Judge Rotenberg Center Staffer Charged with Rape at Center

When an organization sees nothing wrong with routinely torturing and otherwise abusing the most vulnerable people in our society, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone to see news reports like this:


Norton - Norton police arrested a staff member of the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center on Shelley Road Tuesday, April 1 on charges of rape and indecent assault and battery.

Police said Elliston Livingstone, 24, of Providence R.I., was charged with one count of rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, for an incident that occurred at the center on March 30.


Massachusetts lawmakers -- WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO SHUT THIS HELLHOLE DOWN?!

This Is Not Who We Are

I recently had the privilege of attending an event where I was able to see, in person, the next President of the United States (if we have the good sense to elect him), Barack Obama. In discussing why we all need to get motivated to take back our country and restore our national values, Senator Obama spoke about the disregard for human rights shown by a government that sees nothing wrong with torture. This is not what America stands for, he said. This is not who we are.

Although he was talking about the mistreatment of terror suspects by the Bush administration, those words are equally applicable to the Judge Rotenberg Center, a Massachusetts institution that routinely uses electric shock on children with developmental disabilities. There have been several administrative and legislative attempts to put an end to this heinous abuse of our society's most vulnerable children, but so far, the place is still in business.

Many bloggers and human rights groups have asked why the State of Massachusetts can't shut down the Judge Rotenberg Center. It's for the same reason, as I see it, why the people of America haven't yet shut down Guantanamo Bay—too much apathy among the voters and too little insistence on demanding accountability from our elected officials. We lack full awareness of our personal power as citizens of a democratic nation to force our government to conduct itself in a decent manner. People talk to each other about such things and say, this is terrible, or that is awful; but then we just sit back and wait for someone else to deal with it.

Ultimately, it is our responsibility as citizens and as human beings to ensure that those who represent us in government will never commit, or allow others to commit, human rights abuses. If you live in Massachusetts, contact your state legislators and ask them if, like Barack Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick, they are ready to turn the page on this shameful era in American history and to take an unequivocal stand against government-sanctioned torture under any circumstances. Ask them if they will firmly commit themselves to enacting legislation to outlaw the use of electric shock and other abusive behavior modification practices.

If the answer is anything other than yes, GET YOUR BUTT TO THE POLLS AND VOTE THEM OUT! There is no excuse for politicians authorizing the torture of children with developmental disabilities. None. Zero. Ever. And there is no excuse for voters being so apathetic as to let them stay in office when they do.

This is not who we are.

Judge Rotenberg Center Help Wanted Ad

I recently googled Filthy Child Abusers Inc.—oops, I meant the Judge Rotenberg Center—and noticed that a large number of help wanted ads came up in the results. Looks as if they may be having a problem with staff turnover. Hmmm, I wonder why? Maybe it's hard to find people who are so sickeningly depraved as to enjoy torturing disabled kids for a living? Naa-a-ah. More likely, their personnel department needs a little help drafting more precise ads to bring in applications from just the right candidates. I'm feeling charitably inclined today, so I'll offer them, free of charge, a few suggestions for a well-targeted ad:

Ability to tell creative stories. No, sorry, the Judge Rotenberg Center isn't looking for kindhearted staff who enjoy telling bedtime stories to the kiddies. The sort of creativity that's needed here is a talent for inventing plausible explanations for injuries, such as claiming that burns from electrodes all over a child's body were caused by medical conditions. Staff at the Judge Rotenberg Center must also be able to repeat the Big Lie with a straight face, that is, the claim that electric shocks are necessary to prevent severely disturbed youths from maiming themselves through self-injury. Pathological liars are strongly encouraged to apply, as this whopper of a story is becoming much harder to tell now that the mainstream media are reporting the truth. (For example, as reported by the Boston Herald, Antwone Nicholson, a teenager whose mother has filed a lawsuit against the school district that was responsible for sending him to the Judge Rotenberg Center, was routinely shocked whenever he swore or did not cooperate.)

Math skills helpful. It appears that some of the creative storytellers at the Judge Rotenberg Center are a tad mathematically impaired. They're claiming that Antwone Nicholson had 5,000 violent episodes a week before they started shocking him. Let's get out our calculators, readers. There are 10,080 minutes in a week. That means the kid would've needed to have a "violent episode" every two minutes, around the clock, for an entire week, without ever stopping to eat, sleep, use the toilet, et cetera. No matter how creatively a "violent episode" may be defined, we're getting into the realm of mathematical impossibility here. (But hey, what's a little perjury and evidence tampering among friends, right?)

Not easily flustered. By bothersome little annoyances like children screaming in extreme pain, tort lawsuits, child abuse investigations, the occasional homicide investigation... heck, it's just another day at the ol' ball yard.

Equal opportunity employer. Male, female, any race, color, creed or national origin are welcome to apply. (No need to mention the disabled. They're not people, are they?)

Preference for veterans. Extra bonus points on the application will be given to those who have experience interrogating prisoners at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay.

And the most essential qualification for a job at the Judge Rotenberg Center?

Total lack of human decency.