1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: You're listening to you an Airwave Media podcast. Hello delicious friends, 2 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 1: and welcome to Who Did What Now? The history podcast 3 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: That's Not Your History Class with mayor host Katie Charlewood, 4 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: history harlote and reader of books. It has been an 5 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: interesting couple of days. I had a video of mine 6 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: go away bit viral on Instagram. It's got like one 7 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: point four million views last time I looked, and it's 8 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 1: about pavlovstocks. Because it's October, it's book a month, and 9 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: so I decided to just go full on horrible history, 10 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: like the bad stuff, and so people have been warned. 11 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm doing it this month. Same thing with 12 00:00:55,280 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: the episodes this month on the podcast. They're all terrible, terrible, horrible, 13 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: the true horrors of history, and that is where we 14 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: are at today. So if you have a decent sense 15 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: of morality, empathy, and you don't have a strong stomach, 16 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: you might want to set this one out because this 17 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: is going to be discussing the abuse and mistreatment of 18 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: intellectually disabled children and adults. So if you think that's 19 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:26,919 Speaker 1: going to be a bit much for you, just skip 20 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: this episode, or if you want to give me the interaction, 21 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: just like mute it and let it play if whatever 22 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: whatever works for you, your mental well being and sanity and safety, 23 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: they're important. So if you need to skip this, you 24 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: have absolutely my blessing. Don't worry about it now. I 25 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: wasn't expecting the video to do as well as it's doing, 26 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: because I've spoken about this stuff before. Like anybody who's 27 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: listened to me or watched me for like a long time, 28 00:01:54,880 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: you'll know that my background is, you know, the social sciences, history, sociology, soho, geography, 29 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: and psychology, right, that's my main sort of forty and 30 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: so like ethics and misinformation, especially within the scientific community, 31 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: I find very interesting, and like I love stats. I'm 32 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: like bad at regular maths, but see you put me 33 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: in front of like analytics and statistics, I am all 34 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 1: up in that for some reason. I don't know why, 35 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: But I've discussed sort of you know, propaganda and misinformation 36 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 1: and history because that's my jam, you know. And so 37 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: I discussed these sort of unethical experiments and especially the 38 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: way that they are misrepresented and or sanitized so that 39 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 1: you know, they're given out like really PG. Thirteen information 40 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: without showing you know, just how dark and terrible it 41 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: really was, which you know is my jam and my butter, 42 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,919 Speaker 1: which brings me to my next point. Somebody had come 43 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: into oh, you're pronouncing the T and Katie is just 44 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 1: because I used to accidentally call you KD, you know, 45 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: with a D or other people walking. 46 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 2: You as well. 47 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,800 Speaker 1: And I am looking at this comment, looking at the profile. 48 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: I even go in and look at it, and I'm like, 49 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: I have no idea who you are anyway, how do 50 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:25,640 Speaker 1: we think about how I pronounced the letter T? And 51 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: now that I've said this, you probably won't be able 52 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: to unhear it. But depending on what I'm saying, I 53 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: will pronounce the ta as a very enunciated ta, that 54 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: sort of symbol sound, or I'll pronounce it like a D, 55 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: or i won't pronounce it at all, and I'll do 56 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: a glottal stop glotto like sometimes my wee girl will 57 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: just come up to me and be like a bottle 58 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: of water. Now I have a theory as to why 59 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: I do this, like why me specifically? Well, one, my 60 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: dad's a Cockney, so yeah, I had that accent growing up. 61 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 2: I live in. 62 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: Rural Donneygall where we speak high Berno English, right, And 63 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: then you have my gran my mum's mum who I 64 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: lived with a lot growing up. Like she was Scottish 65 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: and she was really into manners, so she would basically 66 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: do her only version of like elocrition and table manners, 67 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: and she did that thing where you walk with a 68 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: book on your head. She liked to make me walk 69 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: with great expectations, which I think was what she expected 70 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:31,479 Speaker 1: of me. But I really fucking hate Charles Dickens as 71 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: a person. So it's somehow very very funny in the scenario. 72 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:37,359 Speaker 2: But yeah, that's why that is. And I know what 73 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 2: you're thinking. 74 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: You're thinking, Kadi, quit your jibber jabber in fact me, 75 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: In fact you, I will. But first we've got to 76 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,040 Speaker 1: get our source on. Our sources are The Willow Book 77 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: Wars by Sheila and David Rothman. Beyond the Willow Book 78 00:04:55,200 --> 00:05:01,160 Speaker 1: was The Courts and Institutional Reform by Joe B. Grossman, Beatings, 79 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: Burns and Betrayal, The Willowbrook Scandal's Legacy by Benjamin Wiser, 80 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: The Occasional Human Sacrifice. 81 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 2: By Carl Elliott. 82 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:19,599 Speaker 1: Willowbrook, The Last Great Disgrace by Rado RIVERA vaccinated one 83 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:23,559 Speaker 1: man's quest to defeat the world's deadliest diseases, by Paul 84 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:29,600 Speaker 1: Offitt and The Horrors of Willowbrook State School by Kristin Dalton. 85 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: Isosidine comfortably good, then let's begin. There are few things 86 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:43,559 Speaker 1: as terrible and terrifying as state sanctioned systematic abuse under 87 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: the guise of help and care all for the betterment 88 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: of society. Residential schools, the Magdalen Laundries, homes for wayward youths, bedlam, 89 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,600 Speaker 1: so on and so forth. But to day I am 90 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 1: going to be telling you all about the disturbing history 91 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 1: of Willowbrook State School. Built on three hundred and eighty 92 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: acres in the heart of Staten Island, New York, Willowbrook 93 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: State School was a state run institution, and it was 94 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:22,600 Speaker 1: originally conceived as a care facility where they would be 95 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:30,840 Speaker 1: support and education and proper care for children with intellectual disabilities. 96 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: Its purpose was to provide assistance in support to children 97 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: with additional needs who otherwise would not have access to this. Instead, 98 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:46,480 Speaker 1: it was a warehouse for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. 99 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:53,280 Speaker 1: Committed to the institution, they would suffer neglect, abuse, and 100 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: even inhumane unethical experimentation. From what it was conceived in 101 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:03,200 Speaker 1: the ninety thirties up to its eventual closure in the 102 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties. Willowbrook exists as a reminder of the injustice 103 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: faced by some of the most vulnerable people in society 104 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: from way back when, all through history up until now 105 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: the modern day, and the suffering of the residents of 106 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: Willowbrook State School was largely ignored, avoided, or hidden from 107 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: the general public. That was up until an expose by 108 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: investigative journalist Heraldo Rivera that lifted the lid on exactly 109 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: what was happening inside the state run institution, an expose 110 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: that would go on to have a massive impact on 111 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 1: disability rights and advocacy and even basic human rights. But 112 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: even after the lid was lifted on this, it would 113 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: be several years before the school would have enally be 114 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: shut down. And now that you know how it ends, 115 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,560 Speaker 1: I'm going to take you back to the beginning. So 116 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,239 Speaker 1: back in the day, there wasn't really a great level 117 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: of understanding when it came to disabilities, you know, either 118 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: physical or intellectual. 119 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 2: There wasn't a huge lot of knowledge on that. 120 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: Generally, if someone had any sort of intellectual disability or 121 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: learning difficulty, or they would have epilepsy or a physical abnormality, 122 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: many times they would be shipped off to an institution, 123 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: sometimes an asylum, sometimes a special hospital, and so on. 124 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,080 Speaker 1: And we have to consider as well that this is 125 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: a period of time where eugenics is massive, like it 126 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:51,719 Speaker 1: is making waves all through Europe. I'm sure you can 127 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: guess where, well, not just the bad place, not just 128 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 1: the Nazis. It's not just the Nazis. You know, there's 129 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: all this concept of purity and race and all this stuff. 130 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: It's in the US, it's in Europe. You've got Winston 131 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: Churchill who's like super into eugenics, but we'll discuss him 132 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: another time because I don't have time for that today. 133 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 1: So compared to all this, Willowbrook is just like a 134 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,520 Speaker 1: fairy tale almost. And and you know, I'm going to 135 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: have to apologize for some of the language I'm going 136 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 1: to use in this. I'm not going to say the 137 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: really bad stuff because I'm just not going to do 138 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: it because I don't believe in it. Because the R 139 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: word shows up in here and I don't respect that. 140 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,319 Speaker 1: I will not use that word. I refuse. I refuse 141 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: to use such a derogatory term. 142 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 2: It's not happening. 143 00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:46,240 Speaker 1: But I will have to use others which I feel 144 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: are not as bad because they're mainly more of a 145 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: historical reference as opposed to a modern slur. So, in 146 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirties, when the plans were drawn up for 147 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 1: Willowbrook referred to as a school for mental defectives, I 148 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: don't like that. I don't feel comfortable saying that. It 149 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 1: makes my skin crawl. It makes me feel dirty, and 150 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: not in the good way. Now, remember what I said 151 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: about a lack of understanding about people with disabilities. 152 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 2: Okay, good. 153 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: So the general consensus was that it would be best 154 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:29,560 Speaker 1: for everyone, for the disabled people, for the families of 155 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:34,560 Speaker 1: the disabled people, for society in general, that it would 156 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:40,119 Speaker 1: be best to remove intellectually disabled people from general society, 157 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:46,199 Speaker 1: from their families and place them in institutions. The idea 158 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: was that institutions could provide twenty four seven care, specialized 159 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:57,959 Speaker 1: care for people with intellectual disabilities, support that the families 160 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,360 Speaker 1: could not provide. This was just pumped out constantly. It 161 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: was very much a societal norm because this was being 162 00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:12,080 Speaker 1: pumped out by like every level of society. The government 163 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,200 Speaker 1: was saying it. You have politicians spouting it, you have 164 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 1: doctors telling you this. Your doctor is telling you that 165 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:22,559 Speaker 1: your child would be better off in one of these places. 166 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 1: And then if they're saying it, and all these officials 167 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:29,319 Speaker 1: are saying it, all these high ranking members of society 168 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 1: are pushing the same narrative, then other members, your neighbors, 169 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 1: your friends, they're all going to be churning out the 170 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:43,760 Speaker 1: same stuff. And so parents genuinely believed that their children 171 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: would have a much better life in an institution than 172 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:51,839 Speaker 1: they would in their care. And everybody thinks this is 173 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:53,920 Speaker 1: a great plan, and they're like, let's just start building 174 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: this special school. Absolutely, let's do this, And so the 175 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: plans are drawn up in nineteen thirty eight and they 176 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 1: start construction, so we're talking a year before the start 177 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 1: of the Second World War, and the building is finally 178 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: completed all up to cod by nineteen forty two. Instead 179 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 1: of starting its life as a school, the building was 180 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:21,040 Speaker 1: repurposed as an army hospital and it was renamed the 181 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: Hallerin General Hospital after the late Colonel Paul's Deacy Hallerin. 182 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 1: When the Second World War ends, they're trying to figure 183 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 1: out what to do with the building, and they go 184 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 1: back and forth away bit and they are considering giving 185 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 1: it to the veterans Administration, which is this branch of 186 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: the US federal government which exists solely to provide lifelong 187 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: healthcare for military veterans, sorry, eligible military veterans. Eventually, this 188 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: idea is KiB washed, and they decide to go with 189 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:58,960 Speaker 1: their original plan and turn it back into a state school. 190 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,760 Speaker 1: And in October nineteen forty seven, the New York State 191 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: Department of Mental Hygiene, Yes that is a real thing, 192 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:12,839 Speaker 1: finally officially opens Willow Bookstores and starts taking in residence. 193 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 1: And people were champing at the bit to get their 194 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:19,240 Speaker 1: kids in here. Now, this wasn't like the first institution 195 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,439 Speaker 1: of its kind in the US, let alone anywhere else. 196 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 1: They were like all of the shop they were all 197 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:26,319 Speaker 1: over Europe. There were some in the US, but the 198 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: ones that were there already were quite small. There was 199 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: nothing that had this capacity. So this was supposed to, 200 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 1: I think, have four thousand children like that was the 201 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:44,720 Speaker 1: capacity of residents like initially, which is huge. Like nowhere 202 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:49,200 Speaker 1: else had had this. And as I said earlier, it 203 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: was accepted and expected and demanded even in certain parts 204 00:13:56,280 --> 00:14:01,480 Speaker 1: that parents of intellectually disabled children should send them to 205 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:05,079 Speaker 1: these institutions. And we really need to take into consideration 206 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: that this is a period of time where these people 207 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,320 Speaker 1: would have suffered through things like the Great Depression and 208 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:16,080 Speaker 1: the Second World War, and the information and education that 209 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 1: they had was what was being provided to them. There 210 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:26,000 Speaker 1: wasn't even a remotely accessible level of information or education 211 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:28,760 Speaker 1: that we have today, even though today we still have 212 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: barriers to education. Back in the nineteen thirties nineteen forties, 213 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 1: so much worse, just so much worse. And so these 214 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: people believed that this was the best option for them, 215 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: that children would get the best care possible, more than 216 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: they could possibly provide, and a lot of doctors at 217 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: the time, a lot of medical professionals believed that this 218 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,720 Speaker 1: was the right thing to do, that this was where 219 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: people were supposed to be sending their children, to give 220 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: them a better life, to provide them with the extra 221 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: attention and support and give them the right therapies that 222 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:14,720 Speaker 1: they need in order for them to be ah be better. 223 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: And it's gonna get worse. It always gets worse. So 224 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:24,280 Speaker 1: you have to remember also that this is a society 225 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: which exists on the labor of women, and a culture 226 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 1: that is trying to reinforce the concept of the nuclear 227 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 1: family and the idea that a woman's place is in 228 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: the home, taking care of her husband and taking care 229 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 1: of her children and the house and whatever, so that 230 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: he can work all day and provide financially for the 231 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 1: entire family. Because remember, during the war, a lot of 232 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: women would have taken up what would have been seen 233 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: as more masculine roles because they had to. They had 234 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: to pull their socks up and do their bit for 235 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: the war effort, had to take over the jobs that 236 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 1: men were not there to do because men were out 237 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 1: there fighting a war. And so they wanted to push 238 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 1: women back in the home. This is after women got 239 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: you know, started to get education and started to get 240 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 1: all this other stuff. They were like, no, back, you 241 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: go back there. And how is a woman supposed to 242 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: ensure that she has the house cleaned and a wonderful 243 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: three course meal cooked for her hobby when he comes 244 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: home at night, and still create more children care for 245 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 1: them if she spends all of her time caring for 246 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 1: a child with additional needs, that's what part of this 247 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: is from. And this is seen as the right thing 248 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: to do so that they can receive the right care wink, 249 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: and so that she can get back to doing what 250 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 1: she needs to do, and so many people, many parents 251 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: sent their children to willow Brook because these are professionals, 252 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,639 Speaker 1: people who are trained to care for these children, and 253 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,000 Speaker 1: so off they were sent. 254 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 2: And then you have the waiting list. 255 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 1: Which was massive, like thousands, thousands of names on this 256 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:17,880 Speaker 1: waiting list because people were so. 257 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 2: Desperate for this. 258 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: Because of course publicity pr the way that it presented 259 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 1: itself when it opened it was I'm gonna call it 260 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: the movie magic. You know, you have like photos in 261 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:33,919 Speaker 1: the papers. It was showing it being lovely. How the 262 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:37,640 Speaker 1: staff are caring for the children. You know, you got 263 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: loads of staff and they're feeding children and playing with 264 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 1: them and teaching them stuff. They are making them functioning 265 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,639 Speaker 1: members of society, which is the goal. 266 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:48,640 Speaker 2: Which is the goal. 267 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: It's the American dream. Anybody can be anything. They're going 268 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: to take your child and they're going to turn them 269 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 1: into a valuable men of society, valuable and productive. Now 270 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: this is reminding anybody of the Outer World's video game. Anyway, 271 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: The way that Willowbrook was being presented was very much 272 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:16,360 Speaker 1: a facad and not the reality. 273 00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:18,520 Speaker 2: Because from the get go, they did. 274 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: Not have enough bodies on the floor, they did not 275 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: have enough staff to cover the amount of children that 276 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,040 Speaker 1: they had to care for, and it would continue to 277 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:30,280 Speaker 1: not have enough staff because it would keep accepting more 278 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:33,879 Speaker 1: and more residents without having the correct number of people 279 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: to care for them. And you might be thinking to yourself, 280 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: it's got residential capacity of four thousand, like, there's plenty 281 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: of space. 282 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:41,719 Speaker 2: There's not going to be overcrowding. 283 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 1: You would be wrong, because they just keep taking kids. 284 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: They just keep accepting more. In nineteen fifty three, they've 285 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,320 Speaker 1: got three thousand residents, which is like, fine, that's good, 286 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: that's under capacity. Fine, they have one thousand more by 287 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:07,200 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty five, just two years later, which is maximum 288 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,959 Speaker 1: four thousand bids done, and then a short while there 289 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:16,480 Speaker 1: were over six thousand residents and the place simply did 290 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:20,600 Speaker 1: not have the staff to keep up with this. I 291 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 1: don't want to say growth, because they're just accepting people 292 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:29,239 Speaker 1: in and the Department of Mental Hygiene, well, it's not 293 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: providing enough funding to cover the staff that it needs. 294 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,440 Speaker 1: You know, it is cutting the budget down and down, 295 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,399 Speaker 1: whittling it way. And at one point there was like 296 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:46,480 Speaker 1: one attendant, like one member of staff for every fifty children, 297 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:51,119 Speaker 1: like that's that's too many. There is too many, and 298 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: it only gets worse from there because that would be 299 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 1: hard enough. Like have you ever seen like one teacher 300 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: try and look after like fifty four year olds for example, 301 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:05,919 Speaker 1: Like that's too many, Like that is too many for 302 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: one person. And then add in the fact that these 303 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:14,520 Speaker 1: are children with additional needs who all need individual levels 304 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:19,159 Speaker 1: of care, Like there's no way that one staff member 305 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:23,160 Speaker 1: is going to be able to care sufficiently for all 306 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: of these children who are in this institution because they're 307 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: supposed to be getting this extra support and care. There 308 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:36,480 Speaker 1: would be some kids there who only need like a 309 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,159 Speaker 1: wee bit of taking care of, just like the basics, 310 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 1: and then others would need just like one hundred twenty 311 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: four to seven support, like they would need specialized care again, 312 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:52,680 Speaker 1: which is what this place is supposed to be providing. 313 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:57,680 Speaker 1: Like they have this report. They have this report and 314 00:20:59,119 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: it uses they are works, and I'm not going to 315 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:04,399 Speaker 1: use it, So I'm just going to say intellectually disabled. 316 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:12,400 Speaker 1: So seventy percent of the children in Willow Book were 317 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 1: severely or profoundly intellectually disabled. Sixty four percent were unable 318 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:24,119 Speaker 1: to feed themselves, sixty percent were not toilet trained or 319 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:28,440 Speaker 1: weren't able to go to the toilet unassisted. Thirty nine 320 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:32,000 Speaker 1: percent were physically disabled in a way that would prevent 321 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:36,360 Speaker 1: them from being able to walk or move anywhere unassisted. 322 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:42,760 Speaker 1: They were not ambulatory effectively, and thirty percent of the 323 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: residents had seizeals convulsive seizures, so like epilepsy, things like that. 324 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: There were children here that really really needed care, extra 325 00:21:55,920 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 1: care like nowadays. Nowadays, these children who require the specialized care, 326 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 1: this one to one care would receive one to one care. 327 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:09,920 Speaker 1: They would have a care or a nurse or someone 328 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:14,680 Speaker 1: specifically one to one looking after them, not them, and 329 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: forty nine of our children now in wallow Book. For 330 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:24,880 Speaker 1: the children who could do it, who had the capabilities 331 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:28,680 Speaker 1: and who could physically attend, there were like a few 332 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:33,520 Speaker 1: training programs going on. But they remember willow Brook is 333 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 1: a state school, so there has to be some level 334 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,320 Speaker 1: of education happening, and so they have to be providing 335 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:45,159 Speaker 1: some level of education or training and they do the 336 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,719 Speaker 1: beare fucking minimum. Like over the six thousand residents that 337 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:52,879 Speaker 1: were here that were in wallow Brook, eighty percent of 338 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,879 Speaker 1: them did not attend any sort of class. So for 339 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,239 Speaker 1: the twenty percent who could go fantastic for them I mean, 340 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:05,240 Speaker 1: not fantastic, but better than the other eighty percent who 341 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:09,360 Speaker 1: couldn't because they were just left of their own devices. 342 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: A lot of the time, there wasn't anything for them. 343 00:23:12,359 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: There was nothing to stimulate them. They weren't getting physical therapy, 344 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:20,679 Speaker 1: they weren't doing activities. There was nothing for them. And 345 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:25,639 Speaker 1: these kids are just sitting around like doing nothing, having 346 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,320 Speaker 1: nothing to stimulate them, either like physically or mentally. They've 347 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:34,199 Speaker 1: got nothing like They're basically abandoned and left to their 348 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:40,919 Speaker 1: own devices in an overcrowded, understaffed building. Even the director, 349 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:46,439 Speaker 1: the director of Willowbrook State School, doctor Jack Hammond, he 350 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:53,160 Speaker 1: said that the overcrowding made supervision, treatment, care, and possible 351 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 1: training of the patients difficult, if not impossible. This is 352 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 1: the guy running the joint. Have you consider not having 353 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: as many kids in there? 354 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 2: Have you? Perhaps? 355 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:11,120 Speaker 1: No? He goes on to say that when the patients are, 356 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,679 Speaker 1: you know, up in the day rooms, they're all like 357 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:17,960 Speaker 1: they're all stuffed in together. They are hurting each other, 358 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 1: they are hurting themselves, they're ruining their clothing, and they 359 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:31,280 Speaker 1: are soiling themselves, so urinating, defecating that it's happening. And 360 00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: he says that at nighttime because the way they have 361 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: to like put them in the dorms, the beds all 362 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,359 Speaker 1: have to be like smashed together to make like larger beds, 363 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: so they cannot fit. 364 00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:46,119 Speaker 2: And in order to get to some. 365 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,600 Speaker 1: Of the kids sometimes you would have to physically climb 366 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 1: over the beds. And that is the director of willow 367 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: Brook State School. That is the director who is providing 368 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 1: this information. Institution was overcrowded and underfunded because they had 369 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:08,080 Speaker 1: no budget. They had nothing, and it just got worse 370 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:12,440 Speaker 1: and worse as the years went on. So not only 371 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,720 Speaker 1: have they got no budget, they're already struggling to afford 372 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:20,440 Speaker 1: the staff they have and the conditions are not great 373 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,720 Speaker 1: for the staff, so they're not exactly keeping as much 374 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 1: as they would like. 375 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 2: So it loses like. 376 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:33,399 Speaker 1: Six hundred employees right because they have to cut staff 377 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,480 Speaker 1: and they just can't replace them for several reasons. One 378 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:42,199 Speaker 1: they can't afford to. And then in the nineteen sixties 379 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: there's this complete hiring phrase in New York State because you. 380 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 2: Know, the economy not going well. Things are not. 381 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,720 Speaker 1: Going well in New York State, and so hiring phrase 382 00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:58,679 Speaker 1: through all government programs, which this is part of because 383 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:04,240 Speaker 1: this is from the Department Mental Hygiene, and so in 384 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:08,680 Speaker 1: was it nineteen seventy one, nineteen seventy two that fiscal year, 385 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: six hundred and thirty million dollars was given to the 386 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:18,120 Speaker 1: Department of Hygiene, which is cut down to like six 387 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:20,959 Speaker 1: hundred million and then five hundred and eighty million, So 388 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,879 Speaker 1: they're just cutting it down, right, So willow Brook is 389 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:30,480 Speaker 1: getting sweet fu call. And after this, Willowbrook loses was 390 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 1: it two hundred more members of staff. And this is 391 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:38,160 Speaker 1: when the shit just hits the fan, because in order 392 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,520 Speaker 1: for it to function, you know, as what it's meant 393 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:45,679 Speaker 1: to be, they need double the amount of money per patient. 394 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:50,119 Speaker 1: And that's before things get tough. And they don't have 395 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: the budget for staff, and they don't have enough of anything. 396 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,200 Speaker 1: And the thing about the staff, the staff at Willowbrook 397 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 1: States School, you have many of them which are just 398 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,879 Speaker 1: trying to get by, and there are some who care 399 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:06,160 Speaker 1: for these kids. 400 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,200 Speaker 2: And a lot of them are doing their very best. Now. 401 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,720 Speaker 1: Of course, there's always band apples. There are reports of 402 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:17,800 Speaker 1: sexual abuse and things like that, but there's not enough 403 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: evidence because a lot of the people that were assaulted 404 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:28,320 Speaker 1: and attacked and abused could not come up and name 405 00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:33,520 Speaker 1: their attacker. They could not give evidence because a lot 406 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:37,120 Speaker 1: of these children or non veribal or did not have 407 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:41,400 Speaker 1: the capacity to convey those words, and so the case 408 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:42,399 Speaker 1: ends up being dropped. 409 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:44,200 Speaker 2: But that's later on. 410 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 1: But a lot of the staff they are just doing 411 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:51,040 Speaker 1: their best. But when you've got one staff member for 412 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:56,159 Speaker 1: fifty children, and some of these children cannot physically feed themselves, 413 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 1: Like if you're spoon feeding fifty children, like that's that's 414 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: gonna take you so much time. You're not gonna be 415 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:09,520 Speaker 1: able to get through fifty children and have a meal 416 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,879 Speaker 1: still be warm. You'd be lucky if it was tepids. Like, 417 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,640 Speaker 1: it's not Baby Bill's porridge here. It's not just right. 418 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:20,439 Speaker 1: Things are gonna be tough. And so in order to 419 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: ensure all the children were fed, staff had these targets 420 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:26,639 Speaker 1: to hit and they were supposed to feed each child 421 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,879 Speaker 1: between two and three minutes like each time. So you 422 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,800 Speaker 1: can just imagine it. You've got a child with additional 423 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: needs and you are force feeding them, and these are 424 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 1: kids of all ages, Like a lot of the time 425 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,240 Speaker 1: kids don't want to eat the stuff you're giving them, 426 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:46,880 Speaker 1: you know, and they're having to force this foot into 427 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:50,080 Speaker 1: the child and if they don't do it, if they 428 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 1: don't feed this kid in this time period, one of 429 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: the other kids is not gonna eat. Like if they 430 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 1: don't get through this row of kids, somebody in the 431 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:02,440 Speaker 1: end is going to starve, and that is what they 432 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 1: have in their mind. Now I'm going to point out 433 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:07,280 Speaker 1: that there were many many deaths at this school, and 434 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:10,160 Speaker 1: I will go over them later, but there are several 435 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:14,680 Speaker 1: recorded deaths, which is different, many of which are due 436 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:20,600 Speaker 1: to choking. And this can directly directly be connected with 437 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,920 Speaker 1: this with the force feeding, a lot of children choked 438 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:28,720 Speaker 1: because they were just being stuffed, like food was just 439 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 1: being shoveled down their gullet and they they sometimes weren't 440 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:36,880 Speaker 1: able to deal with that, and staff might not have 441 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:39,680 Speaker 1: noticed or been able to help because they're dealing with 442 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: all these other children who need them. And this caused 443 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:47,800 Speaker 1: like so many other problems because of the overcrowding, because 444 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: of the manner in which they were having to be 445 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 1: physically close, and because the way they had to get 446 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,120 Speaker 1: around each other, Like kids would end up with all 447 00:29:56,160 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: of these diseases and you know, things would bread, They 448 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:04,120 Speaker 1: would get pneumonia, which is so common, they would have 449 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 1: parasites and lice and everything that would go around. 450 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 2: They'd get it. 451 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,280 Speaker 1: Like there were staff members who would talk about feeding 452 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: time and if they wanted to give them like treats, 453 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 1: if they gave them like sweets or candy or cookies 454 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:24,600 Speaker 1: instead of physically handing them out to the children, like 455 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 1: in order to give it to them, they would throw 456 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 1: it on the floor and make them scramble for it. 457 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:34,520 Speaker 1: Wll not make them, but they were, Like one staff 458 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:37,640 Speaker 1: member said, it was like feeding time at the zoo. 459 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:43,960 Speaker 1: These are fucking children, children with needs, children who deserve 460 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:50,200 Speaker 1: deserve care, and you're putting them through trauma and stress 461 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:54,640 Speaker 1: and pain. Like again, some of the staff members are 462 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,160 Speaker 1: doing it because they don't have any other way to 463 00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 1: do it, and otherwise it just. 464 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:06,680 Speaker 2: Seems like such a sick, fucking joke. Now think about this. 465 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,600 Speaker 1: You've got all these staff members who don't have time 466 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:15,880 Speaker 1: to probably feed the children like they're one to fifty. 467 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:18,600 Speaker 2: Like you think they're going to be dressing them. 468 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:20,440 Speaker 1: So a lot of the time, a lot of these kids, 469 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:24,440 Speaker 1: the kids who could not do things with themselves, they 470 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 1: were left to stew some naked, some nappies, some in 471 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 1: some kind of NightWare. Some in something old, dirty something. 472 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:40,480 Speaker 1: And if you thought this was bad, don't worry, it 473 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,800 Speaker 1: gets much worse. Because they had to move the children 474 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:52,080 Speaker 1: around the institution. They ended up using these wooden rolling carts. 475 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:56,600 Speaker 1: Like originally they were for children with physical disabilities who 476 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:58,400 Speaker 1: could not move around, and so they would be put 477 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,719 Speaker 1: on these rolling carts and so they sort of adjusted 478 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 1: them and called them and I shit, you not cripple cuts. 479 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 2: Yep. And they would just stuff kids. 480 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:17,160 Speaker 1: Into these and transport them all around the place. But 481 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:19,200 Speaker 1: because they would just shove them in, it was such 482 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 1: a hassle getting them all in a lot of the 483 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:25,600 Speaker 1: time they would just leave them in there, just moving 484 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:27,760 Speaker 1: them around the place and putting them in one room 485 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:32,400 Speaker 1: and then leaving them in this room for hours, like 486 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:41,040 Speaker 1: just unable to move, unable to your stuffed. People are 487 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:43,480 Speaker 1: breathing on you like no wonder, kids are getting sick, 488 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:48,400 Speaker 1: kids are probably soiling themselves. So you know this is 489 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:51,240 Speaker 1: for some this is all have known and this is 490 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:54,800 Speaker 1: what they're going through day today. And again some of 491 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:57,880 Speaker 1: the staff are trying and they were afraid to leave 492 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 1: because there's a hiring freeze. They go, who's going to 493 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:03,959 Speaker 1: look after these kids? It's going to be even harder 494 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,880 Speaker 1: for these kids to receive any kind of care, especially 495 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,760 Speaker 1: the care they need. And even if there wasn't a 496 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:16,000 Speaker 1: hiring phrase, who would walk into this establishment and want 497 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:16,760 Speaker 1: a job here? 498 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 2: It is. 499 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:25,880 Speaker 1: Filthy, It is clearly overcrowded, like your workload is going 500 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:29,280 Speaker 1: to be massive and your pay is not going to 501 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:33,360 Speaker 1: be great. Like and many staff members, they try to 502 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:35,719 Speaker 1: get word out there, they tried to get help, they 503 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:42,200 Speaker 1: tried to you know, raise awareness, but you know, society 504 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: people just weren't listening to them. Like there's this interview 505 00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:50,960 Speaker 1: with Diane bugli Oke, and Diane she's like, given this 506 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,760 Speaker 1: massive heavy key, and she's like, okay, this is a 507 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 1: very massive steel key. What's this all about? She's nineteen, 508 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:01,080 Speaker 1: I think. And she goes to this heavy door and 509 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:04,440 Speaker 1: she's like, wow, that's a big door. And she goes 510 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:08,680 Speaker 1: to a second metal door and she's freaking out because 511 00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:12,000 Speaker 1: she's like, what the hell is behind two heavy metal doors. 512 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:16,080 Speaker 1: That's so scary that you need two metal doors to 513 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:20,240 Speaker 1: contain it. And then she goes through a third heavy 514 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 1: metal door and she goes into this room and she 515 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:27,239 Speaker 1: is ready to freak out at this point because what 516 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:30,799 Speaker 1: is so scary and terrifying that it has to be 517 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:36,520 Speaker 1: held back by these three heavy doors, like what's in here? 518 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:41,520 Speaker 1: What is so bad? And she gets into the room 519 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:51,319 Speaker 1: and instead of a big scary monster, it's toddlers. Forty toddlers. 520 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:56,000 Speaker 1: Some are sitting down, some are toddling over to her, 521 00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:01,760 Speaker 1: some ask her her name, toddler, Like that's what's hidden 522 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:05,800 Speaker 1: behind this door, like these small children. And this is 523 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:08,160 Speaker 1: how you know that they just keep accepting kids in 524 00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:11,399 Speaker 1: because there's no way that they're accepting a baby, you know. 525 00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:14,840 Speaker 1: And it just gets me thinking, like how could a toddler? 526 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,920 Speaker 1: How can someone so small and so young end up 527 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:20,719 Speaker 1: in an institution like this? In order for them to 528 00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:24,359 Speaker 1: be there, there has to be at least some perceived 529 00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:29,520 Speaker 1: idea of an intellectual disability. So think about it. Think 530 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:32,359 Speaker 1: about how a toddler ends up in a place like this. 531 00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:38,960 Speaker 1: You'd have to have kids with cerebral palsy or down syndrome, 532 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:45,560 Speaker 1: you know, something physical that people can see, or children 533 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:50,840 Speaker 1: who develop differently like you're divergent kids, so like autistic kids, 534 00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:56,960 Speaker 1: or like somebody congenitally deaf, like somebody born with hearing difficulties, 535 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:01,360 Speaker 1: like all of this, all of this will play into that, 536 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:06,000 Speaker 1: and they're being put in this room, locked behind three 537 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:12,239 Speaker 1: steel doors, monsters as far as society is concerned, because 538 00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:14,800 Speaker 1: they have to be locked away. So this feels like 539 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:17,680 Speaker 1: a really good time to hear word from our sponsors, 540 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:20,359 Speaker 1: unless you're listening ad free somewhere, in which case, enjoy 541 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:28,400 Speaker 1: a moment of silence. Mints in American history. So remember, 542 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:34,640 Speaker 1: this is an institution specifically designed for children with intellectual disabilities. 543 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:38,120 Speaker 1: It is overcrowded, There were a lack of facilities, there 544 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:42,200 Speaker 1: were a lack of hygiene facilities, toilets. There just isn't 545 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:47,400 Speaker 1: enough for everyone, and so disease and illness spreads pretty 546 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:53,160 Speaker 1: quickly throughout this place. And so children are spending a 547 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:57,480 Speaker 1: lot of the time covered in their own excrement, which 548 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:01,360 Speaker 1: makes the spread of disease very pretty rife. 549 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:04,279 Speaker 2: Like if you are a. 550 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,880 Speaker 1: Parent, or if you know somebody who has small children, 551 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:12,399 Speaker 1: like when kids start school, everybody gets sick. We call 552 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:15,759 Speaker 1: it the back to school lurgay. Now, that is with 553 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:18,800 Speaker 1: the kids who spend a fair amount of time with 554 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,480 Speaker 1: each other but are not smothered in their own facal 555 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:24,560 Speaker 1: matter and having to go top to toe sardines in 556 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:28,239 Speaker 1: a dormitory or in a cart. So, yes, disease is 557 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:33,040 Speaker 1: pretty rife. You've got parasites, you've got pneumonia, and most importantly, 558 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:37,520 Speaker 1: you have hepatitis. So nowadays we know that there are 559 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:40,040 Speaker 1: many strains of hepatitis and they all do sort of 560 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:43,359 Speaker 1: similar stuff. Like you can get hepatitis if you have 561 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:46,960 Speaker 1: a kidney infection that is untreated, like you can get 562 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,160 Speaker 1: hepatitis from that. You can get it from blood, you 563 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:54,799 Speaker 1: can get it from bad water sources and sexually transmitted infections, 564 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:59,880 Speaker 1: so on and so forth. So hepatitis, like most strain, 565 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:05,279 Speaker 1: they affect you know, the liver, and the symptoms are 566 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:10,440 Speaker 1: all quite unpleasant. You've got a high temperature, you've got 567 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:16,680 Speaker 1: like sickness, fatigue, loss of appetite, stomach pain, itchy skin, 568 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:21,440 Speaker 1: your urine is dark, you've got joint pain, muscle pain, 569 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:26,840 Speaker 1: and your eyes yellow, so like the white of the 570 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 1: eye becomes yellow. And so post World War Two it 571 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:36,240 Speaker 1: was discovered that around fifty thousand US soldiers had contracted 572 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:40,719 Speaker 1: the disease during the war, and so there was a 573 00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:44,920 Speaker 1: great interest in finding a cure. Now, this being the past, 574 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:46,240 Speaker 1: they didn't really know that much. 575 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:46,920 Speaker 2: About the disease. 576 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:50,160 Speaker 1: One thing they did know is that it was rampant 577 00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:55,759 Speaker 1: in Willowbrook State School. And so doctor Saul Quigman, who 578 00:38:55,920 --> 00:39:01,719 Speaker 1: was a pediatrician, a doctor for children in him and 579 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:06,800 Speaker 1: his partner, doctor Jan Giles, they contacted Willowbrook. They're like, hey, 580 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:10,040 Speaker 1: can we come in and like maybe do some experiments 581 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:12,480 Speaker 1: on the intellectually disabled children? 582 00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:14,360 Speaker 2: Great? 583 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:17,840 Speaker 1: Thanks, and the Department of Mental Hygiene signs off on it. 584 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:20,840 Speaker 1: They're like, yes, you are more than welcome to conduct 585 00:39:20,880 --> 00:39:26,240 Speaker 1: this experiment on these vulnerable children who cannot consent. Because 586 00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:30,319 Speaker 1: Krugman had been working on this vaccine, this hepatitis vaccine, 587 00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:33,160 Speaker 1: and he had been looking at willow Brook and he 588 00:39:33,239 --> 00:39:37,640 Speaker 1: knew that within six months most new children, new residents, 589 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:42,799 Speaker 1: had contracted hepatitis. And so his plan was to get 590 00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:47,520 Speaker 1: a bunch of new residents in use his vaccine prototype 591 00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:51,880 Speaker 1: on these children and then see if they contracted hepatitis 592 00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:56,600 Speaker 1: within those six months. And Krugman did not lack for 593 00:39:56,719 --> 00:40:03,920 Speaker 1: test subjects because Willowbrook, even though an underfunded, overcrowded state institution, 594 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:10,160 Speaker 1: it had a massive, massive waiting list, and Krugman would 595 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:12,360 Speaker 1: show up and would tell parents, you know, if you 596 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:15,799 Speaker 1: allow me to test this vaccine on your kid, you'll 597 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,880 Speaker 1: be bumped to the top of the list. And like 598 00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:21,960 Speaker 1: his test subjects would have like a slightly nicer area 599 00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:26,359 Speaker 1: to live in, so like he saw that things were 600 00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:28,760 Speaker 1: not great there, and he's like, Wow, what a great 601 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:32,600 Speaker 1: place to have this experiment as opposed to let's fix 602 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:37,160 Speaker 1: the problem. So one mother actually talked about this because 603 00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:41,080 Speaker 1: you had to get the parents consent to perform experiments 604 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:44,239 Speaker 1: on their children, which is why so many experiments happen 605 00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:48,440 Speaker 1: on orphans. More on that another day, and there's this 606 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:50,719 Speaker 1: one mother who's like desperate to get her daughter onto 607 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:53,920 Speaker 1: Willow Book. She's been looking for help. She's been applying everyone, 608 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:57,319 Speaker 1: and she's been denied, denied, denied, although while doctors are 609 00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:00,200 Speaker 1: telling her that Willow Book is the only place it's 610 00:41:00,239 --> 00:41:03,680 Speaker 1: going to provide the specialized care that her daughter needs. 611 00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:07,279 Speaker 1: And so she applies for Willowbrook and she's trying to 612 00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:10,640 Speaker 1: get her in and she's told that if she allows 613 00:41:10,719 --> 00:41:14,319 Speaker 1: her daughter to participate in this study that you know, 614 00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:17,480 Speaker 1: everything's going to be fine. She's going to get the antidote. 615 00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:21,240 Speaker 1: And like the mom actually asks, why are you testing 616 00:41:21,239 --> 00:41:24,280 Speaker 1: this on children? Why aren't you testing her on monkeys, 617 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:29,080 Speaker 1: and she's told that it was too expensive to test 618 00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:34,840 Speaker 1: on monkeys, and so eventually she's just kind of bullied 619 00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:40,239 Speaker 1: and coerced into signing the consent form because she has 620 00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:44,480 Speaker 1: no other option, Like she's told this is the only 621 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:46,160 Speaker 1: choice for her, and this is the way. 622 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:46,480 Speaker 2: To do it. 623 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:51,719 Speaker 1: But let's take a moment to consider that they conducted 624 00:41:51,920 --> 00:41:58,520 Speaker 1: an experiment on children with disabilities because conducting an experiment 625 00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:03,480 Speaker 1: on primates was too expensive. Now, whatever you feel about 626 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:08,480 Speaker 1: animal testing, this cannot be the better option nowadays. In 627 00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:12,240 Speaker 1: order for any medicine, for any vaccine to be created, 628 00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:15,360 Speaker 1: it has to go through massive testing, like there are 629 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:21,120 Speaker 1: very stringent approvals. It has to go through and it's 630 00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:22,840 Speaker 1: supposed to go through a bunch of stuff before it 631 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:24,719 Speaker 1: gets to humans, like you're supposed to test it on 632 00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:26,799 Speaker 1: other things before you put it on them, Like it's 633 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:31,560 Speaker 1: a whole whole thing. But this is the fifties and 634 00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:34,600 Speaker 1: the Department of Mental Hygiene says yes, and the parents 635 00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:38,959 Speaker 1: are basically being forced to SIGND consent forms to allow 636 00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:39,720 Speaker 1: this to happen. 637 00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:41,440 Speaker 2: And Kuigman like. 638 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:45,080 Speaker 1: His justification is like, oh that the hepatitis in Willowbrook 639 00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:47,840 Speaker 1: wasn't that bad, Like it wasn't severe, so it was 640 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:52,040 Speaker 1: fine to test the children, and like if we didn't 641 00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:54,719 Speaker 1: vaccinate them, they were going to get infected anyway, so 642 00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:59,920 Speaker 1: like why not why not perform this experiment on children? 643 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:02,920 Speaker 1: And like through his life, throughout his life, he's like, 644 00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:03,920 Speaker 1: this was the right. 645 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:04,319 Speaker 2: Thing to do. 646 00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:06,839 Speaker 1: I absolutely should have tested. 647 00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:07,520 Speaker 2: It on these kids. 648 00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:10,480 Speaker 1: Like he argues that it wasn't unethical because the kids 649 00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:14,040 Speaker 1: were gonna get hepatitis anyway, and so like that's his 650 00:43:14,120 --> 00:43:18,640 Speaker 1: first point. And then he says that hepatitis was like 651 00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:21,680 Speaker 1: mild and kids between the ages of three and ten, 652 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:25,600 Speaker 1: so like it wasn't that bad, so it'd be easier 653 00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:29,680 Speaker 1: to deal with and marriage. As far as he was concerned, 654 00:43:29,719 --> 00:43:32,520 Speaker 1: the vaccine was going to make the children immune, so 655 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:37,240 Speaker 1: like that's good, and they would be moved into specialist 656 00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:41,080 Speaker 1: units so they would be isolated from the other infection 657 00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:44,759 Speaker 1: so they wouldn't get pneumonia or get the parasites or 658 00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:48,400 Speaker 1: get all the other stuff. Like, dude, you're just pointing 659 00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:51,520 Speaker 1: out that all the other bad stuff is happening. You 660 00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:54,920 Speaker 1: could have been fixing this or calling attention to it, 661 00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:59,359 Speaker 1: but no, no, just keep just keep doing studies on kids. 662 00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:02,359 Speaker 2: That's hmmm. And like. 663 00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:06,719 Speaker 1: He tries to argue that parents gave consent and that 664 00:44:06,800 --> 00:44:08,719 Speaker 1: you know, they could tour the facility and they could 665 00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:15,160 Speaker 1: ask questions, but like could they though, m and Krugman 666 00:44:15,239 --> 00:44:20,319 Speaker 1: and Giles, they're conducting a ton of experiments on these 667 00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:26,120 Speaker 1: kids in order to create a vaccine. So they would 668 00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:31,000 Speaker 1: give them gamma globulin injections. So gamma globulin, by the way, 669 00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:35,040 Speaker 1: is this blood plasma which has like antibodies in it, 670 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:41,400 Speaker 1: and it is taken from children who have already recovered 671 00:44:41,719 --> 00:44:45,080 Speaker 1: from hepatitis. And so they would take this and they 672 00:44:45,120 --> 00:44:50,680 Speaker 1: would inject it into children who had not yet been 673 00:44:50,719 --> 00:44:54,160 Speaker 1: infected with hepatitis. The idea would be that it would 674 00:44:54,239 --> 00:44:58,400 Speaker 1: induce immunity, right, And like they tried to do a 675 00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:01,279 Speaker 1: control so they would have some kids who were just 676 00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:05,000 Speaker 1: exposed to hepatitis without the gamma globulin, and then other 677 00:45:05,080 --> 00:45:08,879 Speaker 1: children would have the gamma globulin and then be exposed. 678 00:45:09,719 --> 00:45:14,520 Speaker 1: You might be wondering just how they exposed children to hepatitis, 679 00:45:15,320 --> 00:45:19,480 Speaker 1: and it is worse than you could possibly imagine if 680 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:21,799 Speaker 1: you have a sensitive stomach. Now is the time to. 681 00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:25,680 Speaker 2: Skip forward a minute. Quigman's team would. 682 00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:30,200 Speaker 1: Take the faces of children infected with hepatitis. They would 683 00:45:30,239 --> 00:45:34,120 Speaker 1: mix it with chocolate milk and then fed it to 684 00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:41,839 Speaker 1: the uninfected children. They made children consume fecal matter. They 685 00:45:42,040 --> 00:45:47,880 Speaker 1: chose to feed children faces that they knew was infected 686 00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:52,520 Speaker 1: with disease, which is bad in itself, but also remember 687 00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:55,880 Speaker 1: there were so many other illnesses and conditions which are 688 00:45:55,920 --> 00:46:00,359 Speaker 1: just swarming around this institution, like you can't eat. Call 689 00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:03,520 Speaker 1: that a controlled experiment because there were so many other 690 00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:07,680 Speaker 1: things they could be contracting from this, Like who knows 691 00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:12,280 Speaker 1: what parasites they're consuming. And also, this is the stuff 692 00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:16,400 Speaker 1: we know about, Like if anything went wrong and they 693 00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:19,680 Speaker 1: didn't get the results that they wanted, were the chances 694 00:46:19,719 --> 00:46:23,000 Speaker 1: that we find the information? Like this is the stuff 695 00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:25,799 Speaker 1: they're telling us about, And this is awful. This is 696 00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:34,920 Speaker 1: making children consume other children's puh, like other sick children's puh. 697 00:46:35,320 --> 00:46:37,480 Speaker 1: Like if this is what they're telling us, imagine what 698 00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:43,200 Speaker 1: they're not. Like this whole experiment seems cruel, like beyond 699 00:46:43,640 --> 00:46:48,400 Speaker 1: even regular cruelty, Like it feels unnecessarily cruel because they 700 00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:51,440 Speaker 1: would get these children and they would infect them with disease. 701 00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:54,360 Speaker 1: They would allow them to recover from the disease, and 702 00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:59,560 Speaker 1: then they would reinfect them, like they wanted to see 703 00:46:59,560 --> 00:47:03,080 Speaker 1: if any body who'd recover would remain immune or if 704 00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:09,200 Speaker 1: they would be reinfected. And they were doing this to children, 705 00:47:10,239 --> 00:47:16,400 Speaker 1: children between the ages of three and ten, children who 706 00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:21,080 Speaker 1: had intellectual disabilities. Like you can argue that all he 707 00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:24,200 Speaker 1: got really good results. He found vaccines, he was able 708 00:47:24,239 --> 00:47:28,480 Speaker 1: to discover the differences between hepatitis A and hepatitis B, 709 00:47:29,160 --> 00:47:33,560 Speaker 1: Like you can argue that the ends justifies the means, 710 00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:38,279 Speaker 1: But there is every possibility that this was quack, you know, 711 00:47:38,400 --> 00:47:42,400 Speaker 1: and that this man was just taking advantage of vulnerable children, 712 00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:46,840 Speaker 1: which regardless is what he did because these children could 713 00:47:46,880 --> 00:47:53,480 Speaker 1: not consent. These children were not willing participants. And up 714 00:47:53,560 --> 00:47:56,480 Speaker 1: until the day he died, doctor Kuigman was like, I 715 00:47:56,560 --> 00:48:01,360 Speaker 1: gave these kids a better life. You gave them hepatitis, 716 00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:05,040 Speaker 1: and then sometimes you gave it to them again, and 717 00:48:05,080 --> 00:48:09,239 Speaker 1: then you made them each shit motherfucker. And when you 718 00:48:09,320 --> 00:48:11,640 Speaker 1: take into consideration the rest of his argument, like I 719 00:48:11,719 --> 00:48:14,840 Speaker 1: gave them like a better standard of living. So the 720 00:48:14,920 --> 00:48:18,040 Speaker 1: kids who were not involved in your experiment, you're like, fine, 721 00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:22,320 Speaker 1: go wallow in your own faces or in a cripple 722 00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:26,000 Speaker 1: Kurt at the other side of the hospital. That does 723 00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:28,880 Speaker 1: not make you the good guy. All these other kids 724 00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:31,600 Speaker 1: can suffer, but instead of helping them, I'm going to 725 00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:34,600 Speaker 1: do this. And the fact of the matter is he's 726 00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:41,040 Speaker 1: a pediatrician, he's a doctor, and the hippocratic oath do 727 00:48:41,160 --> 00:48:46,240 Speaker 1: no harm. As if he wasn't doing harm. He failed 728 00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:49,960 Speaker 1: in other doctors. They think he's amazing, he's brilliant, Like 729 00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:54,880 Speaker 1: he's a genius. Like there's no denying he got results, 730 00:48:55,600 --> 00:48:59,320 Speaker 1: there's no denying his contribution to medicine, how he worked 731 00:48:59,360 --> 00:49:03,600 Speaker 1: on mesoes, rebela, hepatitis and all of this at Willow Book, 732 00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:07,600 Speaker 1: Like he did that, and it's great that we have 733 00:49:07,680 --> 00:49:12,120 Speaker 1: those advancements. But don't we think that there are ways 734 00:49:12,120 --> 00:49:15,800 Speaker 1: he could have done this without experimenting on vulnerable children. 735 00:49:17,320 --> 00:49:19,640 Speaker 1: And if you think the ends justify the means on there, 736 00:49:21,280 --> 00:49:22,960 Speaker 1: do you have any idea what mases does to a 737 00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:27,879 Speaker 1: child and is horrific? And like, I'm pro vaccine. I'm 738 00:49:27,920 --> 00:49:30,920 Speaker 1: pro vaccine. I look at the evidence, I look at 739 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:34,120 Speaker 1: the science. I am pro vaccine. It makes sense. Okay, 740 00:49:34,840 --> 00:49:37,200 Speaker 1: I'm going to get the flu vaccine this year and 741 00:49:37,320 --> 00:49:40,560 Speaker 1: the pneumonia vaccine because I like being alive and I 742 00:49:40,640 --> 00:49:43,439 Speaker 1: like my family members being alive, and so I'm going 743 00:49:43,520 --> 00:49:47,080 Speaker 1: to take one for the team. Okay, Well, I have 744 00:49:47,160 --> 00:49:49,799 Speaker 1: some oval side effects. Always, always, I always have a 745 00:49:49,840 --> 00:49:53,880 Speaker 1: bad time because you have an immune response. And fine, 746 00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:56,880 Speaker 1: I'll deal with that. I'll suffer through it. But I 747 00:49:56,920 --> 00:50:02,400 Speaker 1: am an adult who can give informed consent. I am, 748 00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:04,840 Speaker 1: so I will do it, and that my kids have 749 00:50:04,880 --> 00:50:08,000 Speaker 1: the MMR. My kids have had every vaccine going because 750 00:50:08,080 --> 00:50:11,640 Speaker 1: I like my children to stay alive. I really enjoy 751 00:50:11,680 --> 00:50:14,360 Speaker 1: the fact that I don't have to worry about polio, 752 00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:16,920 Speaker 1: Like polio should not be back, Like that's too much. 753 00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:22,399 Speaker 1: But inoculating children with a disease which you know might 754 00:50:22,560 --> 00:50:26,560 Speaker 1: actually kill them instead of helping them, because it's a prototype, 755 00:50:27,800 --> 00:50:32,920 Speaker 1: that's unethical and can't be justified. Now, the hepatitis experiment 756 00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:36,960 Speaker 1: was not the only one to happen at Willowbrook. They 757 00:50:36,960 --> 00:50:40,759 Speaker 1: were testing out different drugs. They were testing genetic diseases. 758 00:50:41,560 --> 00:50:46,400 Speaker 1: They were testing out rebella and measles and endochronological diseases. 759 00:50:46,480 --> 00:50:49,680 Speaker 1: I cannot say that word properly. They were checking out 760 00:50:50,040 --> 00:50:56,760 Speaker 1: electroshock treatment on intellectually disabled children, and like the place 761 00:50:56,840 --> 00:51:01,160 Speaker 1: is so awful that when Bobby Kennedy Senator Robert F. 762 00:51:01,280 --> 00:51:06,960 Speaker 1: Kennedy visits Willow Book in nineteen sixty five, he is shocked. 763 00:51:07,520 --> 00:51:09,920 Speaker 1: Like he comes out and tells, like the media and 764 00:51:09,960 --> 00:51:12,319 Speaker 1: the press that are waiting, that it is a snake pit, 765 00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:16,480 Speaker 1: that there was a lack of adequate manpower, and that 766 00:51:16,600 --> 00:51:19,880 Speaker 1: there is little or no future for the children in 767 00:51:19,920 --> 00:51:24,479 Speaker 1: these institutions, and like he makes a point that it's 768 00:51:24,520 --> 00:51:26,840 Speaker 1: not the people who work there, it's not the staff's fault. 769 00:51:27,120 --> 00:51:30,320 Speaker 1: It's the people who run the institution. It's their fault 770 00:51:30,600 --> 00:51:33,440 Speaker 1: for not providing an appropriate level of care to these children. 771 00:51:34,840 --> 00:51:37,439 Speaker 1: And he comes out and he makes like a big 772 00:51:37,440 --> 00:51:40,640 Speaker 1: statement about it, but nothing happens, like it just kind 773 00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:44,239 Speaker 1: of blows over, and it's like an ostrich with its 774 00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:46,880 Speaker 1: head in the sand, Like it's it's like that. I 775 00:51:46,880 --> 00:51:49,799 Speaker 1: don't think ostrists actually do that, but anyway, it's like 776 00:51:49,840 --> 00:51:52,160 Speaker 1: that idea of burying your head in the sand, like 777 00:51:52,760 --> 00:51:55,160 Speaker 1: I see you no evil here, and I didn't see 778 00:51:55,200 --> 00:51:59,160 Speaker 1: it. It didn't happen, you know. And some parents when they 779 00:51:59,160 --> 00:52:02,440 Speaker 1: had given their children to the institution, for some they 780 00:52:02,440 --> 00:52:04,680 Speaker 1: were washing their hands of their kids, like this was 781 00:52:05,040 --> 00:52:08,200 Speaker 1: the best place for them, and they weren't. They weren't 782 00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:10,000 Speaker 1: looking at it. They're like, no, this is the best thing, 783 00:52:10,320 --> 00:52:14,120 Speaker 1: this is the right thing to do. Others were relieved 784 00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:18,920 Speaker 1: to be free of quote unquote burden. Fucking hate that. 785 00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:25,359 Speaker 1: And some parents though, some parents who even though they 786 00:52:25,400 --> 00:52:27,800 Speaker 1: were hoping this was the best place for their children, 787 00:52:28,400 --> 00:52:33,239 Speaker 1: they were angry. They were saying, fuck this for a 788 00:52:33,239 --> 00:52:36,520 Speaker 1: game of soldiers. And they decide that they want change, 789 00:52:36,960 --> 00:52:42,040 Speaker 1: and so they're trying to make change happen in these institutions, 790 00:52:42,160 --> 00:52:44,879 Speaker 1: and they're trying to get stuff done, but there isn't 791 00:52:44,880 --> 00:52:50,480 Speaker 1: any money, Like without funding, you can't do anything. And 792 00:52:50,520 --> 00:52:55,759 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy one, Jane Curtain, she's this reporter. She 793 00:52:55,840 --> 00:52:59,680 Speaker 1: goes in with this journalist, Eric Ertz, and they go 794 00:52:59,719 --> 00:53:03,520 Speaker 1: into together and they sort of look around, they take photos, 795 00:53:03,880 --> 00:53:09,360 Speaker 1: they investigate, and they publish a number of articles about 796 00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:13,480 Speaker 1: what's happening in Willowbrook. And they are putting like physical 797 00:53:13,560 --> 00:53:18,320 Speaker 1: evidence out there for the general public. And so they'd 798 00:53:18,360 --> 00:53:21,440 Speaker 1: gone in and they were let in by two doctors 799 00:53:21,440 --> 00:53:26,440 Speaker 1: at Willowbrook, Michael Wilkins and Bill Bronston. Like they'd been 800 00:53:26,440 --> 00:53:29,160 Speaker 1: trying to get like stuff going on they were working 801 00:53:29,239 --> 00:53:33,520 Speaker 1: and building six with children who really needed the most 802 00:53:34,200 --> 00:53:39,600 Speaker 1: care in conditions that were fit for human habitation, and 803 00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:41,319 Speaker 1: they knew it was tough. They knew it was bad, 804 00:53:41,360 --> 00:53:43,279 Speaker 1: and they didn't want to leave because if they left, 805 00:53:43,320 --> 00:53:46,719 Speaker 1: who would care for these kids? Like, if somebody did 806 00:53:46,760 --> 00:53:47,960 Speaker 1: come in, it could be. 807 00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:49,000 Speaker 2: Worse for them. 808 00:53:49,480 --> 00:53:51,560 Speaker 1: And so they wanted to try and make as much 809 00:53:51,680 --> 00:53:55,560 Speaker 1: noise and bring as much attention to these kids as possible. 810 00:53:56,120 --> 00:54:00,360 Speaker 1: And so they contact Jane and they let her and 811 00:54:00,520 --> 00:54:03,200 Speaker 1: Eric like into the building and like, come on, have 812 00:54:03,280 --> 00:54:07,640 Speaker 1: a look, and they think, great, this is going to 813 00:54:07,719 --> 00:54:10,440 Speaker 1: be the big thing. They publish the articles and they 814 00:54:10,440 --> 00:54:14,080 Speaker 1: think this is going to make a change. Spoiler alert, 815 00:54:14,800 --> 00:54:18,920 Speaker 1: it does not because people didn't want to believe it. 816 00:54:19,200 --> 00:54:21,799 Speaker 1: They didn't want to believe that this was happening. It's 817 00:54:21,840 --> 00:54:25,120 Speaker 1: cognitive dissonance, right. They were digging their heels in the sand, 818 00:54:25,160 --> 00:54:28,400 Speaker 1: regardless how much evidence is presented to them. Because to 819 00:54:28,560 --> 00:54:32,640 Speaker 1: people out with Willow Brick like, this was a wonderful place. 820 00:54:32,640 --> 00:54:37,400 Speaker 1: It was providing you know, help and hope and support 821 00:54:37,560 --> 00:54:42,000 Speaker 1: to you know, parents and the disabled children and all 822 00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:44,960 Speaker 1: that jazz. Nothing bad could be happening there at all, 823 00:54:45,600 --> 00:54:48,719 Speaker 1: And obviously Jane and Eric. 824 00:54:48,880 --> 00:54:50,760 Speaker 2: They were just branded as sort. 825 00:54:50,560 --> 00:54:56,799 Speaker 1: Of extremists, like goddamn hippies out here causing commotions. But 826 00:54:56,880 --> 00:55:01,120 Speaker 1: you know who did believe them, parents, parents of these 827 00:55:01,200 --> 00:55:04,680 Speaker 1: kids who very much cared for them, who would try 828 00:55:04,680 --> 00:55:06,960 Speaker 1: and go visit, and they were told, you know, you 829 00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:10,680 Speaker 1: can visit, but like you can't ask any questions about 830 00:55:10,719 --> 00:55:15,840 Speaker 1: how everything's going, how they live, Like you weren't allowed 831 00:55:15,840 --> 00:55:18,480 Speaker 1: to go visit the dorms or any of the sort 832 00:55:18,520 --> 00:55:21,200 Speaker 1: of the day areas or all any of the places 833 00:55:21,840 --> 00:55:24,320 Speaker 1: that the children were actually living in. They weren't allowed 834 00:55:24,320 --> 00:55:29,439 Speaker 1: to see, and so they didn't get to see that, 835 00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:33,960 Speaker 1: like it was kind of hidden, you know, it was 836 00:55:33,960 --> 00:55:35,840 Speaker 1: deliberately hidden from them. 837 00:55:36,120 --> 00:55:37,600 Speaker 2: Now, you can hit a lot of things. 838 00:55:37,920 --> 00:55:40,520 Speaker 1: You can wash the kids' faces and put on a 839 00:55:40,560 --> 00:55:44,200 Speaker 1: fresh change of clothes, but what you cannot get rid 840 00:55:44,280 --> 00:55:48,480 Speaker 1: of is an entire building that has been wallowing in 841 00:55:48,480 --> 00:55:53,200 Speaker 1: its filth for thirty years. Like you can't hide that, 842 00:55:54,360 --> 00:55:56,480 Speaker 1: and so when you arrive in this place, you are 843 00:55:56,480 --> 00:55:58,840 Speaker 1: going to be hit with a smell. Now, these parents, 844 00:55:58,880 --> 00:56:01,560 Speaker 1: they started to organize, the unionize and get into groups 845 00:56:01,640 --> 00:56:04,239 Speaker 1: because this was the only way they were going to 846 00:56:04,280 --> 00:56:06,600 Speaker 1: combat what was happening. This was the only way they 847 00:56:06,600 --> 00:56:10,719 Speaker 1: were going to get change. So doctor Jack Hammond, who 848 00:56:10,880 --> 00:56:13,960 Speaker 1: was again mentioned earlier, the director of Wrot the book, 849 00:56:14,320 --> 00:56:18,080 Speaker 1: so he hears about this and he bans staff from 850 00:56:18,080 --> 00:56:21,000 Speaker 1: like communicating with parents. He's like, you're not allowed to 851 00:56:21,000 --> 00:56:23,640 Speaker 1: do it. You're not allowed to go to these meetings. 852 00:56:24,120 --> 00:56:26,480 Speaker 1: Like he was invited by the parents to come and 853 00:56:26,520 --> 00:56:29,160 Speaker 1: like explain himself and do a public you know speech. 854 00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:29,600 Speaker 2: Whatever. 855 00:56:30,200 --> 00:56:33,520 Speaker 1: He refuses, obviously because he's already told his staff, like, 856 00:56:33,680 --> 00:56:37,239 Speaker 1: do not communicate with these people. If you do, you're 857 00:56:37,280 --> 00:56:38,680 Speaker 1: going to be fired. 858 00:56:40,200 --> 00:56:40,439 Speaker 2: Now. 859 00:56:40,520 --> 00:56:43,920 Speaker 1: Michael and Bill, the doctors from before who let in 860 00:56:43,960 --> 00:56:48,880 Speaker 1: the fucking journalists, they're like, hmm, now we're still going 861 00:56:48,920 --> 00:56:49,800 Speaker 1: to do it again. 862 00:56:50,040 --> 00:56:51,480 Speaker 2: Fuck this for Game of Soldiers. 863 00:56:52,160 --> 00:56:57,840 Speaker 1: And anyway, they get fired, which is bad obviously because 864 00:56:57,880 --> 00:56:59,960 Speaker 1: they're you know, some of the few people actually try 865 00:57:00,160 --> 00:57:04,279 Speaker 1: to care for these kids. But when they fire the 866 00:57:04,280 --> 00:57:10,120 Speaker 1: two doctors, they forget to get them to return their keys, 867 00:57:10,760 --> 00:57:12,719 Speaker 1: and so they still have them. And this is a 868 00:57:12,800 --> 00:57:15,480 Speaker 1: building with no funding, you really think they're going to 869 00:57:15,560 --> 00:57:19,320 Speaker 1: be you know, replacing the locks. 870 00:57:19,760 --> 00:57:22,320 Speaker 2: The locks costs money. They're not going to do that. 871 00:57:23,880 --> 00:57:30,360 Speaker 1: And so the very next day that they are like fired. 872 00:57:32,120 --> 00:57:36,960 Speaker 1: Michael Wilkins. He happens to call a friend, a friend 873 00:57:36,960 --> 00:57:41,240 Speaker 1: who happens to be an investigative journalist for Eyewitness News, 874 00:57:42,040 --> 00:57:48,720 Speaker 1: Haraldo Rivira, and he's like, mat, things are bad, things 875 00:57:48,720 --> 00:57:52,120 Speaker 1: are awful, and you have to like do something, and 876 00:57:52,120 --> 00:57:55,680 Speaker 1: Heraldo's like, yeah, I can do something. I will. I 877 00:57:55,720 --> 00:58:00,960 Speaker 1: will come film and expose a. And so they have 878 00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:04,640 Speaker 1: a key and they just show up in Building six 879 00:58:05,200 --> 00:58:08,480 Speaker 1: completely unannounced, like they come in and they just let 880 00:58:08,520 --> 00:58:13,200 Speaker 1: themselves in. So film crew, graldo, the doctors, they just 881 00:58:13,240 --> 00:58:15,960 Speaker 1: get them in. And so he films around and he 882 00:58:16,040 --> 00:58:20,600 Speaker 1: films the condition. And he is so affected by this 883 00:58:20,800 --> 00:58:28,480 Speaker 1: because there are children on the floor, covered in their 884 00:58:28,640 --> 00:58:37,400 Speaker 1: own faces, naked on these unwashed wooden floors, and the smell, 885 00:58:37,800 --> 00:58:43,200 Speaker 1: the smell is permeating, It burns the nostrils. Like he 886 00:58:43,360 --> 00:58:47,240 Speaker 1: is deeply emotional and upset by this. They are children 887 00:58:47,640 --> 00:58:53,800 Speaker 1: in these horrible, dirty conditions, uncared for not getting any treatments. 888 00:58:54,080 --> 00:58:59,840 Speaker 1: They're fighting over scraps of paper like trying to communicate, try, 889 00:59:01,000 --> 00:59:06,960 Speaker 1: and they're fucking suffering. These are children dealing with trauma. 890 00:59:07,000 --> 00:59:10,560 Speaker 1: They're living a traumatic experience, whether they can or cannot 891 00:59:10,560 --> 00:59:14,480 Speaker 1: convey that it doesn't change, that's what's happening to them. 892 00:59:14,840 --> 00:59:21,120 Speaker 1: And so he takes this and the willow Brook like 893 00:59:21,280 --> 00:59:25,360 Speaker 1: upper management, the guy's in charge, they are peste off. 894 00:59:26,160 --> 00:59:29,160 Speaker 1: They are freaking out that a journalist was there, that 895 00:59:29,520 --> 00:59:35,080 Speaker 1: they had a film careen and they are they're just mad, 896 00:59:35,920 --> 00:59:37,880 Speaker 1: and so they think, you know what, we need to 897 00:59:37,920 --> 00:59:39,920 Speaker 1: turn this on our head. And so they're like, you 898 00:59:40,040 --> 00:59:42,400 Speaker 1: need to come back another day, like two days later. 899 00:59:42,400 --> 00:59:45,520 Speaker 1: They're like, come back again and totally come see us. 900 00:59:46,360 --> 00:59:49,920 Speaker 1: And when he comes back, the kids are, you know, 901 00:59:50,240 --> 00:59:55,280 Speaker 1: they're well dressed, they're clean, there's staff members caring for them, 902 00:59:55,320 --> 00:59:59,640 Speaker 1: they're getting attention, you know, like things are good. 903 00:59:59,720 --> 01:00:03,960 Speaker 2: They're being properly attended to. And well that great. 904 01:00:04,080 --> 01:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Like the place still smells and it's not wonderful, but 905 01:00:07,240 --> 01:00:14,920 Speaker 1: it's better, you know, and there's like, okay, thanks, wonderful visitation. 906 01:00:16,240 --> 01:00:19,680 Speaker 1: But obviously Heraldo's not done, is it. And so he 907 01:00:19,720 --> 01:00:25,120 Speaker 1: shows up again unannounced for the second time, and the 908 01:00:25,240 --> 01:00:28,560 Speaker 1: place is just as bad as it was the first time. 909 01:00:28,920 --> 01:00:32,919 Speaker 1: It's filthy, the children are being left to their own devices, 910 01:00:33,560 --> 01:00:36,400 Speaker 1: and it just reinforces the fact that these children are 911 01:00:36,400 --> 01:00:39,920 Speaker 1: not getting the proper care that they need, and he 912 01:00:40,040 --> 01:00:48,520 Speaker 1: films it again, and the officials are pissed, not only 913 01:00:48,720 --> 01:00:51,800 Speaker 1: because he's come in and filmed all this, not just 914 01:00:51,800 --> 01:00:55,400 Speaker 1: because it's wallow Book State School, but because wallow Book 915 01:00:55,440 --> 01:00:59,360 Speaker 1: State School is run by the Department of Mental Hygiene, 916 01:00:59,720 --> 01:01:05,000 Speaker 1: which is part of the New York State sort of government. 917 01:01:05,160 --> 01:01:10,440 Speaker 1: Really like it's run by the state's government, you know, 918 01:01:10,680 --> 01:01:14,720 Speaker 1: And so high end New York officials are mad. They 919 01:01:14,880 --> 01:01:22,120 Speaker 1: are calling, they're calling the news station, they're complaining, they're 920 01:01:22,160 --> 01:01:26,560 Speaker 1: like threatening, they're accusing him of trespassing. They're going to 921 01:01:26,560 --> 01:01:30,520 Speaker 1: give him lawsuits for violating the privacy of the residents 922 01:01:30,560 --> 01:01:33,600 Speaker 1: of Willowbrook State School, even though there's no such thing 923 01:01:33,640 --> 01:01:37,560 Speaker 1: as privacy there. Like there was one former resident who 924 01:01:37,600 --> 01:01:41,200 Speaker 1: had cerebral palsy, and he was saying that people assumed 925 01:01:41,200 --> 01:01:43,960 Speaker 1: he had an intellectual disability because he had cerebral palsy 926 01:01:44,640 --> 01:01:48,080 Speaker 1: and that there was no privacy there. There was no 927 01:01:48,160 --> 01:01:50,920 Speaker 1: privacy there, So the film grew showing up didn't really 928 01:01:50,960 --> 01:01:54,080 Speaker 1: make a difference to him because it wasn't as if 929 01:01:54,080 --> 01:01:58,640 Speaker 1: he had any privacy anyway. But yes, the eyewitnessed newsroom, 930 01:01:58,840 --> 01:02:02,520 Speaker 1: they're just like New York State officials are just a 931 01:02:02,640 --> 01:02:07,400 Speaker 1: bradh of abuse. They're threatening and threatening and threatening, and 932 01:02:09,120 --> 01:02:14,240 Speaker 1: the director of Eyewitness News was like, oh, sorry, you 933 01:02:14,320 --> 01:02:17,160 Speaker 1: know what a supended in judgment. Sorry, but that, don't 934 01:02:17,200 --> 01:02:20,200 Speaker 1: worry about it. Don't worry about it. It's fine, we'll 935 01:02:20,200 --> 01:02:24,560 Speaker 1: take care of it. And then the film gets developed 936 01:02:25,400 --> 01:02:29,880 Speaker 1: and they see the footage, and everything changes from that 937 01:02:30,000 --> 01:02:36,040 Speaker 1: point when they saw what was happening in this institution, 938 01:02:36,600 --> 01:02:39,920 Speaker 1: even though they were getting threats from officials, because remember 939 01:02:39,960 --> 01:02:44,120 Speaker 1: this is run and funded by New York State. Even 940 01:02:44,160 --> 01:02:48,440 Speaker 1: though this is happening, Eyewitness News decided to go ahead 941 01:02:48,560 --> 01:02:54,920 Speaker 1: and run the story anyway, and they aired it, and 942 01:02:55,000 --> 01:02:58,480 Speaker 1: because they aired it, there was no way that people 943 01:02:58,560 --> 01:03:05,360 Speaker 1: could not pay attention. Nineteen seventy two, finally people couldn't 944 01:03:05,400 --> 01:03:10,080 Speaker 1: deny what was happening. They had video footage and prodo 945 01:03:10,800 --> 01:03:16,320 Speaker 1: this investigative journalist his reaction to this, like he's clearly 946 01:03:16,320 --> 01:03:21,240 Speaker 1: affected by it. And this culminates and it really sort 947 01:03:21,240 --> 01:03:26,080 Speaker 1: of starts a demand for change because it finally became 948 01:03:26,120 --> 01:03:29,440 Speaker 1: apparent to people that even this was supposed to be 949 01:03:29,520 --> 01:03:33,360 Speaker 1: a state school, it was supposed to be a specialized 950 01:03:33,400 --> 01:03:39,120 Speaker 1: care facility, what it was was a prison for intellectually 951 01:03:39,160 --> 01:03:43,560 Speaker 1: and physically disabled children and adults. And at this point 952 01:03:43,960 --> 01:03:48,160 Speaker 1: funding wasn't the answer, Like not enough money was going 953 01:03:48,240 --> 01:03:51,360 Speaker 1: to change this was going to turn this around. The 954 01:03:51,440 --> 01:03:55,439 Speaker 1: system needed an overhaul and an actual way to care 955 01:03:56,200 --> 01:04:01,920 Speaker 1: for people with disabilities. So the expose Willowbrook the last disgrace. 956 01:04:03,120 --> 01:04:08,880 Speaker 1: The parents of five thousand willow Brook residents. They end 957 01:04:09,000 --> 01:04:12,360 Speaker 1: up filing a class action lawsuit to try and improve 958 01:04:12,400 --> 01:04:16,200 Speaker 1: the conditions. So it's them against the New York State, 959 01:04:17,000 --> 01:04:21,120 Speaker 1: like that's what it is. And so they're trying to 960 01:04:21,120 --> 01:04:25,080 Speaker 1: get like emergency intervention. They're bringing in like top leaders 961 01:04:25,080 --> 01:04:28,400 Speaker 1: in the field of intellectual disability to try and like 962 01:04:28,520 --> 01:04:35,720 Speaker 1: explain what care and support and specialized care these individuals need. 963 01:04:37,120 --> 01:04:40,240 Speaker 1: And the judge was like, you know what, I need 964 01:04:40,280 --> 01:04:42,560 Speaker 1: to actually see this place before I make any decisions, 965 01:04:42,600 --> 01:04:46,360 Speaker 1: Like all I'm getting is like second hand, third hand whatever. 966 01:04:47,160 --> 01:04:51,520 Speaker 1: And the judge visits willow Brook and after he sees it, 967 01:04:51,560 --> 01:04:54,720 Speaker 1: he's so shocked, like and like they had tried to 968 01:04:54,760 --> 01:04:57,600 Speaker 1: clean it up, they had like done some work on it, 969 01:04:57,640 --> 01:05:01,200 Speaker 1: they'd made it less awful, but there was no hiding 970 01:05:01,560 --> 01:05:05,560 Speaker 1: just how bad it was. And after the judge's visit, 971 01:05:06,640 --> 01:05:10,800 Speaker 1: a consent decree was signed which committed New York State 972 01:05:10,920 --> 01:05:16,480 Speaker 1: to improve conditions. Although at this point they'd actually changed 973 01:05:16,480 --> 01:05:19,160 Speaker 1: the name from Willowbrook because they were trying to do 974 01:05:19,240 --> 01:05:22,960 Speaker 1: like this public relations, like pr sort of flip. They 975 01:05:23,000 --> 01:05:25,520 Speaker 1: were trying to they were trying to get ahead of 976 01:05:25,560 --> 01:05:27,920 Speaker 1: the game, and so they had changed it to the 977 01:05:27,960 --> 01:05:32,080 Speaker 1: Staten Island Developmental Center, but people were not calling that 978 01:05:32,120 --> 01:05:35,720 Speaker 1: because they were like, no, that's Willowbrook. As a result 979 01:05:35,720 --> 01:05:38,960 Speaker 1: of this, like these laws are enacted in nineteen seventy five, 980 01:05:40,000 --> 01:05:44,720 Speaker 1: which then laid on to which leads to the Civil 981 01:05:44,800 --> 01:05:50,439 Speaker 1: Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of nineteen eighty. Basically, this 982 01:05:50,880 --> 01:05:56,680 Speaker 1: protects the rights of people in facilities with disabilities, and 983 01:05:56,800 --> 01:05:59,880 Speaker 1: like this is the very first law of its king. 984 01:06:00,520 --> 01:06:05,600 Speaker 1: There like before this law, there is like no form 985 01:06:05,640 --> 01:06:10,360 Speaker 1: of protection for disabled people and institutions, and now there 986 01:06:10,440 --> 01:06:13,760 Speaker 1: is nineteen seventy five. I mean, while the law be broken, yes, 987 01:06:14,160 --> 01:06:17,920 Speaker 1: but it's it's there. It's it's a line in the sand, 988 01:06:18,520 --> 01:06:23,040 Speaker 1: and like the place is still running, Willowbrook keeps running. 989 01:06:23,480 --> 01:06:27,280 Speaker 1: So nineteen seventy two, there's an exposa. This law comes 990 01:06:27,280 --> 01:06:32,960 Speaker 1: in in seventy five and then nineteen eighty and in 991 01:06:33,080 --> 01:06:36,720 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty three, finally the state of New York announces 992 01:06:36,760 --> 01:06:41,640 Speaker 1: that they have plans to close willow Brook plans. However, 993 01:06:43,560 --> 01:06:49,720 Speaker 1: it doesn't close down until September nineteen eighty seven, because 994 01:06:49,760 --> 01:06:52,520 Speaker 1: this is an institution. It's full of children and adults 995 01:06:52,520 --> 01:06:56,280 Speaker 1: with physical and learning disabilities. Because for like kids we 996 01:06:56,360 --> 01:07:00,520 Speaker 1: had things like cerebral palsy or epilepsy. They're like, mmmm, 997 01:07:00,720 --> 01:07:03,400 Speaker 1: we put them in here, even though the type of 998 01:07:03,440 --> 01:07:05,400 Speaker 1: care they need is different to the type of care 999 01:07:06,240 --> 01:07:09,680 Speaker 1: a child with intellectual disabilities would need. But yes, the 1000 01:07:09,720 --> 01:07:12,600 Speaker 1: residents would need somewhere else to go. They needed a 1001 01:07:12,640 --> 01:07:17,280 Speaker 1: new placement. And so by nineteen eighty six there was 1002 01:07:17,360 --> 01:07:21,680 Speaker 1: only two hundred and fifty people left, only two hundred 1003 01:07:21,680 --> 01:07:25,520 Speaker 1: and fifty out of over six thousand, and then the 1004 01:07:25,680 --> 01:07:31,160 Speaker 1: very last kids they left in September eighty seven, and 1005 01:07:31,240 --> 01:07:37,920 Speaker 1: so after fifty years, finally Willowbrook was done. But the 1006 01:07:38,040 --> 01:07:43,520 Speaker 1: effects and trauma this school had on children, like they're 1007 01:07:43,560 --> 01:07:48,160 Speaker 1: adults now if they're still alive and they suffered, and 1008 01:07:48,200 --> 01:07:50,720 Speaker 1: if they're still alive, they're probably still dealing with the 1009 01:07:50,760 --> 01:07:53,760 Speaker 1: trauma of this. And just when you thought it couldn't 1010 01:07:53,800 --> 01:07:54,240 Speaker 1: get worse. 1011 01:07:56,120 --> 01:07:56,720 Speaker 2: Willowbrook. 1012 01:07:57,680 --> 01:08:04,520 Speaker 1: Between nineteen fifty nineteen eighty, twelve thousand residents died in 1013 01:08:04,600 --> 01:08:10,720 Speaker 1: thirty years. Twelve thousand. Now the majority of those are children. 1014 01:08:11,520 --> 01:08:12,480 Speaker 1: Twelve thousand. 1015 01:08:13,440 --> 01:08:15,400 Speaker 2: That is four hundred. 1016 01:08:15,040 --> 01:08:19,839 Speaker 1: Deaths per year. That is more than one death per day. 1017 01:08:21,400 --> 01:08:22,000 Speaker 2: Every day. 1018 01:08:22,760 --> 01:08:26,479 Speaker 1: A child would have to die every single day, more 1019 01:08:26,640 --> 01:08:29,800 Speaker 1: than one child every single day to hit those numbers. 1020 01:08:30,280 --> 01:08:33,519 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy one, there were one hundred and twenty 1021 01:08:33,640 --> 01:08:39,720 Speaker 1: nine deaths registered. Eleven of them were from choking in 1022 01:08:39,760 --> 01:08:43,200 Speaker 1: one year, but that wasn't the only cause of death recorded. 1023 01:08:43,880 --> 01:08:45,400 Speaker 2: There was lack of. 1024 01:08:45,479 --> 01:08:54,200 Speaker 1: Nutrition, medical management, experimentation. Now, they didn't technically put down 1025 01:08:54,560 --> 01:09:00,240 Speaker 1: violence or neglect, but if you read the records, that's 1026 01:09:00,280 --> 01:09:10,760 Speaker 1: basically what's there. Along with disease, pneumonia, parasites, measles, mumps, rebella, hepatitis, 1027 01:09:11,360 --> 01:09:17,200 Speaker 1: consuming fecal matter, thousands of children lost their lives, thousands 1028 01:09:17,200 --> 01:09:24,320 Speaker 1: of children suffered trauma and abuse and neglect. Willowbrook State School, 1029 01:09:24,400 --> 01:09:28,200 Speaker 1: like many institutions, is not what it was presented to be, 1030 01:09:29,600 --> 01:09:34,160 Speaker 1: and children suffered for it. People say the past is 1031 01:09:34,160 --> 01:09:37,920 Speaker 1: the past and we should forget it, but we should 1032 01:09:37,960 --> 01:09:40,360 Speaker 1: always stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves. 1033 01:09:40,360 --> 01:09:42,360 Speaker 1: We should stand up for those who do not get 1034 01:09:42,360 --> 01:09:46,760 Speaker 1: their stories told, who cannot share this, for those who 1035 01:09:46,840 --> 01:09:49,680 Speaker 1: suffered and cannot tell their stories. Like with the magazine laundries, 1036 01:09:50,400 --> 01:09:54,439 Speaker 1: people take their secrets and their history and their lives 1037 01:09:55,479 --> 01:10:01,320 Speaker 1: to their graves. We shouldn't forget what happened to them. 1038 01:10:01,439 --> 01:10:04,439 Speaker 1: We should remember them, and we should work to make 1039 01:10:04,479 --> 01:10:10,080 Speaker 1: sure things like this don't happen again. And so ends 1040 01:10:10,120 --> 01:10:12,200 Speaker 1: our tale of the willow. 1041 01:10:11,880 --> 01:10:12,960 Speaker 2: Brook State School. 1042 01:10:14,000 --> 01:10:16,639 Speaker 1: If you liked my retelling of this terrible tale, please 1043 01:10:16,680 --> 01:10:18,479 Speaker 1: feel free to rate and review five stars. 1044 01:10:19,040 --> 01:10:23,759 Speaker 2: If you didn't like it, go to sleep. Everything's fine and. 1045 01:10:23,640 --> 01:10:26,080 Speaker 1: You can follow me on the socials. As you know, 1046 01:10:26,200 --> 01:10:32,920 Speaker 1: I'm on Instagram, TikTok, threads, other stuff. Probably if you 1047 01:10:32,960 --> 01:10:35,439 Speaker 1: want to see me live, there's links in the description 1048 01:10:35,560 --> 01:10:39,479 Speaker 1: down below and where I'm in. A recommendation time, I 1049 01:10:39,520 --> 01:10:43,040 Speaker 1: think for listening, I think you should listen to the 1050 01:10:43,120 --> 01:10:50,639 Speaker 1: fine print by Stupendium feels appropriate for reading. Ooh, I'm 1051 01:10:50,680 --> 01:10:52,479 Speaker 1: going to recommend one of my favorite things ever. 1052 01:10:52,560 --> 01:10:53,160 Speaker 2: Who done it? 1053 01:10:53,360 --> 01:10:56,320 Speaker 1: So? I'm going to go for murder on the Lusitania 1054 01:10:56,439 --> 01:10:59,720 Speaker 1: because why wouldn't you want an Edwardian who done it? 1055 01:11:00,320 --> 01:11:01,600 Speaker 2: Love your best life. 1056 01:11:01,680 --> 01:11:06,960 Speaker 1: And for watching you know what, the moonflower merdles again. 1057 01:11:07,040 --> 01:11:09,200 Speaker 1: I'm on a who done a thing. Just go enjoy it, 1058 01:11:10,000 --> 01:11:12,599 Speaker 1: enjoy it. It's fun. And with that I shall bid 1059 01:11:12,680 --> 01:11:14,839 Speaker 1: you good night. Adios au Revoirs 1060 01:11:15,080 --> 01:11:16,760 Speaker 2: Of What Is in My Friends by by