A recent Change.org petition seeks to overturn, through Congress, a University of Pennsylvania decision denying a 23-year-old autistic man a chance to receive a heart transplant. Here’s the text of the letter:
My son Paul was denied placement on the heart transplant list because of his mental disability. The doctor was more interested in the fact that he could not name all his medications (he takes 19 at the present time) and the Princess Peach doll he carries for comfort, than the fact that he has never smoked or drank alcohol. Where will the discrimination end?
Paul is a wonderful boy that has taken his mental and physical illness in stride. He has just completed his first novel geared toward preteens. We are now in the process of having it self-published. This is really the only thing that keeps his mind off of his mortality. How do I explain to him why he can’t have a new heart?
Can you help us tell the Transplant Committee they are wrong and he deserves the chance to grow old and watch his two young nephews grow up?
I have a lot of sympathy for autistic people. I’m pretty sure I suffer from a mild form of it myself (Asperger’s). Some members of my family are passionate about helping those who suffer from it. But the fact remains that there are far more people in need of heart transplants than there are hearts. Somebody has to decide whose life is worth more and whose less.
If the petition is successful, it doesn’t mean that there will be less discrimination; it only means that somebody else (with less political clout) will be discriminated against. I am not saying that the mother doesn’t have a case. I do wonder if she could look the person in the eye, who would die in lieu of her son, and tell him that his life is worth less than that of her son.
I’m glad I don’t have to choose who deserves a new heart and who does not. But I do wish I could have some control over who would get my heart in the event of my untimely death. Just as I can write my will so that certain people will inherit my earthly possessions, so should I be able to dictate who should get my organs. If I want only Jews to benefit from them, my wish should be honored. Somebody else may limit beneficiaries to those of their own community, their own church or their own clan. As it stands, once you become an organ donor, you relinquish all control over who benefits. If such a policy were practiced, autistic people could have their own pool of donors and there would be no petition.
We all must discriminate. Those who have a “discrimination is bad” attitude live in a grocery store fantasy world where abundance is the rule and the only challenge is distribution. While such a world might seem like a utopia, it would probably be a short-lived one. The most powerful forces of evolution would become impotent. The result would ultimately be a much diminished and weakened humanity. Through dysgenics, we would grow more and more vulnerable until, one day, some sort of bug or crises would wipe us out. But we do not live in such a world. Not yet anyway. The rule of TANSTAAFL still applies. Thank goodness for that; it forces us to discriminate.
If the petition is successful, it doesn’t mean that there will be less discrimination; it only means that somebody else (with less political clout) will be discriminated against. I am not saying that the mother doesn’t have a case. I do wonder if she could look the person in the eye, who would die in lieu of her son, and tell him that his life is worth less than that of her son.
I’m glad I don’t have to choose who deserves a new heart and who does not. But I do wish I could have some control over who would get my heart in the event of my untimely death. Just as I can write my will so that certain people will inherit my earthly possessions, so should I be able to dictate who should get my organs. If I want only Jews to benefit from them, my wish should be honored. Somebody else may limit beneficiaries to those of their own community, their own church or their own clan. As it stands, once you become an organ donor, you relinquish all control over who benefits. If such a policy were practiced, autistic people could have their own pool of donors and there would be no petition.
We all must discriminate. Those who have a “discrimination is bad” attitude live in a grocery store fantasy world where abundance is the rule and the only challenge is distribution. While such a world might seem like a utopia, it would probably be a short-lived one. The most powerful forces of evolution would become impotent. The result would ultimately be a much diminished and weakened humanity. Through dysgenics, we would grow more and more vulnerable until, one day, some sort of bug or crises would wipe us out. But we do not live in such a world. Not yet anyway. The rule of TANSTAAFL still applies. Thank goodness for that; it forces us to discriminate.
“Well, I think I’ve pretty much recovered from my heart transplant, but now I keep feeling this overwhelming urge to become a pro-immigration neocon columnist at the New York Times…”
Ha ha!
I imagine that autism covers a lot of territory, and it would be risky to discriminate against such a broad category. It is best not to let a leftist government chose standards for behavior. I predict that racism will be considered a mental disorder under Obama Care.
One easy solution is to make people who are organ donors at the top of the list of people receiving organs. That should solve any shortage overnight.
Good points.
A better example than autism is Down’s Syndrome. Many people with Down’s are born with heart problems. It used to be standard practice not to correct these problems, since the kid is unlikely to ever be able to care for himself. This has caused lots of outrage!!!! though, and I’m not sure if it’s still standard.
Most of the Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) are very intelligent. I think they just give high intelligence “neuroses” and “syndromes’ because they want anyone smart or aware to feel outside the “normal” realm. Children are given syndromes such as “Oppositional Defiance Syndrome” and we all know who came up with this “science”.
“Children are given syndromes such as “Oppositional Defiance Syndrome” and we all know who came up with this “science”.”
Who – Freud?
Discrimination. Some people like lima beans; some people hate them. Each person is different and has their own likes. Part of “freedom” is having the “civil right” to choose what you like and reject what you don’t like.
Today, such freedom is taken away. Why is it OK to dislike certain colors, fashions, foods, or breeds of dogs, but not certain breeds of people or certain life-styles?
Our current “Marxist” society dictates what we are allowed to like and dislike. 50 yrs ago, if you liked homosexuality, unwed mothers, law-breaking (drugs, illegal immigration), etc. you were a “deviant.” Today, if you DON”T like homosexuality, unwed mothers, law-breaking (drugs, illegal immigration), etc, you are a Hater. These social taboos are constantly changing and arbitrary. In some cultures we “Hate” to eat pigs and in others we hate to eat cows, and in others we hate to eat insects.
When will it be a social crime to dislike lima-beans? We are half-way there already. Try mentioning in polite society that you don’t like “organic foods” or vegetarians and watch the resulting anger and and holy arrogance.
Having personal preference is not hate, it’s freedom.
“Our current “Marxist” society dictates what we are allowed to like and dislike. 50 yrs ago, if you liked homosexuality, unwed mothers, law-breaking (drugs, illegal immigration), etc. you were a “deviant.”
And 50 years ago if you didn’t like Christianity you considered deviant. This is where I’ve personally gained from diversity, in the realm of religious pluralism which has allowed me to reject the religion I was born into for one that I actually, well, like.
This is not true. You would only be considered deviant in Christian communities. You were allowed to reject your religion and leave your community. You simply want to enjoy the benefits of a Christian community and also be free to do whatever you wish.
The problem with today is that people are not allowed to have communities or borders. We all have to live under the leftist religion and it is illegal to speak against it.
That’s not been my personal experience even now, Apopkian.
” If I want only Jews to benefit from them, my wish should be honored.”
Why? Over at the other blog about propaganda and the diversity school you write, ”If each of those communities maintains its traditions and distinctions, then what sort of country will we have in a hundred years? It will certainly not be a nation; it will be, at best, a confederacy of nations. At worst, it will be a bloody mess with each group at each others’ throats for the same pieces of government pie. If history is any guide, harmony will not be the result. Strife will be the result.”
So why then should your wish to organ donate only to Jews be honored?
Then later you write,
“If those communities melt into each other, and lose their distinctiveness, then “diversity” will have turned out to be a fleeting luxury, followed by blandness.”
You seem to be confused or sitting on the fence about whether distinction and diversity is good or bad.
Look, its very simple. Diversity like religious pluralism is great because it provides people with the access needed to convert to and practice the religions of their choice. The one that I choose for myself is not a mainstream religion nor indigenous to my country (but then again, what religion IS indigenous to the United States?), and while I practice it and maintain its traditions, I am also a functioning member of American society who contributes and gets along with my neighbors, even the Christians and atheists amongst them.
Where’s the problem?
The constitution guarantees freedom of religion so apopkian is right. You simply want to enjoy the benefits of a Christian community while being free to do whatever you wish. But freedom of religion doesn’t mean others have to smile and pretend to like it.
You’ve mentioned your religion in a couple of comments but haven’t said what it is. If you don’t mind me asking, what is it?
“You simply want to enjoy the benefits of a Christian community while being free to do whatever you wish. ”
I stay as far away from Christian communities as possible.
Of course discrimination is needed. It’s needed to maintain national borders, racial exsistence and every other unique trait either genetic or cultural.
People who want to “end discrimination” want to forceibly prevent populations from maintaining those things.
Yew Among You,
Are you being discriminated against for not being a Christian? I am not sure what you meant by your response.