Reader response: remember even the forgotten Kennedys

My name is Derek Banov and I am a senior here at the College and also
serve as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Student Government Association. I
would therefore like to clearly emphasize that the following concerns are
that of my own personal volition and do not in any way reflect the
opinions of SGA.
I am writing in reference to Mr. Brunelle’s opinion article regarding the
late Senator Kennedy (“Liberal lion reigns over history, 9/3). While I certainly recognize and respect his passion for the legacy of Senator Kennedy there is a comment in the beginning of the article that is incorrect to say the least. While referencing the Kennedy family tragedies he states, “...[He] lost his sister to insanity...”
The sibling he is referencing is presumably Rosemary Kennedy. While it is
not talked about in the media very often, Rosemary was mentally
challenged and Joseph Kennedy Sr., the patriarch of the family, believed
that she was an embarrassment to the family. Subsequently, she was forced
by her father to undergo a lobotomy at the age of 23, and henceforth
lived in an asylum until her death in 2005.
Rosemary Kennedy was lobotomized. I realize that this was a minute
detail in the article but to say that she was “lost to insanity” is
simply inaccurate. She was lobotomized at the insistence of her father
who felt she was an embarrassment to the family. There are documented
quotes from Rosemary’s diary that prove that she was not insane, she was
a sweet person just like the thousands of mentally challenged
individuals living in this country today.
As the brother of a mentally challenged special needs student I am deeply
offended at the reference to Rosemary as “insane.”
Her sister Enunice spent her life repenting for the sins of the father
and she did a wonderful thing by founding the Special Olympics.

-Derek Banov