Saturday, May 5, 2012

Together, WE Can Stop Massachusetts School From Torturing Students

Ok, so, on the facebook blog page, there are over 10,000 members.  And, it's growing daily.  There are almost 600 people subscribed to the blog, itself.  And, there are other outlets with scores of other people reading it.  We need every single one of the people reading this to a.) SIGN the petition; b.) SHARE this blog post.  You'll understand in a minute.

When I checked my inbox today, I had a notification from change.org about a Special Needs school in Massachusetts that basically electrocute its students.
In 2002, a special needs student named Andre McCollins was allegedly strapped down and electrocuted for hours, leaving him with permanent brain damage, all because he refused to take off his jacketThe people torturing Andre were officials at his school. You can watch what happened on video.
The video was shot at a Massachusetts school for special needs kids called the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC). Gregory Miller used to be a teacher there, and he says electrocuting kids as punishment is extremely common -- even for minor offenses like raising your hand to go to the bathroom.
"A non-verbal, nearly blind girl with cerebral palsy was shocked for attempts to hold a staff member's hand -- her attempts to communicate and to be loved," Gregory says.
Gregory desperately wants to help the kids at the JRC --that's why he started a petition onChange.org demanding that the JRC stop using electroshock to punish kids. Click here to add your name.
Gregory says the JRC's founder created electroshock devices which are even stronger than police stun guns to punish students for bad behavior. An official at the United Nations said that using these devices on children is considered torture.
According to the Boston Globe, the JRC’s founder resigned after being charged with misleading a grand jury by destroying video footage of other students being shocked.
Gregory believes that if thousands of people sign his petition, his former bosses will capitulate in the intense pressure generated by a national spotlight.
Thanks for being a change-maker,
I.  Was.  Livid.  Reading that was bad enough.  Watching this video, which school officials tried desperately to keep "sealed", revealed an unfathomable level of brutality.  Staff on student.  Bullying to the inth degree.  Andre McCollin restrained, faced down, and electroshocked 31 times during the course of the day.  This is a whole different level of bullying, actually.  It's called torture.  It's called criminal abuse.  And, every pair of eyes who reads this can play a part in bringing it to a screeching halt.  For the students, the special needs students!, being brutally abused by this staff, it can't end fast enough.  Imagine your son or daughter, your neighbor's kid, or even a total stranger!, being subjected to being restrained and being zapped by electroshock devices that are stronger than police stun guns...for hours!!  Is you blood boiling, yet?  Good.  Sign the petition.  Share this blog post.  Encourage OTHERS to share it.

This taking ending bullying to a whole different level.  We have the power, in numbers, to make this change.  I've already signed.  Your turn.

12 comments:

  1. I have worked in mental health for 25 + years and this is absolutely disgusting and repulsive. I have had to restrain children but you NEVER restrain face down. Shocking them? You must be a sadist if you think that is going to do anything but make it worse. The days of ice baths, frontal lobotomies, insulin shock have gone away. This is from the dark ages.

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  2. Why is the effort aimed only at stopping the use of electroshock? This place needs to be shut down!

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  3. This is directly from the JRC Website and their information on "Aversives". Shock and the support for it is point II.

    http://www.judgerc.org/AversivesPrimer.pdf

    It is really crazy and I am writing a letter right now.

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  4. Near my home we had a hospital for the mentaly ill about 60 years ago, and some of the patients there where abused in similar ways. However, now in the twentyfirst century, those who are still alive have been given an official appology and an economic compensation for their suffering at the hands of "helping hands". It is not much but at least it is somthing, instead of denials and cover-up's. I am from a European country and I hope you in the US get's at least an appology, because you can not, and shall not, treat your fellow man like this.

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  5. Hi! I am a member of OccupyJRC. We have a website and a facebook page and a rally coming up on June 2nd - please join us!

    http://occupyjrc.org

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  6. I cannot put in words how upset I am right now! Just put the story on my wall and definitely signed. #protecthechildren

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  7. Niki stark hardingMay 6, 2012 at 11:58 AM

    Barbaric. How anyone can treat any child like this is beyond me, but a SEN child? Inhumane, beyond forgiveness.

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  8. It appears some places are still in the *Dark Ages* My Mum had nervous disorders and was treated with ECT (Electric Shock therapy) ... horrible and totally barbaric!! Poor Poor kids :( ... The same torture should be handed out to those who dosed it out... I agree Beyond Forgiveness!!

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  9. As terrible as this is, signing a petition isn't going to solve anything. There are plenty of organizations that can help take care of this, and while It's lovely to see the support, people who torture kids like this aren't going to be stopped that easily.

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  10. For a petition to be required, I'm guessing that how they're treating the children there isn't actually illegal or it would be a legal matter rather than community action (I'm not in the US, so I have no idea what the relevant law would be). I think whatever legal loophole allowing them to do this is what really needs attention!

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  11. Call the cops or storm the place. What the heck are you locals doing, letting this happen to your kids?

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  12. Those People Disgust me

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