Kennedy curse

The Kennedy Curse refers to a series of unfortunate events that have happened to the Kennedy family. While these events could have happened to any family, some have referred to the continual misfortune of the Kennedy family as a curse. The improbability of so many repeated instances of misfortune within one family, especially two high-profile political assassinations, has raised questions as to whether the curse results from sheer bad luck or from coordinated violence against the Kennedy family. However, detractors argue that given the sheer size of the family the number of unfortunate events is not unusual. As well, the high visibility of the family means these events are subject to a degree of public scrutiny that most families would not be subjected to. Finally, as most of the events were caused or at least made more likely by risk-taking behavior by the Kennedys themselves, the "curse" may be seen less as a supernatural phenomenon than simply as an operation of the laws of probability.

Chronology

Believers in the "curse" generally cite the following events as evidence of the family's misfortunes, while others claim that it has something to do with a scorned woman placing an actual curse on family patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy.

• 1941 - Rosemary Kennedy is given a lobotomy to treat what may have been mild mental retardation or perhaps dyslexia. The results are disastrous, and she will remain in an institution until her death in 2005. This interpretation has emerged more recently. Earlier, some biographers (including a Kennedy documentary which aired on a major network) showed that Rosemary was subjected to a lobotomy to neutralize her rebelous, misbehaven "bad girl" side before her continued actions would negatively affect a Kennedy's son (John, Robert, Ted) bid for President - a precaution taken by the Kennedy Family when John and Robert were early teens.
• 1944 - Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., the eldest son of the Kennedy patriarch Joseph Kennedy, is killed over the English Channel while flying a voluntary mission during World War II.
• 1948 - Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish dies in a plane crash in France.
• December 19, 1961 - Joseph P. Kennedy, the family patriarch, suffers a greatly disabling stroke which makes movement and communication extremely difficult and limited until his death.
• August 7, 1963 - Patrick Bouvier Kennedy , the second son of John and Jacqueline Kennedy, dies several days after his birth, nearly six weeks premature.
• November 22, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas (see John F. Kennedy assassination).
• June 6, 1968 - Robert F. Kennedy, brother to both John and Ted, is assassinated in Los Angeles, immediately following his victory in the California Democratic presidential primary (see Robert F. Kennedy assassination).
• 1969 - "Chappaquiddick Incident" - Ted Kennedy drives off a bridge after leaving a party near the beach. Mary Jo Kopechne, a former aide to Robert Kennedy, dies in the accident.
• 1973 - Edward Kennedy, Jr. loses his right leg due to bone cancer.
• 1973 - Joseph P. Kennedy II, son of Robert and Ethel, is the driver in a Cape Cod car accident that leaves one passenger permanently paralyzed.
• 1973 - Alexander Onassis, stepson of Jacqueline Kennedy, dies in a plane crash.
• 1983 - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is arrested in South Dakota for heroin possession.
• 1984 - David A. Kennedy, another son of Robert, dies from a Demerol and cocaine overdose in a Palm Beach, Florida hotel room.
• 1986 - Patrick J. Kennedy, a son of Senator Ted Kennedy, begins treatment for cocaine addiction.
• 1988 - Christina Onassis, stepdaughter of Jacqueline Kennedy, dies of drug abuse-related heart failure.
• 1991 - William Kennedy Smith, son of Jean Kennedy, is accused of raping a woman in Palm Beach, Florida. He is tried and acquitted.
• 1997 - Michael Kennedy, son of Robert, becomes embroiled in a adultery scandal involving allegations of statutory rape; later the same year, he is killed in a skiing accident in Aspen, Colorado.
• 1999 - John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and Carolyn's sister Lauren Bessette, died when the private plane Kennedy was piloting crashes into the Atlantic Ocean on a hazy afternoon en route from Essex County Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey to Martha's Vineyard.
• 2002 - Michael Skakel, nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, is convicted in the 1975 murder of teenage neighbor Martha Moxley.

Refutations of The "Cursed"

Some skeptics follow the belief that the Kenedy curse is to some extent a self-fulfilling prophecy where the actions of the family memebers enhance their risk for tragic events. A few refutations of the "cursed" events:

• 1941 - Rosemary Kennedy, risk taken: This surgery was non-standard and still in its experimental stages. Failure was far more common than success.
• 1944 - Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.,risk taken: Volunteering for a virtual suicide mission, flying a plane loaded with explosives.
• 1948 - Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish, risk taken: Flying in weather that caused the pilot initially to refuse to fly.
• December 19, 1961 - Joseph P. Kennedy was 73 years old; not an uncommon age for a stroke, especially in 1961.
• August 7, 1963 - Patrick Bouvier Kennedy 's death, while tragic, was not uncommon. Children born six weeks premature had less than a 50 percent survival rate in 1963.
• November 22, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy ordered the bubble protection taken off his limousine, against Secret Service protocol, and allowed the motorcade to take a route that necessitated slowing to a near-stop in a highly populated area.
• June 6, 1968 - Robert F. Kennedy exited through an unsecured kitchen to be "near his people," again against Secret Service protocol.
• 1969 - "Chappaquiddick Incident" - Ted Kennedy was allegedly driving drunk; in addition, the physical evidence indicates Kennedy was not in the car at the time of the "accident."
• 1983 - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was trafficking in illegal drugs, thus brought about his own arrest.
• 1984 - David A. Kennedy was a recreational narcotics user, and thus brought about his own death.
• 1986 - Patrick J. Kennedy was a recreational narcotics user, and thus brought about his own addiction.
• 1988 - Christina Onassis was a recreational narcotics user, and thus brought about her own death.
• 1997 - Michael Kennedy was playing a very dangerous game without proper safety equipment.
• 1999 - John F. Kennedy Jr. was flying in conditions which caused other pilots to cancel flights; also flying in dangerous conditions with very little experience.
• 2002 - Michael Skakel killed someone, and thus brought about his own arrest.

See also

• Coincidence theory