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In one of the countless Kennedy books--one I read many years ago--the author stated that after it became apparent that the lobotomy had been a huge mistake and Rosemary had been reduced to a vegetable, Joe Kennedy was so guilt-ridden over his mistake that he never again visited Rosemary in the institution where she was confined. Don't know if this is true or not........
It was probably true that he didn't ever visit his poor unfortunate daughter but it's probably not true that it was for guilt he felt.
Just like Ted, did he ever bother to think or feel bad for what he did to poor Mary Jo? And the child she was carrying?
lets get something straight. Everything about Joe kennedy was calculated and designed to further the family power base. His sons competed to see who would get the highest medal and all this was so it could be applied towards political office. The kennedy's are the stereotypical self serving rich that everyone likes to hate and for just cause.
JFK had the morals of an alley cat and gets a free pass. Ted Left a girl to drown after driving drunk ran his car into the water. He gets a free pass.
We hear about the bad luck in this family. Its not bad luck. Its arrogance and karma.
That poor woman was lobotomized because she was an embarrassment to the Kennedy's.
When the lobotomy was performed on Rosemary Kennedy, it was considered to be state of the art medical care; despite his many faults, Joe Kennedy did not ok the surgery due to any malicious motive. The doctors had assured him that Rosemary would be calmer. Today, she would undoubtedly be diagnosed with some form of depression.
Rosemary is by no means an isolated case; there was also an actress named Frances Farmer who was lobotomized. There is a wonderful movie about her, called "Frances" and starring Jessica
Lange. Frances was highly intelligent and independent, so her mother kept having her committed to
psychiatric facilities because she couldn't control her. It's a book as well, I believe.
Frances ended up on television in Indianapolis, as the host of the afternoon movie program. Yes, in the original link to Rosemary it states that Eunice Shriver founded the Special Olympics in honor of her sister. While the surgery was a horrific mistake, the Kennedy family did not neglect Rosemary nor
forget about her. Given the simplicity of the "ice pick method" of performing frontal lobe lobotomies, it's a miracle that more weren't done. How ironic that those with the money to seek expert medical
care were the main victims.
I read Frances Farmer's book several decades back. As I recall, the name of the book was "Will There Really Be A Morning?" I think it was probably ghost written as no mention was made in the book of her lobotomy. I also saw the movie with Jessica Lange. In the movie, "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", the character played by Jack Nicholson was given a lobotomy in the end.
When I was a student nurse in the 1950's lobotomies were still being done but they really were not that common. However, both electroshock and insulin shock treatments were. Insulin shock was even more common than electroshock. The remedy to terminate the insulin shock was to give large glasses of orange juice saturated with sugar. All these patients gained a lot of weight, too.
Just a bit of psychiatric historical trivia........
When the lobotomy was performed on Rosemary Kennedy, it was considered to be state of the art medical care; despite his many faults, Joe Kennedy did not ok the surgery due to any malicious motive. The doctors had assured him that Rosemary would be calmer. Given the simplicity of the "ice pick method" of performing frontal lobe lobotomies, it's a miracle that more weren't done. How ironic that those with the money to seek expert medical
care were the main victims.
This is quite true, and it's the one time I have sympathized with the Kennedys for making that tragic decision. Back in those days when psychiatry was relatively new, the lobotomy was considered the best form of "curing" mental illness and there were many success stories to back up its usage. Unfortunately Rosemary became one of the sad non-successfuls where it did more harm than good.
For anybody who is interested to learn more about frontal-lobe lobotomies and why they were so popular at the time I highly recommend this documentary, free to view online, by PBS - "The Lobotomist".
Just like Ted, did he ever bother to think or feel bad for what he did to poor Mary Jo? And the child she was carrying?
Yes, he actually did. Read the book he wrote, True Compass, before he died. I'm no Ted Kennedy fan but reading his book made me see him in a slightly different light. I believe that Chappaquiddick haunted him until his dying day.
And FTR, there's no evidence that Kopechne was pregnant.
Rosemary had sever mood swings and was acting out and going out at night, leaving her school (a convent)
They consulted with physicians and one from George Wash University convinced Joe a labotomy was a way to lessen her mood swings.
I don't think the family ever wanted harm to her but they wanted a solution for a mentally challenged young woman.
It was a ghastly operation and had no hope, but they didn't know that in that time.
It is easy to castigate those 60 years after the fact when the details are long since lost and the emotion not to be found.
Bull, Joe like most of the Kennedy elite had a genius/near genius IQ, he must have seen the potential peril of hring a quack to do a risky procedure. He did not care, just shut up the Non-Perfect, Non-Genius Kennedy.
Many people back then knew how bad smoking was for you.......I am sure anyone with common sense would realize.......EVEN BACK THEN..........that digging in the brain would be really dangerous.
It was SOP in those days to do all sorts of stuff. My stepfather had my mother locked up in a mental hospital and given 26 shock treatments. There was not a damn thing her grown kids could do. She said, after we finally got her out that the one who signed the paper should get the first one.
Joe Kennedy might have been a jerk, but like most men, he was the head of the family.
It was common practice in the 40's and 50's to just lock up women who had strong opinions and would not mind. Or suffered from depression. Happened all the time, in every town. Go ask some old women about it.
My mom had shock treatment and was sent to the nuthouse.
But the barbarity of Psychosurgery was quickly recognized when the CURE actually turned most it vegetables.
lets get something straight. Everything about Joe kennedy was calculated and designed to further the family power base. His sons competed to see who would get the highest medal and all this was so it could be applied towards political office. The kennedy's are the stereotypical self serving rich that everyone likes to hate and for just cause.
JFK had the morals of an alley cat and gets a free pass. Ted Left a girl to drown after driving drunk ran his car into the water. He gets a free pass.
We hear about the bad luck in this family. Its not bad luck. Its arrogance and karma.
That poor woman was lobotomized because she was an embarrassment to the Kennedy's.
Bingo, you hit the nail on the head.
That beautiful girl was turned into a vegetable because Joe did not want any sort of blot on his perfect family.
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