I think if I gave the impression that Robert Latimer was a fascist that it was inaccurate since he has never called for the decimation of the Proletariat. Bigotry isn't necessarily fascist. One thing about the Holocaust is the goal was to wipe entire peoples off the face of the earth. This is different from a single act of bigotry like the killing of Matthew Shepard or the killing of Gwen Araujuo it is not merely an act of genocide.
In terms of "mercy killings" (involuntary "euthanising" of the disabled and other oppressed people). This has been advocated by Eugenecists and the Third Reich. Again, I should probably, there is no evidence that Robert Latimer is a fascist since fascists are for decimating the working class (which Latimer hasn't called for). In terms of whether not Latimer is support the extermiting of the disabled, I haven't yet confirmed but have heard that Robert Latimer is lobbying the government to legalize "mercy killings" (i.e. the killing of the disabled).
I terms of whether Robert Latimer's action were an act of bigotry. With Robert Latimer and his supporters and likely with Robert Latimer himself they don't seem to make a distinction between "relieving someone in pain" and killing someone with a disability. Many of his supporters including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will say things like "he did what he did to relieve Tracy of her pain (she had severe cerebral palsy)" or they justify what Latimer killing Tracy without consent on the grounds that she had a low IQ or has the mind of a 3 month old child. The fact that someone has a low IQ doesn't make killing them any more exceptable. This same society that to a large extent is sympathetic to Robert Latimer is also a society deeply bigoted towards the disabled. Whenever someone non-disabled is killed by their parents their is outrage yet when a parent kills their disabled child there can often by public sympathy. And not all bigots are as openly bigoted. Many opponents of affirmative action say they are "fighting for equal opportunity". The are white racists who claim to be fighting for "civil rights and self-determination for white people".
In terms of a number of Robert Latimer's being white people with shaved head. Historically, from what I understand, white people with shaved heads has been associated with outright fascists. I should have pointed out that there are some white people with shaved heads her aren't fascist. I think, however, if white guys with shaved heads are rallying around a person who killed someone with a disability I don't think this should be ignored. He also has a prominent supporter who claims the US is a puppet for Israel.
In terms of Tracy feeling nothing but pain, this I think is highly inaccurate. According to the Toronto Star, "T racy Latimer is remembered by her schoolteachers as a girl who loved music. They also remember her smile." There were points were she felt great pain mind you. Many people with Tracy's condition, however, choose to go on living. Cerebral palsy is also treatable, in fact Robert Latimer was opposed to giving Tracy hip surgery saying that "it was mutilation and that it wouldn't cure Tracy". He also refused to give Tracy a permanent institutional place a respite home. The Toronto Star pointed out "critics say other people who take anti-convulsing medication do find compatible pain relief".
In terms of whether or not the killing of Tracy Latimer has led to more killing of the disabled, according to Ragged Edge Magazine:
"Between 1990 and 1994, the average number of Canadian murder cases in which parents killed their children was 34 for each year, according to University of Alberta psychology professor Dick Sobsey.
Between 1994 and 1998, the average rate was 49, with 62 cases in 1997 alone.
Why the increase in what Sobsey calls "altruistic filicide", the killing of a child out of the belief that death is in the child's best interest?
Sobsey, the head of J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre, points to the 1993 murder of Tracy Latimer, and the media coverage surrounding her death and her murderer's court trials.
"After 1994, we saw a big increase in the number of parents killing their children in Canada," Sobsey said.
It goes on to say:
"The case has become a focal point of a debate between disability rights advocates who see Tracy's death as one of countless examples of extreme abuse upon people with disabilities, and people who believe that "mercy killing" is justified when the victim has a severe disability. Most on both sides agree, however, that the media and public sentiment favors Robert Latimer."
In terms
My sources:
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-euthanasia.htm The History Place - Talks about "Mercy Killings"
http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/ Eugenics Archive - Talks about "Mercy Killings"
http://www.dnai.org/e/index.html DNA Interactive - Talks about "Mercy Killings"
http://dawn.thot.net/Tracy_Latimer.html DisAbled Women's Action Network - On Tracy Latimer not feeling "nothing but pain"
http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/309347 The Toronto Star - Talks about Tracy Latimer feeling more than just pain
http://www.ragged-edge-mag.com/drn/latimer0402.html Ragged Edge Magazine - Sympathy for Robert Latimer link to increase in child murders
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