tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post2057198954266871114..comments2024-03-16T16:44:18.220-07:00Comments on Bad Cripple: Murder and Hate Crimes: Part IIwilliam Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-40390098887782202372017-05-09T14:40:05.499-07:002017-05-09T14:40:05.499-07:00girlonfire, Thank you of for the link. I had come ...girlonfire, Thank you of for the link. I had come across it. This is a terrible case and gut wrenching.william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-68898291649279748632017-05-09T14:18:15.651-07:002017-05-09T14:18:15.651-07:00I was going over this case and found a link to a T...I was going over this case and found a link to a TV news report. Just looking at the pictures is painful. I can't imagine what he went through for 2 years. It must be indescribably agonizing. RIP<br />http://www.onenewspage.com/video/20160504/4395627/Joan-Gensiak-Forced-To-Resentence-5PM.htm<br />Warning: Graphic autopsy photosgirlonfirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01119480930951155546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-91179845699299810952013-07-02T07:53:48.629-07:002013-07-02T07:53:48.629-07:00Thank you William for writing on this so eloquentl...Thank you William for writing on this so eloquently. I've tried a few times but it tears me up. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09934296564253625199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-55056801925364422962013-06-25T08:43:31.284-07:002013-06-25T08:43:31.284-07:00Rachel, You make multiple good points. Your point ...Rachel, You make multiple good points. Your point r.e. a stranger committing a hate crime are astute. Sadly, the person most likely to abuse a person with a disability is a family member or caregiver. I would like ot point out thought that Tracy Latimore's father was convicted of murder. But I am not sure this is a valid point because there are profound differences between the US and Canada. william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-86259165133691701822013-06-24T11:51:04.302-07:002013-06-24T11:51:04.302-07:00Yes, definitely, prosecuting any disability hate c...Yes, definitely, prosecuting any disability hate crime is difficult -- just as difficult as prosecuting hate crimes against women. Rape should be a hate crime, but it isn't. And the reason that both are so difficult to prosecute is that the hatred is deemed socially acceptable.<br /><br />But I think that a test case for a disability hate crime prosecution would have to be a stranger crime, and it would have to be explicitly directed at the person on the basis of disability, as in the case of someone who attacks a disabled person while yelling slurs. A stranger crime makes the hatred much more clear to the average person. I can't see any other way to disentangle all of the things that would likely tank a prosecution of a family member. Once the stranger crimes are seen as hate crimes by the general public, it might be much easier to start disentangling these things, because people will actually see the hatred there. I think that, for most people and for the judicial system as a whole, it is hard to fathom that a family member could hate another family member enough to commit a hate crime. People who have been the recipients of familial hatred have no problem fathoming this, but the myths persist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-39189955724982427752013-06-24T10:33:35.746-07:002013-06-24T10:33:35.746-07:00Rachel, Would it be jaded to note that prosecuting...Rachel, Would it be jaded to note that prosecuting any disability hate crime is hard? To do so requires others to frame the crime in terms of civil rights. Few think of disability rights to be akin to civil rights.<br />Given the past child neglect should protective services been more proactive? Robert was even more at risk and vulnerable. I would think is a good test case at multiple levels. Of course I am not a lawyer so I will leave such suggestions up to others more qualified. william Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00223601480542461802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-36391344399152574622013-06-23T18:49:54.078-07:002013-06-23T18:49:54.078-07:00From what I've been reading about the family, ...From what I've been reading about the family, this crime would be very difficult to prosecute as a hate crime. According to a relative, Robert Gensiak's mother had two sons, both of whom she hated and neglected. Her elder son died unexpectedly at 29, and her husband died five years later. The father and son had cared for Robert until their deaths, so once they were gone, he was in the hands of someone who apparently loathed men. Here is an article about the family:<br /><br />http://wnep.com/2013/06/20/gensiak-relative-reacts-to-murder-charges/<br /><br />Robert was particularly vulnerable because of his disability and social isolation, but it wasn't just his disability that was the object of his mother's hatred. It was also his gender.<br /><br />I think that hate crimes that occur in families are difficult to prosecute because family dynamics can be so complicated. People can play out multiple and intersecting levels of pain, rage, and hatred with one another, and it's hard to discern what motivates people to do what they do. And that means that hate crimes against disabled people are hugely under-reported and under-prosecuted because they happen at the hands of family members more often than hate crimes in other groups.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1556371561007953336.post-58641630499982556452013-06-21T23:53:13.500-07:002013-06-21T23:53:13.500-07:00Oh God! I am so saddened by this and I know it is ...Oh God! I am so saddened by this and I know it is just one horrible case - what is wrong with society? I am not religious at all but both our countries are based on Christian (New testament) teachings - Christ is portrayed as a compassionate being. And yet the Government systems and people who claim to be following his teachings are allowing and encouraging such horrible cruelties. Its as bad and worse in countries where Disabled are often let die at birth or are a shameful thing to have in the family as in many Middle Eastern, African, Indian etc countries. I just cannot understand how anybody can hate so horrible those who are so vulnerable - thanks for this thought provoking essay BillMiddle Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09962830669606760640noreply@blogger.com