Heartbreak and ink

[patrick_vecchio]

Just in case you missed it, here's a New York Times piece by the great Dan Barry. This is a monster of a project and really should be read in more than one sitting, but it's well worth the time. It will break your heart:

(The 'boys' in the bunkhouse)

Comments

[anonymous]

MY. GOD. Incomprehensible. I have no words to describe how I feel after reading this.

[patrick_vecchio]

That's about the best way to put it. Maybe the only way.

[anonymous]

My wife told me not to read this blog before I went to bed as it was very disturbing. I did not listen to her. I can only say it is a perfect example of Mans’ inhumanity to man. In my first semester at SBU I took a class in psychology, a 100 level course. I remember the professor’s name because he showed us a movie called, Titicut Follies. Dr. Michael Lavin showed us a movie called Titicut Follies. It is a horrifying look at mental health treatment at the Bridgewater Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Bridgewater Massachusetts. It depicts medical care that basically ignores the rights and needs of those remanded to this facility showing a depraved indifference to the worth and value of any human being let alone those with developmental disabilities

[patrick_vecchio]

Makes you wonder how many other similar stories are out there.

[nodressrehersal]

I read an abbreviated version of this via a facebook link - it must've been more of a "news" story. This tells so much more, but the effect is the same: horrifying.

[patrick_vecchio]

As a human being, I wanted to cry after reading that story.

As a journalist, I relished the storytelling. I also marveled at the reporting that took place. Reporters typically don't use most of what they've found out. Good stories are like icebergs: Readers only see the tip, but the vast bulk of an iceberg is under water. (I'm stealing that idea from someone; I think it's Hemingway.)