Genocide. Period. Whether intended for the black community or not, there's still the Native American tribe in Oklahoma whose women were sterilized, ending the existence of that tribe. In this class, I've read several articles on concepts I've never heard of before, acts by the American government that I would like to believe were not true. Twenty-one years of life, several American history classes, and I hear about this now? Where are all these studies in American history courses?
One thing that made the article slightly easier for me to read was the part on students reporting the sterilizations in training hospitals because they didn't believe it was right. To trick a woman and sterilize her without her knowledge is despicable and denying her what defines her as a woman, her ability to bear children. And true, not all women want children, but to underhandedly sterilize women who think they are only having abortions or giving birth, Cesarean section, whatever they think they are doing, and to learn they were also sterilized, its disheartening.
And eugenics?! Don't even, that's just horrible, and it really makes me think of how ignorant I used to be with my high school friends, us being the "AP kids" who would demean the slacker students that failed because they didn't give an effort to schoolwork or were ignorant on a worse level than we were. I recall a friend stating "stupid people shouldn't procreate" in regards to someone making very generalized, racist statements, and I never once that that such a statement once held such power and influenced the way America worked. I'm honestly ashamed for ever laughing at such a statement, regardless of what the person in question might have said or done. The readings in this course are opening my eyes.
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I felt both horrified and confused when I read "Killing the Black Body," and I certainly agree that it was a form of genocide. I do not think that there is any other word or description that is suitable. I can only think of how unfortunate this was.
While reading your post and reflecting upon my academic status as a senior I, too, realized that none of my previous classes really pursued any of these largely important events that dominated a large part of our history. I am not too sure at which age it is appropriate to learn about the mistakes of our government and others around the world, but there comes a time when we must expose these issues to the younger generations. How can we ever expect to make changes outside the large institutions if these secrets still remain? Are we still trying to hide something? I wish that I had known about this part of American history before I turned 21. I am almost ashamed on behalf of myself for remaining so ignorant.
Again, I agree with Jackie's point about the students who reported the hospital sterilizations. At such a young and vulnerable age, it can be very difficult to come forward about the wrong-doings of a strongly domineering institution. I commend them for their actions and wish that there had been more respectable souls who had the courage to speak their minds. If I put myself in the shoes of the women being taken advantage of during this time, I would feel as though I had lost a part of myself. I do, indeed, find it difficult to make decisions, but am hugely bothered when people make them for me. How could the eugenics movement lasted for so long?!
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