General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A History of Liberal White Racism [View all]loyalsister
(13,390 posts)Across the political spectrum. The humanitarian argument in favor of eugenics has not gone away, despite the historical unholy alliance with white supremacism. I am prochoice and support a woman's right to choose even when the reasoning is genetic information. But, the arguments that people use as justification in the broader discussion are about the horror of existing with Down's Syndrome and the expenses that will be incurred by the parents. They are the same arguments used by the different supporters of eugenics movement.
Liberals in America truly believed that the human race would be better off if it were "healthier." The common conventional wisdom was that genetic manipulation could eliminate feeblemindedness, a whole range of illnesses, moral defections, people prone to alcoholism... Poor people and people of color were targeted then, and they are targeted now in rhetoric, if not policy. Conservatives and liberals may have different reasoning, but the resulting biases and dehumanization are the same.