Oliver Wendell Holmes

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The Supreme Court Justice, not the poet. Classic for "three generations of imbeciles are enough"* alone.

* from Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927).

― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

john holmes had a big dick

― Geoff, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

didn't he advocate eugenics? i have a problem with that - if we kill all the idiots, who will make our buggywhips and stoke our coal- furnace?

― your null fame, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Oliver Wendell Jones: Classic or Dud?

― Dan Perry, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

On principle, I denounce eugenics too. (The "three generations of imbeciles" line, from the case Buck v. Bell, came from an infamous Supreme Court case upholding a Virginia law that provided for sterilization.*) On the other hand, had "three generations of inbeciles are enough" been the rule, the world would have been spared both the Bush and Windsor families, which would unquestionably be a net good.

*The Supreme Court held that an Oklahoma sterilization statute unconstitutional. 316 U.S. 535 (1942).

― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Ahh, but those were the good old days when "imbecile" was a proper medical term.

I love the discussions here where I get to plug books I work with. How about Law Without Values: The Life, Work, and Legacy of Justice Holmes? See here, and don't even try to yell at me about being a marketer.

― Nitsuh, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I've killed the thread now, haven't I.

― Nitsuh, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

I thought the Bloom County ref was going to kill it, or at least divert it into something I could contribute to.

― Dan Perry, Friday, 7 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

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