clock would come and all the other kids would have had family to visit by then. But not for him, he never had anyone come play with him, give him cookies or a hug. His family put this bright young man in this horrible place and forgot about him. God, I just broke down. This just reinforces why I am getting my degree in social work. To help children like Bernard, to make life better for those who can’t do it for themselves. I watched another documentary that featured this same facility but on the periphery called Cropsy. About a serial killer that preyed on mentally handicapped children, in the area around there. It was very good, even though I watched Unforgotten to the end and was moved by it, it wasn’t the best documentary I’ve seen, Cropsy was much better and more effective. These two could be watched in conjunction for interesting viewing. Both are available on Netflix.
One comes from a documentary from last night. It was called Unforgotten and was about a “school” for the mentally ill called Willowbrook in New Jersey. Due to budget cuts the residents of this facility were subjected to hideous abuse and neglect because there were 50 patients to a care giver. It was exposed by the investigative journalism of Geraldo Rivera. Apparently, he used to be a serious and respected reporter. The footage they showed of this place was horrific and it showed an interview with a young man named Bernard, taken at the time. He had been imprisoned in this hell for 18 years, not cared for properly and not allowed to go to school. He had been diagnosed as mentally retarded but in fact had cerebral palsy. There was nothing wrong with his mind. Today he works for an advocacy group helping to make sure what happened to him never happens to anyone else, but you can hear the regret in his voice when he thinks back. He said if he had been allowed an education he could have been a lawyer, he always wanted to be a civil rights lawyer. Triumph of the human spirit, thy name is Bernard. But the saddest part came when he talked about Sunday’s. That was visiting day at the facility and he said that 3 o’clock would come and all the other kids would have had family to visit by then. But not for him, he never had anyone come play with him, give him cookies or a hug. His family put this bright young man in this horrible place and forgot about him. God, I just broke down. This just reinforces why I am getting my degree in social work. To help children like Bernard, to make life better for those who can’t do it for themselves. I watched another documentary that featured this same facility but on the periphery called Cropsy. About a serial killer that preyed on mentally handicapped children, in the area around there. It was very good, even though I watched Unforgotten to the end and was moved by it, it wasn’t the best documentary I’ve seen, Cropsy was much better and more effective. These two could be watched in conjunction for interesting viewing. Both are available on Netflix.
The second time was just this morning. I was driving to work and there was a kitty dead by the side of the road. I hate to see that. I will send a little prayer their way. It makes me wonder if they were loved in life and now someone was missing them. That of course made me remember my kitty I lost a while ago and all the Rainbow Bridge ideas. It is comforting to think that all of my beloved pets are waiting for me on the other side. But what happens to those animals that are not loved? The strays, the abused, the abandoned. Where do their little souls go? Who is there to love them? I can hope in a naïve way that maybe there are spirits waiting there just for them, to finally give to them the love they never had in life. Silly really, but nice to believe.
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