TLDR: Why was Thom Tillis portrayed as the champion in the NC Eugenics compensation/restitution program in this documentary?
http://worldchannel.org/programs/episode/reel-south-state-eugenics/
I watched this doc last night and it put me through the intellectual motions for the rest of the evening. There were so many thoughts and questions in this story that I don’t feel an hour really did it justice. But at the same time, I think an hour was enough of this horror, warmth, heartbreak and triumph (for fluctuating definitions of warmth and triumph).
It’s a story of NC’s involvement in the eugenics program. Its focus was on the state trying to make right by financially compensating these people who were its subjects, but the film took time to give a little taste of the history of the eugenics program within NC and the USA.
One of the things I appreciated about the doc was how *closely *we came to know the 3 (or 4) of the subjects that were part of the film. We really never got close to them for long, but the time the producer did get close was quite touching. We didn’t get sappily involved with their injustices but rather focused on how they were just people like all of us, folks with simple dreams and simple pleasures, each one just getting on with life as it’s dealt to them. One of the questions I had was, if the state had allowed them to have children, wouldn’t these folks have someone to take care of them now? Yes I know, that’s not a given. But I like to think the odds are >60:40.
Toward the end the focus was on Thom Tillis (R-NC) who was then the speaker of the NC house. According to the film, this dude really took the compensation issue by the horns and rodeo-ed this thing for years. The point was made that in 2014, since there was finally republican control in both houses and the governor’s mansion, the budget passed that included monies for the compensation and everyone cheering the republicans for their perseverance, etc. The Wikipedia article on NC Eugenics has no mention of Thom, btw. It does appear to need some updating, though.
I’m really puzzled b/c I’ve been led to believe that all Republicans are mean and evil, yet Thom came across as a real humanitarian here. I kinda like him now. I’d be easily swayed to believe that people are people and that Thom has a heart when he goes home at night, but even that doesn’t completely sit right with me. Was the film produced with Republican backing -or some other agreement- that called for the focus to be on Thom? Maybe the producer has a strong `pub background.
What I’m getting at is, why did the film focus on Thom Tillis? Was he really a champion of these people?
Though I do want to someday have answers to those questions, I was left with a feeling of “glad it’s done, whoever’s responsible”. Feel free to discuss the film, the producer, Thom, the NC Eugenics program, eugenics, politics or my grammar.