Tell Them You Love Me Q+A
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Q&A with director Nick August-Perna, and subjects of the film TELL THEM YOU LOVE ME at ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York.
Caregiver, Consent, Crime, Disability Rights, Facilitated Technology, Relationships
This true-crime documentary follows the story of an esteemed university professor who becomes embroiled in a controversial affair with Derrick Johnson, a non-verbal man with cerebral palsy, leading to a criminal trial that would challenge our perceptions of disability and the nature of consent. Through exclusive footage and interviews, this feature documentary weaves a riveting and nuanced story about communication, race, and sex.
The family should have been allowed to speak more about Derek and their experience.
yes, they should have also presented to the court the testing that was done, to show that Derek could not connect pictures, with an object or an idea that he wanted, while many severely cognitive disabled folks like Derek can be taught that if they have consistent and persistent teaching as it is difficult and it takes some time, but 9 times out of 10, it can be done, , Derek, was not able despite years of people trying. but as far as that FC mess; if you do the research you'll see it has been debunked many times over: it is the facilitator typing, every, single, time. why its still promoted i have no idea, especially when things like teaching people how to use AAC devices , sometimes with adaptive buttons and switch access, , eye gaze, large track ball mouse ; also ASL, makaton signing, along with basic and modified sign language etc. to enable people to communicate spontaneous and autonomously. FC does not work, sorry, but i have seen it in my 21 years working in the adult disability services field and advocacy, it is the facilitator typing; and, you'll notice, with each so called ''facilitator'', the clients ''speech'' or typing patterns and styles fluctuates , the literacy levels vary, and personality is different with each facilitator.
yeah this random white guy wouldn't stop talking, I don't care if he produced the film, let the actual family speak. gross entitlement.
I couldn't listen to him. He really needed to shut up
@@meowmirrrlol right!!!? Shut up dude, pass that mic 😂
I tried skipping through video as he woke so I could hear someone else speak turns out he speaks most of the video 😞
What I loved in the documentary was when his mother said she loves him exactly how he is; he doesn’t have to be a savant for her to love him. That’s true love. Anna did not love him. She loved herself.
@@cantbendknee lol @ “garnered celebrity”. And what are you implying when you say it’s hard to know? To anyone with a working brain it’s clear Derrick’s family loves him dearly and they continue to advocate for him. It’s also clear that Anna Stubblefield is a rapist who took advantage of a disabled man. It’s clear that Anna only cared about herself. Those things are not at all difficult to know
@@cantbendknee how is it difficult to know? Maybe for YOU
She loved the fantasy image of him she created
Homeboy really spoke for 10 straight minutes with the actual family sitting right beside him. I think he has Anna Stubblefield syndrome.
honestly.
yup typical "powerful" white man. they're objects to him. it's all about him and his production. gross.
Thanks for that. I skipped over him.
This is a filmmaker’s panel. So obviously it will include great detail from the director about his connection to the subject matter and why he felt this was an important story to tell.
Exactly. Cool story, bro but if the panel is that short we don’t need to hear about your uncle’s camping trip stories.
Seeing Dwrrick like this is so eye opening. I can't believe Anna thought he could consent.
It’s crazy she still thinks he can.
Well she also said his movements were involuntary
She knew he couldn’t. But she just had to try to justify her own wants, regardless of how those wants affected Derrick, his family and her own husband and kids. She’s the epitome of selfish.
I reserve the right to be wrong but I don’t think either side was correct. Anna fabricated plenty and the family also exaggerated somethings too.
@@mikeslemonade I would like to know which part of this caused you to believe Derrick could have consented to any of this
if you do the research you'll see it has been debunked many times over: it is the facilitator typing, every, single, time. why its still promoted i have no idea, especially when things like teaching people how to use AAC devices , sometimes with adaptive buttons and switch access, , eye gaze, large track ball mouse ; also ASL, makaton signing, along with basic and modified sign language etc. to enable people to communicate spontaneous and autonomously. FC does not work, sorry, but i have seen it in my 21 years working in the adult disability services field and advocacy, it is the facilitator typing; and, you'll notice, with each so called ''facilitator'', the clients ''speech'' or typing patterns and styles fluctuates , the literacy levels vary, and personality is different with each facilitator.
thank you for your research and advocacy
How do we explain Derick’s papers and homework assignments that were “facilitated” by someone other than Ana?
In the film a girl used FC to help D write papers. They were on books that she never read.
What an incredible family. They moved mountains to make sure Derrek had every opportunity and support possible. Daisy has done an amazing job with her two boys, she's such a fantastic mother. I hope they know that what happened wasn't their fault and that they have all the joy and peace in their futures xx
An electronic keyboard is completely inappropriate and way too complex a tool for a man like Derrick to grasp. When a man is at this level of profound disability, the best his caretakers can hope for----and what would be the most useful adaptive tool in Derrick's case---would be learning how to hit large "Yes" or "No" buttons. I'm not even sure that he's at a level where he could use a very simple choice board with pictures. He probably wouldn't be able to understand, even if the board was extremely simplified with only 4 options, such as buttons for: "Eat/Hungry," "Hurt/sick," "I want," and "Bathroom." Facilitated communication is the disability caretaker's version of an Ouija board---it's the caretaker's hand that's guiding the speech.
Spot on!
I can't believe she removed his diaper to do him on the yoga mat and wherever else. If he could tell what he didn't like, how come he couldn't tell his mother he had to use he restroom?
That part about removing the diaper in order to do that- and her having the boldness to relay that - was absolutely vile.
Anna was wrong. But people with disabilities and wear diapers have secs.
Look how much DJ loves his brother. Man F that evil woman. I don't think she knew consciously, but a part of her MUST have known deep down...
This needed to be sooo much longer. I have so many questions!
if you do the research you'll see it has been debunked many times over: it is the facilitator typing, every, single, time. why its still promoted i have no idea, especially when things like teaching people how to use AAC devices , sometimes with adaptive buttons and switch access, , eye gaze, large track ball mouse ; also ASL, makaton signing, along with basic and modified sign language etc. to enable people to communicate spontaneous and autonomously. FC does not work, sorry, but i have seen it in my 21 years working in the adult disability services field and advocacy, it is the facilitator typing; and, you'll notice, with each so called ''facilitator'', the clients ''speech'' or typing patterns and styles fluctuates , the literacy levels vary, and personality is different with each facilitator.
I think it is so weird when you see people use FC. Sometimes they use it independently but a lot of the time, the disabled person is so clearly living in their own world. Not just that but the hurdle to overcome is so high. You need to not just be alphabetised, but be alphabetised to such a degree that you can spell independently and not just that, you have to be able to spell letter by letter and have to focus enough to do it. Obviously Derrick doesn't have the mental capacity for any of that.
U offered more clarity and specific details in ur post than the expert did in the documentary, so this is very interesting. It would be extremely interesting to compare the FC with Anna to the FC with Sharonda (I believe that was her name) for those changes in tone. Thanks for this insight!
Because people want to believe.
@@seanh8095 I don't think there ever was FC with Sharonda. I think she copied her roommate's book report and said Derrick did it.
It does work for some people. Read about Rosemary who helped the girl in the beginning of the film.
The filmmaker spoke too much. I hope that he is not another Anna simply exploiting this trusting Black family.
5 minutes in, that's why I said he talking toooooo much
I’m almost positive he’s just as narcissistic
Would so many people know about this story without the filmmaker? I doubt it. He spoke a little too long here but that doesn't equal "exploitation."
I enjoyed what he had to say. He was trying to talk about consent and why he made the film.
@@TwoCardinals I agree, it doesn't. I enjoyed what he had to say.
God bless John
Did the family consult about filing lawsuits against the rapist and Rutgers?
Yes they won a million dollar lawsuit against Anna
@@naturallynae352 She has a part time job and they won't get the money from her
Seeing Derrick here makes it very clear where he is mentally. Certainly there are some nonverbal people who are mentally capable but just not verbal. Derrick is an infant in a 30 something year old body.
He cannot give informed consent.
She r***d that man on the floor until he bled. She only got 2 years. Anna will not have fun in her next life.
This guy is talking too much
There is nothing on earth like the love, patience and endurance of a great mother!!!! Hats off to you Ms. Daisy. That lady that did that mess to Derrick was an apex predator. I am so sorry you, John and Derrick went through that trauma. I pray for you all's continued healing in Jesus name!
At 10:55 the good people let Miss Daisy Johnson speak.
At 16:55 Derrick’s brother John had a couple minutes.
This clip was too verbose. The questions were horribly worded.
The man with the brown sweater… nice gem.
Yeah I was irritated the filmmaker spoke for as long as he did trying to answer a question that made no sense to ask. Did what you think of consent evolve as you made this movie? It's pretty cut and dry but let me tell this story about my uncle that leads to nowhere and nothing. Uh uh hot potato Miss Johnson. She's like "I dunno what the question was but here's my story" then they hand it to John. What was the question? "Communication agency...how has it changed?" THAT was the original question??? John, being the g that he is, makes it through and then the filmmaker popped up again "Uh that relates to what I said about consent because blah blah blah" and you can see Derrick go "Bro I'm out"
Thank you for sparing me that ! 🙏🏼
The movie producer needs to shut up
It’s disgusting
Whoever did the editing in this video, the Interpreter is ahead of them speaking and it doesn’t match up. Somebody needs to fix that if you’re gonna have an interpreter very confusing.
The fact that this is an issue on a video about the disabled community and communication is frustrating!
Whether or not Derrick could consent, Anna was in a position if power over him. And the fact that she didn't do anything to correct that makes me thing she's either evil or delusionally stupid.
exactly
This is the most bizarre sickest unusual sexual emotional abuse I’ve ever heard of in my life
To me it was child abuse
I don't understand how she got let free and released early, even if FC works with some children it was clearly impossible for it to work with him, she literally just made up everything, you think at his cognitive abilitiy he was writing dissertations at university within months? She is Child rapist(because he has the mind of a child) and abusing her position as a proffessor to exploit disabled people. And she is free?
What other facilitators? Why didn't the use other forms of communication to "hear" him?
Did he consent to being shown to the world on Netflix 👀🧐
The family had too...
He wasn’t shown on the documentary for shits and giggles. He was shown to give you a clear idea of what his restrictions are and how severe his disability is. It was for a purpose; a good purpose at that. Stop being a clown and making unnecessary comments.
no but at the same time not everything needs consent
I am sure the family got paid generously for participating in the doc
The intro is just sucking the life out of everything. There has to be much more efficient way to get to the story. This forum was completely ineffective getting out the message they were trying to say. You need more than eight minutes of dialog to convey your message.
The "self description" at the beginning is insane... who came up with this nonsense?
And she didn't bother to introduce anybody else.
Should Derrick have been there? He's not a show animal.
Why shouldn't he be there? He is part of the family & a central issue is HIS consent.
@@maxmanx1294 The central issue is that he cannot give consent. He probably doesn't have a clue what's going on and shouldn't be paraded about.
Why dont they bring out the device and let him " tell us he lives her"???? How hard is that?
Because he cannot " use it" independently without her. The person who evaluated him did that.
bc he can’t
What are you smoking
Waffle waffle at the start
I was very frustrated with the film. I don’t think it was right to give Anna so much time to speak. Centering her, grants a certain level of validity to her perspective.
More focus should have been given to exposing her evil delusion. It would be so very easy to expose Anna’s outright lies.
This interview/panel essential starts at 10:43, so use this to skip past the boring ramble.
I, too, wanted to hear so much more from Derrick's family. This documentary disturbed me to the core. The first 10 minutes of this man waffling about the complexity of consent bothered me, a lot. To me, it is not at all complex. The woman who did this has some very serious mental issues, in my opinion.
I was a caretaker for a young man with CP for years. I would have come unglued if I would have ever even suspected a trusted person was doing anything so depraved to him.
I wanted to hear more from the film maker. I wish Louis Theroux was there
I am struggling with what is Derrick thinking? This is so over the top wordy. I wish he stop yapping. It's boring.
At a point he started just saying a bunch of nothing and restating things he had already said
And then basically interrupting to say she didn’t answer the question the way he wanted it answered so he had to reanswer the question for her the way he wanted it articulated… AS IF when he was asked a question he even remotely directly answered it.
Dignity of risk. Also everyone communicates. It's our job to learn how that works.
The mother was the most dynamic speaker. Clear, concise. uncomplicated, straightstraight forward and relaxed. Such a mature and confident woman. To raise such amazing sons; a scholar and a clean cut well taken care of sofa
the last comment comparing Derrick to furniture is so dehumanizing and unnecessary, shame on you
@@12Tecpatl THE meaning of ignorance is the inability to understand certain things whether educated or not. The meaning of clean cut is: 'a neat appearance'. Apart from being a college educated Registered Nurse that has years of experience and has to assess when doing patients admissions. Apart from that I have
common sense, wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Seek GOD to get these things before you make ignorant statements. Praying for you. 🙏✌️
@@12Tecpatl THE SHAME IS YOU❗️ YOUR IGNORANCE and INABILITY TO COMPREHEND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. No common sense. What about education❓️ IF ANY IT SEEMS NOT TO HAVE HELPED❗️Reading is a great hobby. Try that. ✌️
sofa?
16 minutes of the director ignoring the hosts' question 😅 the cringe description about her appearance and classifications. she came in hot with the question she felt was most important and not giving formal introductions or asking foundational questions about the goal of the documentary and how it began was very cringe.
To be fair, I have no idea how to answer that question. MY ideas of consent didn't change a damn . But worth noting is it's a Q & A that asked ONE question lol. She had this whole thing about who she is and what she does and what this movie means to her all about her...and then asks THAT.
Did we have to actually listen to the introduction? Why did she state she has a shaved head, floral dress, and tennis shoes? Does she think we're blind?
I was a little puzzled by that at first. Perhaps she there might be some blind people listening.
@frenchguy83 You just exposed your privilege with not a single ounce of humility. Gross. Did it not occur to YOU that people in the audience might be vision impaired? Did it not occur to you that people on this APP might be vision impaired? What a disrespectful comment when the answer is so obvious. Ableism is real. You just exposed yourself. Do better.
She works with people with diabilities, so prob for the blind
im sick of people pigeonholing themselves, and making that their primary reasons for feeling, or doing what have ya, look at Morgan freeman, Neil degrass Tyson the scientist: these guys, just to name a few, do not go around constantly saying ''as a black person.....'' in fact both of them are against using that as the focal point, or the reason, they are successful or the reason they struggled at certain points, etc. Neil Tyson said it best: he wont speak about his successes at conferences that are about ''being black'' or any events that are MLK or black history month; why? because he said that if people are most focused on me as a scientist because im black, then im not being a good scientist. my skin tone has nothing to do with my success, my attitude, my drive, my self discipline, my motivation, my intelligence should be the focus and the main keys to success as a scientist.
Why are non-black people so eager to erase the skin I've inhabited my whole life? When you look at me you see black person. I can't change my voice or act a certain way to erase my skin tone. I am forced to acknowledge my skin because society sees this skin and makes judgements on me. When you have someone casually call you a slur, have housing applications denied without much explanation, are told you are too angry, or are "sassy" maybe you'll understand why I cannot erase blackness from my experience of the world. Neil and Morgan are not good examples because there is a type of black man who when they receive wealth and status begin to believe race no longer applies to them because they have so much other privilege. What they fail to realize is that that privilege is conditional, and all it takes is one wrong step for people to take that all away. I love and I'm proud of my blackness but I know the world doesn't feel the same way, why else would me acknowledging it bother people so? You are sick of tired of people mentioned their blackness but not sick and tired of discrimination and racism. Maybe it wouldn't matter if it didn't apply but it does.
Then don’t do it. However, for several people being Black is integral to who they are (perhaps as much or more than being a scientist). I really can’t see how others can determine what portion of a person’s identity that person would like to focus on. Especially when it contributes greatly to their worldview. Whether it’s being a woman, or a New Yorker, an opera lover, a renowned physicist, a cat dad…you can’t tell people what parts of their identity to cherry pick for your comfort.
ok
Unpopular opinion: u wished to discover Derek’s capacity for personal agency despite his inability to communicate verbally, but then ignored his capacity for personal agency because u felt he couldn’t understand his experiences due to his inability to communicate verbally. Is it unreasonable to believe that he fell in love with the first person outside of his direct family who truly communicated with him? Is it unreasonable to believe that person could fall in love with him? The former conclusion implies manipulation while the latter implies delusion when viewed from a cynical perspective. What if they were sincere though? What if she was sincere? What if…
she was talking to herself. she manipulated everything you are not allowed to take advantage of the disabled no matter what
@@crayCray420Perhaps that’s a reasonable assumption. Perhaps it’s also reasonable to believe that the disabled deserve love too, and that he was lucky enough to find it. Kinda seems like she significantly improved his quality of life, and his family took that away because they believed that she couldn’t possibly love him so it had to be manipulation. What if they were wrong though? 🤔
@crayCray420 if you think creating a narrative about romance and self pleasure is this disabled mans fantasy is really what Derrick wants you are crazy
This woman was attracted to black men she found one she could create a romantic fantasy in her own mind.
What’s disgusting is that she has done irreversible damage to Derrick and his family and BECAUSE she’s educated and white and a woman she got away with it .
It is unfair to use the analysis used to judge his initial capacity by his rapist.
@@marieechante4412 Ur drawing the conclusion that he couldn’t understand so he couldn’t possibly consent. Stephen Hawking may have disagreed with that assessment. Intimacy and sense of connection are on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, but u have decided that his disability prohibits the satisfaction of that need. I can’t know her heart or his, but the idea that he couldn’t possibly have the capacity for romantic love speaks volumes about the limitations u put on him because of ur perception of his disability.
She goes through the trouble of describing her race, hair, dress, and shoes; she missed a big one--that she is very overweight
Irrelevant. Troll off
Can sombody educate me... why didthe lady started i troducing herself like that?. Was it for visually impared people?. Like i could see her and see what she is wearing...
I find this situation to be sad and confounding. I am quite familiar with trauma disorders, through personal experience. From my perspective, I am wondering if perhaps Anna formed a special bond with Derrick that allowed him to open up and to communicate. There is a lot of convincing and compelling evidence indicating that Derrick truly is an intelligent adult with agency, deep thought, emotions, etc. There is also compelling evidence that Derrick is severely mentally retarded. However, I have a theory as to how these two seemingly contradictory conclusions can both seem to be true at the same time. I still have hope that Derrick is intelligent, and here is my case: the mother and brother’s disownment and complete separation of Derrick and Anna was in itself a severe trauma to Derrick, rendering him to essentially shut down. There is also a very simple way to prove this theory-reunite Anna with Derrick, under strict supervision, and utilize a third party facilitator to hold Derrick’s arm, and see what happens. Allow Anna and Derrick to repair and reforge their special bond, their loving connection. This, sadly, will likely never happen, and I cannot help but to feel terrible sadness for Derrick. His is a very sad, lonely existence.
The most intriguing part of this documentary is this apparent failed facilitated communication once Anna was disowned and separated from Derrick. Why could he suddenly no longer use the keyboard? It seems as if he was never able to, and that Anna was, perhaps inadvertently, influencing his typing. However, it seemed, almost conclusively, that this was not the case-the best evidence being the papers written by Derrick during his African American Literature course. These papers were written with the assistance of a third party that was not familiar with the course subject matter. How else could this be explained, other than Derrick being an intelligent agent?
Secondly, the records saved on the electronic keyboard, partially shared in the documentary, also (strongly) suggest intelligence and agency. It is quite interesting that this data transcript was not admissible in the original court case. Even more interesting, Anna’s conviction was overturned, because of this obvious mistake on the part of the court. The recorded data on that keyboard must be quite compelling, and I wish that it would be made public. Obviously the family is holding on to this tightly, as it would destroy their desired narrative and prosecution. Shame on the family. Shame.
So why then is Derrick suddenly no longer able to utilize facilitated communication? As stated above, I argue that perhaps his mother and brother, disowning and separating Anna, was in itself, a severe trauma to Derrick, and his family was essentially saying “No Derrick, you are not a free man, you are not intelligent, you are not allowed to have your own life, you are not allowed to live and love outside of our preferred, benighted existence. You, Derrick, are simply retarded and unintelligent. No woman could ever love you.” This, I argue, could explain his sudden inability to communicate.
Another interesting aspect to this story is that Anna, is clearly well-intentioned, and clearly she did (and perhaps still does) love Derrick. She loved this man, despite his severe disabilities. She did not groom Derrick. She did not encourage secrecy in any way. She has been, and still is, an open book. She encouraged Derrick to inform his family of the relationship. If Anna was looking to take advantage of Derrick, this would simply not have been the case. She would have encouraged secrecy and she likely would have denied everything and lied. How can anyone assume ill intent? Why would she tell the mother and brother about the relationship? Why? Someone, please, explain this to me. It’s nonsense. It’s devastating.
Again, my argument is that the mother and brother’s decision to disown and separate Derrick and Anna was in itself a severe trauma. Imagine how this would affect his already feeble mind? It would be devastating. Enough, perhaps, to inhibit his ability to communicate via facilitated communication.
I wish and hope, in futility, for Anna to reunite with Derrick, under strict supervision, and that perhaps once and for all we can discover the true ability and person that is Derrick Johnson.
Anna will most likely be trolling this site trying to add doubt ...sad situation if a woman who is suppose to help turns around and rapes her patient.
No, the only trauma disorder is Anna's Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
I agree with you and mirror all of your questions and wonderings. I wish they explored more around the college course he took. Seems like a perfect 3rd party account.
Alright. So John devised a simple test. He asked Derrick "Who is Georgia?". Derrick "typed" someone in high school. The correct answer was his aunt. The second woman who raised him. John asked for a follow up question and Anna refused. Eventually she relented and he got the second question wrong as well. So Derrick is so smart he can't figure out who his aunt is?? Or is the simple explanation that Anna did not know the correct answers.
Anna wanted the family to know she was having a relationship with Derrick because it would legitimize her delusions.
"the best evidence being the papers written by Derrick" They were written WITH Anna over a period of months. And the book report with the other student...she said in police documents that derrick's book report basically had the same things as her roommate's book report. How did she know what her roommate's book report said unless she read it. If she read it...then she can easily reproduce it for Derrick. So no, these are not compelling pieces of evidence.
The recorded data on the keyboard....IS IN THE DOCUMENTARY...how is it a guarded secret in your eyes?
Also why didn’t they think to give him Derek sign language for a way to communicate
I dont think he's able to. He has a severe learning disability.
He has a lot of spasticity due to his cerebral palsy so it’s hard for him to do movements like that unaided
he can't control his hands
I want you to watch him for 2 minutes. Do you think he can sign anything? He has cerebral palsy he can't control his hand movements most of the time.
He has a severe intellectual disability. The man has practically zero linguistic vocabulary. Sign language is a language-and a sophisticated one at that. You seem to think everyone understands and can use language, but it’s simply not true. He can communicate (by tapping on the refrigerator to indicate he wants something to eat, for example), but he lacks the linguistic skills needed for a complex language like ASL.
This family did such a disservice to Derrick
I feel like their initial actions were very much motivated by obtaining a financial settlement from Rutgers University. I have only just turned on the video but I don't get why they want to revisit this issue.
Maybe because they need to raise the issue if these narcissistic people who take advantage of someone for their own benefit....😊
@@SandyBeaches.100 What about Derick's right to privacy and dignity? Some pretty personal things are revealed such as his use of diapers etc. Pretty sure she is profoundly mentally ill and thought they were in love as well. It was still wrong and she still committed a crime but all signs point to her having delusional beliefs about them being in love.
@@benjaminscott3025 if a crime wasn't committed, his privacy would be intact. Advocacy happens when people speak up to help others....
@@SandyBeaches.100 There are plenty of situations where the names and identities of victims of crimes are concealed because it is considered in their best interest. When a dependent person's guardian's preference is not in line with a vulnerable dependent's best interest then this is often when a guardian ad litem becomes involved.
It makes me sick that these people are exploiting Derrick, and making money off him.
So they’re making money off of him just like I thought, extortion poor guy. He still can’t speak for himself. His family is making money off of him.
His brother has a PHD and is married to an ER Physician I think he's doing fine for money.
Why do you assert that the family is profiting from Derrick &/or his abuse?
They haven’t profited off him. They might have won the lawsuit but it’s very unlikely they will receive anything because Anna would have to pay it and she’s basically unemployable in her field now. Maybe they got some money to make the Netflix film but it’s going to go toward his aging mother caring for Derek. The son is very well off. I do not get the impression of extortion what so ever. They are trying to share their experience after a hugely controversial documentary.
@@EmilyElizabethxox It is a little bit of both
Derrick doesn’t want to be on that stage. They are clearly parading his differences to prove their case
Would you concede that if irrefutable evidence proving that Derrick is in fact aware, intelligent, and having agency, that he could then, also provide consent?
This is the crux of the situation-is, or is not, Derrick an intelligent mind with agency? If yes, then the entire debate ends. If no, then we still have a debate-Anna’s true intentions. To be clear-if we could prove Anna’s intentions were indeed false, deceptive, selfish, and predatory, then she should suffer the complete consequences of such actions. The documentary however, provides much evidence to the contrary, namely Derrick’s papers and other revealed data messages from the electronic keyboard, the testimony of Devva Kasnitz, as well as the personal testimony of Anna’s herself. Let us remember also, that the family is refusing to release the entirety of the text data stored in the keyboard.
Currently, there is compelling evidence showing that no, Derrick is not intelligent, does not have agency, and could not provide consent (as seen later in the documentary). It does not, however, prove Anna’s intent. It does not prove her to be a narcissist, “white savior,” seeking power and control over a severely mentally disabled man. It can both be true that Derrick could not provide consent, and that Anna could have believed otherwise (even if mistaken). In other words, Anna was perhaps well-intentioned, but gravely mistaken. This would imply that Anna’s, yet unproven, influence over the facilitated communications was perhaps subconscious and unintentional. This is quite a stretch. I concede that this seems implausible, but arguably quite possible, given the scientific consensus on the psychology of the human mind (namely bias, self-deception, illusion of Self, etc.). The documentary certainly provides compelling evidence that Anna was, maybe, well-intentioned.
I believe the initial court ruling was the best decision possible, given the available evidence. The most conclusive being the testimony or deposition of Dr. Howard C. Shane. He met with Derrick, and Derrick was unable to demonstrate intelligence, beyond that of an infant, essentially. After the separation from Anna, Derrick was suddenly unable to communicate. He could no longer utilize the facilitated communication technique using the electronic keyboard. This is confounding. How could this possibly be, unless everything with Anna was falsified-unless Anna was in fact influencing his communications? Or perhaps Anna was outright in control of his every word, one typed letter at a time. Much evidence however, points to Derrick being the one in control; namely the actual, literal words used, the sentence structures, the perspective, and the fact that it wasn’t always Anna facilitating. So was this a conspiracy with the other facilitator? Doubtful. But again, why then could Derrick suddenly no longer communicate??? If he is truly intelligent, with agency, why wouldn’t he defend himself? Why wouldn’t he choose to communicate with his own mother and brother? This would also seem doubtful. So is Derrick intelligent or not?
If Anna was so incredibly intelligent enough to fake all the communication data on the keyboard, and conspire with others, with ill-intent, why then would she be so foolish as to encourage Derrick to disclose the “loving relationship,” the sexual intercourse? How would that benefit her in any way? Surely she wouldn’t, as a predator, have willingly confessed to her crimes? This is confounding and so difficult to make any sense out of. Can anyone explain this, aside from asserting that she is a manipulative, narcissistic mastermind, with the desire to leave her marriage and openly continue a long term relationship with Derrick? How can this be explained?
So how could this be resolved? Only one way-prove conclusively that Derrick is in fact an intelligent mind with self awareness and agency. How can we do this? By reuniting Anna with Derrick, under strict, clinical supervision, with the support of the family, and using a third party facilitator for the facilitated communication (the use of the electronic keyboard). This will never occur however, so the argument is moot. We will never know and therefore we must all remain agnostic. Any other conclusion, although seemingly reasonable, is unfounded and unprovable.
The most frustrating component of this story is the fact (as shown in the documentary) that Derrick was supposedly, intelligently communicating via facilitated communication for a period of time, and then suddenly, apparently, unable to do so after revealing his relationship with Anna, and subsequently his mother and brother disowning and separating Anna and Derrick indefinitely.
My theory is that, perhaps, just maybe, the mother and brother’s complete disownment and separation of Anna and Derrick was in itself a severe traumatic experience for Derrick, resulting in an unknown, and likely unknowable, cognitive and emotional response from Derrick.
Imagine, please, if he really does have some form of advanced intelligence and agency, that of an adult, and he seemed to have, miraculously, found love, a loving relationship with a woman who cared deeply for him, and suddenly it was taken away from him. How could his mind respond? Would this be a severe trauma, to have this all taken away from him?
Perhaps by shutting down and becoming further dysfunctional, regressing, perhaps rebelling against his family, perhaps by suffering from a special, or unique case of PTSD? How would this trauma impact his already unique mind?
This is a theory, admittedly difficult for most people to understand, and perhaps quite esoteric, requiring a thorough knowledge of psychology, trauma, and mental illness, as well as an open mind.
To be clear, I am not asserting this to be true, but only asking the question if it might be true. Might Derrick actually be an intelligent, self-aware mind with agency, hopes, dreams, and a chance at a better, meaningful existence? Sadly, we will never know.
Certainly Anna made a critical misjudgment in engaging with Derrick physically. She made a serious mistake. Regardless, she must be, and perhaps already has been, held accountable for these grave errors. However, there is not enough conclusive evidence to outright declare that Derrick is in fact severely mentally retarded and unable to consent. What if Derrick is intelligent, but suffering from a complex case of PTSD from the trauma of losing Anna? Could this be possible? Unlikely, I admit, and moot, as we will never know, but there is too much compelling evidence that Derrick might actually be intelligent.
I do not side with Anna. I do not forgive her behavior. I have compassion and sympathy for Derrick’s family. But I also have hope for Derrick, and tremendous fear and sadness that he may truly be an intelligent man, trapped in perpetual despair and unfathomable suffering, unable to ever defend himself or recover, unable to express himself, unable to even find any relief.
What is his current quality of life? What would it have been if he were able to continue his apparently loving relationship with Anna? Was it so bad that Anna loved him? Was it so bad that Derrick was attending classes and, as shown in the documentary with a third party facilitator, able to write intelligent thoughts? I am an advocate for Derrick Johnson.
Facilitated communication is a pseudoscience, he never was communicating like Anna said, and Anna fell in love with the image of Derrick she painted in her own mind. There is no question here about what happened unfortunately.
Anna can be well-intentioned AND delusional. Three separate medical professionals have evaluated Derrick and came to the SAME conclusion yet you want to believe a NON-PROFESSIONAL. Okay...okay... you're one of those people.
I am 100% sure that he missed Anna and that cutting her off like that affected him in a negative way. But she should never have had intimate relations with him, until she found another teacher and left the job of teacher him. she should've spoken to a professional about her feeling and how to handle them
Glass jugs of drinking water from the taps is better for us all than water bottles made of plastic....cheaper all round so better for our health . Please lets do that from now on and prevent the huge companies making more plastics that we have to tidy up :-)
I just think that the mother and son/ brother made it as a black family thing.....and was looking to make some money..
They also stood to lose the money that they were being paid by the state for being Derricks 24/7 care givers and rent money.
🙄
"oh my god he masturbates!"
Sydau
Omg you are sick in the head that’s what you got from this case. Thank God there’s a process selecting jury, it’s to rule out people that think like you
Not Derrick telling his brother to stfu at one point 😂