Eugenics Without Nazism

[Arachnid]

Serisouly who on this board, if the technology was available wouldn't give their offspring the best start in life through genetic selection for desirable characteristics. I'm mildly shortsighted, as is my father and find it a constant annoyance to put in contacts in the morning, if I had a choice I would never pass that on to my child. The same applies for a broad range of conditions.

 

[Faeelin]

Eugenics, however, didn't work that way.

 

[Arachnid]

Eugenics was the elmination of undesirable characteristics from the gene pool via crude and basic methods. While forced sterilisations are wrong, the idea of improving the human species is simple common sense.

 

[Faeelin]

Eugenics was the elmination of undesirable characteristics from the gene pool via crude and basic methods. While forced sterilisations are dubious the goal of improving the gene pool is simply common sense.

I concur. I suggest we start with you getting a vasectomy.

 

[Arachnid]

Thats an interesting an approach to debate

 

[Old Crank 67]

Heck Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (perhaps channeling the ghost of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes) recently suggested a good reason for legalized abortion was to reduce the number of people "we don't want more of."

And of course the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was an outspoken supporter of eugenics. And, to their everlasting shame, so were a number of Protestant ministers.

 

[PhilKearny]

It's a scary thought.

Considering that doctors merrily make use of electric shock therapy on the mentally ill the survival of eugenics on a small-scale seems perfectly plausible.

Wozza, you apparently do not know anything about electroconvulsive therapy. ECT is a very safe and effective treatment for a number of psychiatric maladies. Numerous studies have validated its efficacy as a therapy for treatment resistant depression and for other severe psychiatric ailments. Search Pubmed and read some of the data. To suggest that ECT is akin to the bizarre, pseudoscientific ideas of eugenics--such as forced sterilization--reveals a lack of knowledge about the subject.

There are numerous dumb practices in medicine in general, such as the over prescribing of antibiotics, opiates, and various other medicatons in contradiction to best practice--prescribing often driven by patient demands--but the proper use of ECT treatment is neither inhumane nor inappropriate, no matter what the Church of Scientology claims. Rather, ECT can be god send for patients who have not responded to any other treatment.

Heck Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (perhaps channeling the ghost of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes) recently suggested a good reason for legalized abortion was to reduce the number of people "we don't want more of."

Presbyman, I believe this quote is a canard. Do you have a reliable source for this quote or any support for it? I was unable to find anything close except on radical, fringe websites filled with alien space bat sort of inventions.

 

[Faeelin]

And of course the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was an outspoken supporter of eugenics. And, to their everlasting shame, so were a number of Protestant ministers.

If it makes you feel better, Germany's protestant ministers were opponents of the government's euthanization of the mentally ill.

 

[Old Crank 67]

If it makes you feel better, Germany's protestant ministers were opponents of the government's euthanization of the mentally ill.

Some were ... but I think it was the Catholics who put up the strongest opposition. I'll always admire Cardinal von Galen of Muenster for his outspoken opposition.

In general, the church (Catholic or Protestant) was spotty in its opposition to Hitler. More could have been done. But I don't want to condemn those who were afraid to speak out because I have no idea how brave I would have been under the circumstances.

 

[The Kiat]

Well it still happens today in a less damaging way.
Last year I believe, there was an expose in Britain about women being encouraged to have abortions if there were any problems with the fetus. This included club foot, an easy to fix problem. Similar things happen throughout the world, plenty of people said Sarah Palin was a terrible person for not aborting her baby with Downs syndrome.

It would certainly be more merciful than letting the baby live out a life of remedial service or worse.

Anyway, concerning corrective surgery on minor 'defects'-- I thought the point of eugenics was to get at the genetic level. Now if we can cook up an adinovirus that would replace every defective gene in every cell, then that would be an acceptable solution. No abortions would be necessary. No doubt some folks would protest the genetic engineering aspect; well, you can't please all of the people all of the time.

 

[DISSIDENT]

With more widespread and culturally accepted eugenics, the inevitable result is a superhuman dictatorial warlord taking over Asia and Northern Africa, freezing himself, being reawakened in the more distant future, trying to comandeer the spacecraft that finds him, being stranded on an unpleasant planet that gets worse to live on due to a catastrophe in its system, then engaging on a Moby Dick retelling obsessive revenge quest several decades later, with his intended target loudly screaming his name.

 

[Neroon]

With more widespread and culturally accepted eugenics, the inevitable result is a superhuman dictatorial warlord taking over Asia and Northern Africa, freezing himself, being reawakened in the more distant future, trying to comandeer the spacecraft that finds him, being stranded on an unpleasant planet that gets worse to live on due to a catastrophe in its system, then engaging on a Moby Dick retelling obsessive revenge quest several decades later, with his intended target loudly screaming his name.

Small price to pay if in return we get a Naval Service who's female members wear miniskirts for their uniform!

 

[DISSIDENT]

Eugenics beings what it is in its effects on dating and sex, even if one of them dated you or married you, they would cheat on you with Kirk because he is the Alpha Male. I imagine within the Star Trek canon there was many a luckless former lieutenant or ensign unknowinly raising an illegitimate child of James T. Kirk or paying alimony for said child if they did catch on.

Makes those mini skirted yeoman sound less appealing, doesn't it?