ArianeEmory
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I guess I just don't quite see it with the same amount of cynicism. I think a lot of families are just conflicted. That's it. It doesn't mean that money is a motive -- especially when you consider how much money it costs to keep them "alive."
I think we need to remember that we do not know Jahi -- she does not belong to us. Compassion can take you far, but not all the way. We can look at the situation from an objective point-of-view and think that everything is obvious. We can tell Jahi's mother that it's ok to let go -- but we are not Jahi's mother and we do not feel the commitment toward her.
A lawyer might be wheeling & dealing in the background here, but just perhaps to the family they simply needed this lawyer to help them hold onto their little girl. Perhaps at this point they are willing to be less private if their lawyer told them it would help with medical expenses.
I just find the entire situation heartbreaking and can't bring myself to vilify Jahi's family.
I'd like to back this up a little for those who may not be as familiar with the situation.
This family has:
--Done the cable interview rounds while dismissing the $250,000 damages cap as 'chump change' (Uncle Omari). Quote.
--Lied about being at the hospital for her initial surgery when he was actually in Cabo (also Uncle Omari, but he tends to fib about being/having been with Jahi quite frequently).
--Told a bunch of kids that if they prayed hard enough she would wake up. So a bunch of middle school kids are now probably really confused about brain death, think hospitals are scary evil places that just want to put you to sleep and then pull the plug on you, and maybe even feel like failures because they didn't pray hard enough.
--Blackmailed her school into giving her an 8th grade diploma (and then admitted they blackmailed the school with threats of a media circus--verifiable via MSM sources)
--Made that entire 8th grade class's graduation ceremony about Jahi
--Done their part to spread magical thinking and fear of science
This is in addition to a LOT of other stuff that I won't repeat because none of it is via primary/verified sources.
To the best of my knowledge I've never explicitly said anything insulting/negative about Jahi's mother, and I won't pretend to know her motivation. But what she is doing is causing damage to other people, and unknown damage in the future. (And let's not forget she has other children who have now been, essentially, back-burnered.) I understand that a mother's love is untouchable, but we cannot extend that so far that every mother has the guaranteed (and paid) right to keep their brain-dead child alive as long as the body can be kept warm, because they can't let go of that body. It's not reasonable and it doesn't benefit anyone, including the mother.
The dismissive attitude towards critical thinking as 'cynicism' is insulting. One can have a heart while still utilizing the brain. I think if more people did both, civilization would be in better shape.