PamRotella.com

Terri Schiavo -- Domestic violence murder 15 years in the making
[Posted 28 March 2005]

I've been watching mainstream news' coverage of the Terri Schiavo affair, and as usual, am appalled at the dishonesty and laziness.

I've noticed that both the mainstream news and some "mainstream alternative" news sources (like Pacifica radio and Air America Radio) are both promoting Schiavo's husband's lines as fact. The only honest coverage I've seen on this particular issue is found on Rense.com. ...And I'm VERY disappointed in those alternative news sources who cover this issue without so much as bothering to read the evidence that Schiavo's parents -- her blood relatives -- have collected.

First of all, here are some of the arguments that mainstream news sources have presented as fact:
1.) That Terri Schiavo is a "vegetable,"
2.) That she has no comprehension of things around her,
3.) That she'll never recover,
4.) That Michael Schiavo should exercise rights as her guardian despite already living with another woman for years and having children by that other woman,
5.) That the domestic violence allegations against Michael Schiavo are groundless,
6.) That sworn testimony by nurses caring for Terri Schiavo, claiming that Michael Schiavo denied Terri Schiavo therapy that could have led to her recovery, is false,
7.) That testimony by medical employees that Michael Schiavo obtained zero care for his wife via threats is false,
8.) That Schiavo spending lawsuit money designated for Terri's care on litigation to end her life was OK,
and so on.

The fact is, too many people have weighed in against Michael Schiavo. The only people in his corner are attorneys and doctors who have been PAID by him, and a few Florida state officials in a Southern state known for its poor quality of medical care and political corruption. Terri Schiavo is very aware of her surroundings -- her parents have video tapes of her interacting with them, proving this fact, apparent to anyone who bothers to watch. According to past nurses, Terri was able to say simple words and could be spoon fed at the outset of her care. Fifteen years of neglect, plus other damage alleged via insulin injections by her husband, may account for her deterioration. But the most damning evidence against Michael Schiavo is the fact that he won't just walk away.

Terri Schiavo's parents have wanted to take their daughter home for years. Instead of warehousing their daughter in a hospice, (not because Terri is terminally ill, but because the care is free to Michael Schiavo), Terri's parents could have had appropriate therapies given to Terri, and possibly helped their daughter to recover at least partially. Her husband has already moved on with his life, so why wouldn't he allow his wife's family to take care of their daughter? I think it's because he's afraid of what Terri might say when she could finally say more than just a few words. She might tell people why she really collapsed that night, and perhaps some of the things her husband said and did to her, prior to empty insulin vials being found in her room for no apparent reason. What other reason could there be?

Yet the mainstream press doesn't bother looking into this at all -- they just portray the case as a "right to die" issue, assuming that Michael Schiavo's claim of Terri's "wishes" are true. This is despite others remembering Terri saying things directly the opposite. Is this because news outlets are too cheap to have another journalist talk to the Schiavo family, or because they don't want people to know the whole truth about the domestic violence and civil rights issues at play? And the "mainstream alternative" press just uses the issue as an opportunity to take a shot at the Bush family. Oh look, Bush is killing people daily overseas with oil wars, and trying to force old people below the poverty line with bogus Social Security "reform." But he really cares about Terri Schiavo.

Hey, I'm the first person to admit that a cockroach would be a better President, but I'm not going to be heartless enough to use an abused woman as fodder against the President -- a President who actually did the right thing in this case, even though he's no women's advocate. Domestic violence is not OK. Killing a person to get rid of evidence is not OK. Denying her appropriate care is not OK. It's all just more abuse against women, and I'm sick of alternative news sources who want to just brush over the facts in this case to take a cheap jab at the Bush brothers. The Bush brothers give people plenty of material to show how evil they are already -- there's no need to justify anything being done to Terri Schiavo in order to add to that mountainous heap.

I'm glad that Bush, Bush, & the Republicans in Congress tried to help Terri Schiavo. But as usual for people pretending to be Christian in order to get votes, they didn't really put up a strong enough effort. The fact is, Jeb Bush should have had Social Services take Terri into protective custody years ago, and the judges might have ruled with him if it'd been done well ahead of the media blitz. Now everyone thinks he's just trying to appease Christians while he finds himself in front of the TV cameras, and I'm sure that's true to a certain degree. Now if Jimmy Carter were Governor or President during all of this, maybe things would have been handled differently. But the people in power now are hollow shells when it comes to moral values, and the press will just roll over and do what's cheapest or in the best interests of their owners.

And so Terri Schiavo will die the neglected and abused woman she always was. I'm not happy, and no truly informed person is happy. This isn't about the right to die nearly as much as it's about a domestic violence death, 15 years in the making.

Terrie Schiavo: Abused by her husband, abused by a corrupt system, abused by the media. Then murdered in the cause of ignorance.


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