Switched at birth

[Racket_Man]

60 years ago (Please remember this time line) 2 babies were accidently switched in a Japanese hospital.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...verty#comments

One set of parents were very well off and of high standing. their "son" got a great education, a great upbringing and went on to lead the "predictable" good life.

The other set of parents were in poverty. Their "son" also stayed poverty living off of welfare and living in a run down crappy apt.

The first parents, for some reason became concerned that their "son" (the eldest) did not resemble them. DNA test were done in 2009 and the "mistake" was discovered.

after an extensive search was done the "real" son was discovered. The real son sued the hospital and was granted the equivilant of $370,000.

A life wasted??? Does your parents "standing" in society and your maturation environment matter???? Bitter much?????

[Gravekeeper]

A life wasted??? Does your parents "standing" in society and your maturation environment matter???? Bitter much?????

In Japan? Oh Hell yes.

Plus Japan has a terrible problem with poverty and homelessness. Japan's poverty rate is almost the same as the US, but condensed into a much smaller nation with a high population density and a strict social order. Especially when it comes to businesses and employment.

So yeah, he could be fucked for life if he was born into poverty. Just like a lot of people in the US are.

[SongsOfDragons]

This sounds like a plot for a musical... >.<

I wonder what's happened to the other man who was switched? How must he be feeling about the whole situation? I suppose it's better that he's sixty now, possibly with his own house and family, and not twenty and still potentially needing the support of his parents.

[Ginger Tea]

Although it says he goes drinking with his brothers, it's not clear from it's wording if it also includes the man who should have been him, but it would be uncomfortable I'm sure to see the man you would have been when you are the one going home to a nice house etc.

At least he wasn't suing the other child, he did not cuckoo himself into the others crib, given the time though, why did they not see the resemblance or lack there of sooner, the man was 60 and DNA testing has been around for longer than I care to remember. It's not the first nor will it be the last and elements to this tale have been used in stories for a long time.

The movie Big Business (I think that was the title) stared Bette Middler and Lilly Tomlin as identical twins switched at birth so they grew up as non identical twins (2 egg twins happen so nothing out of the ordinary) then they find the other twins living with another family when the rich ones set out to redevelop something to do with the poor ones that they take offence too, leading to shenanigans. This is meant to be based off a comedy of errors or another Shakespearean play.

[s_stabeler]

A life wasted??? Does your parents "standing" in society and your maturation environment matter???? Bitter much?????

actually, yes, to an extent. Off the top of my head: 1) insufficient nutrition in childhood can cause someone to be less intelligent ( there are a couple fo reasons, one is it can affect the brain's development, and the second is thta a kid living in poverty has more things to worry about- like ( in some cases) where their next meal is coming from 2) it means that the kid was brought up to rely on government assistance. There IS an effect where someone can become dependent on handouts.

[Andara Bledin]

A life wasted??? Does your parents "standing" in society and your maturation environment matter???? Bitter much?????

Regarding parents standing: Yes, it actually matters quite a bit.

And, as mentioned, Japan has a much more rigid social structure than the US.

And, as also mentioned, being poor has a detrimental effect on intellect. Worrying about money drops your cognitive abilities to a significant degree and actually interferes with a person's ability to make rational decisions. The reason so many poor people make bad decisions is because the very state of being poor interferes.

This ties in with the fact that poor people spend the majority of their time worrying about where their money is coming from, how much it is, what they have to spend it on, what they're going to let slide because they won't have enough, and how to get more. Add in that many people in poverty are also suffering from depression (which is almost never diagnosed and treated even less often), and it's really no wonder that it's a cycle.

[HYHYBT]

I only see three possible ways for it to be right for him not to sue the hospital and win: they didn't mess up, it didn't cost him anything, or there's a statute of limitations. The first two obviously aren't true.

[hinakiba777]

A lot of the points about Nutrition, Japan's social classes, etc has already been mentioned so I won't repeat it.

However, there is also the fact that the environment you grow up in affects things like grammar and vocabulary. I am unsure about Japan in this case, but among English Speakers children from high social classes tend to have larger vocabularies, as their parents tend to use larger vocabularies. These are gaps that appear even at age three, and can easily affect how the child performs once school begins. Usually these gaps tend to intensify, not diminish, once formal education begins.

[Kheldarson]

A lot of the points about Nutrition, Japan's social classes, etc has already been mentioned so I won't repeat it.

However, there is also the fact that the environment you grow up in affects things like grammar and vocabulary. I am unsure about Japan in this case, but among English Speakers children from high social classes tend to have larger vocabularies, as their parents tend to use larger vocabularies. These are gaps that appear even at age three, and can easily affect how the child performs once school begins. Usually these gaps tend to intensify, not diminish, once formal education begins.

Actually...it's not because the parents have larger vocabularies, specifically. It's because their parents have the most available time to read to them and teach them the vocabulary. It's why schools emphasize parental involvement at all ages, but particularly at the early ages. Parents are the primary teachers.

[Hyena Dandy]

My concern is that they'll try to take the money from the son who went to a higher-class household.

[draco664]

My concern is that they'll try to take the money from the son who went to a higher-class household.

Under what possible statute could they do that?

[s_stabeler]

Under what possible statute could they do that?

it doesn't have to be under a statute- it would be a civil action, and those are more or less " you owe me money because..." not " you broke the law because..."- BIG difference.