Most people who've taken world history have been taught to associate the word "eugenics" with Joeseph Mengele and the atrocities of the Holocaust.
At its inception, however, eugenics was a well-intentioned social movement pioneered by brilliant and deeply moral people. They believed that if they could prevent those people who should never be allowed to birth or raise children from reproducing, they could break generational chains of violence, crime and other destructive behavior. (For the record, every one of the founders applied their principles every bit as sternly to themselves as to anyone else.)
Every time I read a story like this, I can't help but think that those early scientists got an unfairly bad rap. Can anyone with a heart or a brain actually conclude that self-absorbed, celebrity seeking miscreants should be allowed to have kids?
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