MovieChat Forums > Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story (2006) Discussion > For once: I'm really glad this propagan...

For once: I'm really glad this propaganda was shelved

posted 12 years ago by Pseudoephedrine
2 replies | jump to latest

Just flat out revisionism, a total embarrassment to everyone involved
with this crap.

No references to Douglas' crusade for mass sterilization/'camps' for
society's 'subnormal'

Douglas was pro-Hitler, and it took WWII/Holocaust to make him think "Hm, bad idea"

Yet until the 1970's his Eugenics was practiced (Mentally handicapped were routinely
sterilized against their will up until the 70's...thank you "Prairie Giant" for making
this piece of crap on the bodies of those who have no voice.

Go ahead and read this, and then say: Tommy Douglas was a 'great man'

http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/opendissertations/2993/

"Some have objected to sterilization on the grounds that it is depriving
human beings or an inalienable right. But medical science declares that it is
possible to be sterilized and yet have sexual intercourse. In the
main this, is all the defective asks. Among them the parental instinct is not paramount,
but is entirely subordinated to the sex urge. Thus sterilization would deprive
them of nothing that they value- very highly, and would make it impossible
for them to reproduce
"those whose presence could contribute little to the general well-being of ."society."

Tommy Douglas

[–] cthulhulurks 11 years ago

Duh

my vote history:
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur13767631/ratings

[–] cosmo7 9 years ago

Your post sounds like revisionism. If you're going to complain about it in the movie, don't do it yourself.

I found this website that claims Tommy Douglas travelled to Europe in 1936 and changed his mind. That's before WWII, so unlike your claim, it did not take until "WWII/Holocaust to make him think "Hm, bad idea."

You also give the impression that eugenics was practiced under Tommy Douglas, and in Saskatchewan until the 1970s. It wasn't. He changed his mind before he became premier. Eugenics legislation was passed in Alberta and B.C. In 1937 in Alberta, while other places in North America were getting rid of their sterilization laws, Alberta strengthened them. The people most responsible were the politicians in Alberta (Wise Wood and Aberhart) and the Alberta voters who elected them, not Tommy Douglas. Alberta's political history is full of leaders who didn't care for democracy or most Albertans - for over 80 years.

I admire people who have the courage to change their minds. I'd rather have a so-called "flip flopper" than someone who goes full steam ahead on bad legislation. As far as I'm concerned, including eugenics in the movie would make it longer and I would still admire him for changing his mind, for the progress he made in Saskatchewan, and for his budget-balancing.

From Troy Media: http://www.troymedia.com/2012/04/01/tommy-douglas-eugenics-and-rule-by-experts/

History of Alberta Eugenics: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/pi/article/view/18879

Alberta's Leaders (an opinion piece): http://www.albertaviews.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/dabbssep2006.pdf

edit: shortened length, added links