Take Action: Help Us Mourn Murders of Disabled People

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Take Action: Help Us Mourn Murders of Disabled People

Dear friends,

On March 6th, 2011 George Hodgins, a 22-year old autistic man living in Sunnyvale, California, was murdered by his mother. In the aftermath of his killing, I and other members of the local disability community were concerned by the fact that the media covering his death focused mainly on expressing sympathy for his killer. Because he was disabled, George had been written out of the story of his own murder.

This past Friday, I helped organize a vigil for George and other disabled people killed by their family members. One of the names we read was Tracy Latimer's a disabled teenager killed by her father in 1993. Little did we know that as we spoke Tracy's name, her father was speaking on a television panel for the Canadian Global News, arguing for legalizing the killing of disabled people - in the name of "mercy." Our vigil received sympathetic coverage in the press, but so did Robert Latimer's call for legalizing the murder of disabled children.

It's obvious that many in our society still regard the murder of disabled people as unimportant, or even desirable. But I've also learned that disabled activists can also have an effective on public perception, if we can find a way to get our voices heard.

On behalf of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, I am asking you join us in taking action. On March 30th, help us organize a nation-wide day of mourning for disabled people killed by family members and caregivers. Our goal is to hold vigils in cities across America to memorialize murder victims. Through your help, we hope to amplify our message: that disabled people deserve to live fulfilling lives free of violence.

We're calling for volunteers to organize vigils in their local communities on or around March 30th. You may never have organized this kind of event before, but please know that you'll have support - our first vigil was a success, and we can help you as you work to organize yours. If you want to help us take a stand against the violence facing our community, please write to me at [email protected].

Send a message to society that the disability community has no place for the kind of "mercy" offered by Robert Latimer and others who view us as having lives not worth living. The time has come for us to fight back. On March 30th, help us make it happen.

In solidarity,

Zoe Gross
Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Interesting that George's mother has been "written out of" this letter/article.

If you hadn't already known about this case you'd think she was awaiting trial , rather than having committed suicide by shooting herself minutes after shooting her son.

Do ASAN not feel that a fully informed and nuanced debate would be more helpful than this very clearly biased approach which seems intended to provoke a particular reaction by the manipulation of the facts?

[quote="Marcia"]Interesting that George's mother has been "written out of" this letter/article.

If you hadn't already known about this case you'd think she was awaiting trial , rather than having committed suicide by shooting herself minutes after shooting her son.

Do ASAN not feel that a fully informed and nuanced debate would be more helpful than this very clearly biased approach which seems intended to provoke a particular reaction by the manipulation of the facts?[/quote]she was a murderer, and I imagine that is why ASAN presented it as they did. She could have just commited suicide, and left her son alive

All other coverage has focused on the mother's hardship.

They are not trying inform people of the facts of the case, that information is widely available elsewhere. They are trying to remind people, most of whom they assume are aware of the case, who the actual victim in this situation was. They are making the point that George Hodgins has been forgotten in the rush to demonstrate sympathy for his murderer.

Further discussion of whatever hardships she faced is counterproductive to making that point.

I disagree, I think people should be given all of the information. You can't stand behind something without knowing all of the facts otherwise you don't know what you are standing for.

Murder is certainly wrong and I am obviously against it. However I don't want to perpetuate incomplete information. This could allow someone to make use of my efforts for ends I might not feel are justified.

It also doesn't help people in the mother's position. Everything is important, and to not represent everything is corrupt in my eyes. You can't tell a story with only one side of the argument. Of course there is the possibility that this story is simply representational of something else, but I'm not sure what it represents if it does not in fact represent the actual story being told... representational stories are to my eyes never complete in the stories they tell and shouldn't be used.

It is not, however, counterproductive.

The problem with making ONLY one point, that she killed her son, and that makes her a murderer, ignores the bigger issue.

It's very easy for we as high functioning Autistics to speak our minds about this stuff, but I do think many of us forget that Autistcs who cannot speak for themselves, ARE extremely difficult to care for.

The true point behind looking into how hard life may have been for his mother, is not to place sympathy on her. It is to raise awareness that some cases of Autism are so overwhelming for the caregivers that society needs to pay more attention and offer more help to these families (that means George and his parents!), so that things like this do not happen.

Nothing wrong with vigils, mind you, as long as the point is to bring attention to the WHOLE picture. If the only purpose is to bring sympathy for George alone, and paint his mother as a murderer, THAT is non productive.

Solve the problem. Don't point fingers.

I don't think that ^^^^ looks quite the way I meant it. I'm all in favor of the vigils. I'm all in favor of putting George himself (or any other disabled victim of tragedies like this) back into the center of focus. I do NOT mean to minimize the importance of what's being planned.

I just think also that to simply dismiss the difficulties of the family as a whole is a big mistake and would not help stop these kinds of things from happening. I'm not excusing what his mother did, but there are real reasons behind her actions. You can't fight what you don't know. Her story is equally important. She is, after all, the one who ended up causing this. If we don't understand her, and her plight, as well as the plights of others who do this kind of thing, we can't get rid of the problem. She most certainly needed help.

"There is help out there, you just have to know were to get it." is a quote from someone at the vigil.

The problem is, too many people don't know where it is, nor do they have any idea who to ask. My kids are not low functioning, and there supposedly is help for us too, but I'll be damned if I can figure out where it is or who offers it. The few agencies we've contacted and applied to, have all denied any help at all.

Thank GOD we're not as badly off as those who kill their own kids, but my wife and I both know how desperate people can get. We have been there, and the help is NOT that easy to find or get even if you can find it.

THAT ^^^^^ is the problem that needs solving. Simply labeling parents who feel driven to these extremes as murderers (even if they technically are), does nothing to solve that problem.

Get them the help they need. Make it easier to find. Get these agencies better trained so they quit denying help to people that really need it.