As I am coming very late to this dicussion, I have a few comments and will not take the time to wade back to make quotes. I will comment only on what I know from my own experiences.
Reproduction:
I have two siblings with microcephaly. The mental handicaps resulting from this can be and usually are severe. They have never and will never live what we consider a "normal" life. As this is a genetically transmitted birth defect, the last thing I would want is for either of them to reproduce. They do not have the mental capacity to care for themselves, let alone care for any child. Before my husband and I had children, we thought long and hard about the possible outcomes. We went through extensive genetic counseling and this was before the recent advancements in identifying genetic charateristics. The fact that, as far as we could tell, there wasn't any evidence of microcephaly in my husbands family, we felt the odds were in our favor to have children without microcephaly. Because of my family history, we took the responsibility of reproducing seriously and intellectually. It wasn't that difficult to do. Had the genetic counseling indicated that our chances of having a child with microcephaly were high, we would not have had children. Comparatively, there was a woman in Florida who had 13 children, all of whom provided her with a child support welfare check. She did not work and the majority of her children had different sires. When the governor called her on it, he was criticized by the press and because she happened to be black, by many high-profile black activists. When is enough, enough? The difference between humans and animals in the "right to reproduce" issue is that we have the intellect to decide whether or not we should.
Education:
In the school systems I've worked in as an educator (3 different states here in the US), the schools located in lower income areas receive more money and faculty support through government programs and grants than those schools in other areas. In this day and age of accountability (based on student performance on standardized tests), if a school fails to make it's goals, administrations from all levels, local and state, become activitly involved to help the school meet the goals. In other words, every opportunity to help these children perform to the necessary standards is made by the teachers, administration, etc. These children are given every opportunity to succeed. The problem is parental involvement. As stated previously by another poster, those students whose parents take an
active role in their child's education are successful. It doesn't matter whether the parents are single, working, stay-at-home, whatever, they must be
involved. Parents that encourage their children and show them that education is important and that hard work is necessary will see their children succeed. Parents have to put their children's welfare above their own. It is their responsibilty as a parent and the choice they made when they decided to bring that little person into this world.
U.S.A.
One of the things we value most in this country is our independence. We want to make our won choices, good or bad. I don't want someone choosing my healthcare provider, where I or my children go to college, how I should spend my charitable dollars, etc. I am a middle class American. My two children who are currently attending college have had to get student loans in excess of $30,000 even though they live at home and commute. When my daugther turned 22, I had to start paying for her health insurance, because she was no longer eligable through our plan even though she is still a student. Even with these difficulties, I do not want the government to get involved. I can take care of my own. Granted I have the means, but my husband and I have worked VERY hard for what we have and have made many sacrifices along the way to be in the position we are in today. No one helped us, we helped ourselves.
Original Topic:
This guy snapped, pure and simple, just as the Virginia Tech kid snapped. Tensions are high because of the economic downturns, but that shouldn't be used as an excuse for heinous behaviour.
Kaz