Thinking about a little seed this morning. A fertilized egg, the beginning of everything; an idea.
Rob and I saw a documentary last night about triplets who were separated and adopted out at six months of age. This was no simple adoption.
The babies were a part of a psychological experiment to determine whether nature or nurture was more important. It used babies to test hypotheses. This wasn’t just observation; this was psychological and social tinkering.
The babies were born to unwed mothers with mental issues and adopted out to “certain” families who had the characteristics that the scientists wanted. The families who were selected were chosen because they had been recipients of babies in the past. They had been previously vetted and ranked as to education, social status and economic stability.
You might say “big deal.” Robin was muttering “Mengele, Mengele,” as the story was told.
What was strange for him was the fact that the babies were Jewish, the psychiatrist was Jewish, the adoption agency was Jewish and the folks who sponsored the study were all Jewish. Robin’s take on this was how unconscionable that the Jews acted just like Germans.
I think Robin is guilty of racism. Anyone can be complicit. In pursuit of science( which is to say in pursuit of fame and fortune) Jews can be assholes just like Germans or Christians, or Muslims or anybody. Being an asshole is offered to each of us. It’s a choice, best beloved. It’s a choice.
If Newberger and his students had asked themselves the ethics of what they were doing; if they had said “…to what end,” besides just pushing the boundaries of knowledge for the sake of it, they might have reconsidered.
Perhaps they would argue that the harm they caused to the families and the babies is minuscule compared to what they’ve learned. What did they learn? The results were never released. The results are locked away in a vault at Yale University until 2060.
My take: humans tinker with other humans. It can be science, social engineering, borrowing someone’s DNA for experimentation (Henrietta Lacks), or messing with babies to see how it all turns out. I don’t care what you call it. It is obscene and it happens more often than we know.
Hello. Yes, this is Dog 