Hey Betty, good on you for raising these perhaps
controversial issues.  I fully agree with you.  I tend to think
that there is usually only so much we can "blame" (for want
of a better word) on the individual.  Because I don't  think
that anybody is 100% autonomous and independent.  We
are all the sum total of our life up until know, we are all only
as good as our flawed society allows us to be.  The area of
crime is an excellent case in point.  Are poeple's attitudes
towards certain groups within society (ie pwds, gays etc)
not affected by the attitudes of the govt, the media
portrayals, etc etc?

To use one of your phrases, (paraphrased though!!) I think
that the blood of _most_ murders are on the hands of the
whole community.  As long as people are taking each
others lives, and there own- for whatever reason- then
there is something quite fundamentally not working in our
society.

My next post will be a LOT more lighthearted. *I promise*

Emma

>I've often wondered what was in Robert Latimer's head
when he planned and
>executed this.  The circumstances are not the same, but I
recall the story of
>an elderly man who killed his son (who had down's) just
before killing
>himself.
>
>He lied about how she died.  He moved her body and lied
about all of it.
>These are things I sometimes consider about that, but
am always a little
>afraid to make my thoughts public.
>
>Could it be that he truly couldn't stand to see her suffer,
and that perhaps
>knowing that she would never be fully accepted in society
either, was too
>much for him to realize and not to act to stop?  After all, it's
not as
>though society has been champing at the bit to disprove
that theory.
>
>There are so many factors to consider.  Yes, Robert
Latimer murdered his
>daughter.  I wish though, that I could get a microscopic
look at his life
>prior to that day.  What were the resources available to
them?  The Latimer
>family lives on a farm there, right?  I'm just wondering how
few and far
>between good resources were located.  How accessible
were those to the
>Latimer family anyway?
>
>I can't help but wonder too, what philosophies about
disability were being
>taught to them in that church, where the rest of the Latimer
family was the
>morning of Tracy's death?  I don't know anything about it,
but in a farming
>community, I'll bet the pastor carries a lot of weight.
>
>Since I'm on the subject, where was the church in the
lives of this family?
>What kind of resource capabilities could it, or probably
more appropriately,
>would it offer?
>
>How much of Tracy's blood is on the hands of that whole
community?
>
>Am I being unfair?
>
>Robert Latimer did the deed though.  There are plenty of
fathers who didn't,
>and under more oppressive circumstances -- some of
them.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>In a message dated 2/4/2002 7:51:59 PM Eastern
Standard Time,
>[log in to unmask] writes:
>
>
>> I AMwriting to ask a favour for my cousin again. Bianca
is writing an
>> essay on the SOCIAL IMPACT of the Robert Latimer
Case and I am wondering
>> if you have any ideas/opinions on the matter. I know I
may be opening a
>> can of worms here, too!
>>
>> Robert Latimer was a Saskatchewan farmer who killed
his daughter Tracey
>> via carbon monoxide poisoning. He said it was mercy
killing, as she had
>> cerebral palsy could not speak ,had 2  dislocated hips,
needed a g-tube
>> which
>> the family did not allow, etc. I have read a book about
what really went
>> on in the courtroom, not just in the press releases, and
it is scarey. If
>> you haven't heard of the case itself, there is bound to be
a ton of
>> information on the Internet. Does anyone have any input
on this...
>>
>> Again, sorry if I opened a can of worms, but it is for the
good cause of a
>> school paper. You can post your feelings, e-mail them
to my other address
>>
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>> or write directly to BIANCA: Her e-mail is
[log in to unmask]
>>
>> Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
>> Jenn
>>
>