The Men of Atalissa | The New York Times

Now society has proof that they have been treating disabled recipients very bad on disability.

How do society think of your I Q? Who would reveal such a disgrace?

They treated these disabled people so bad. God don't like ugly. You reap what you sow.

Look how repulsive these women look. They are extremely over weight and not a care in the world about those people as long as they were eating good. Shameful.

This is so appalling and so disgraceful how do you treat the disabled this way? You are such wretched miserable people for such a disgrace. This is insane.

You just showed that you charged them over half of the their disability money on bills so how did they have clean clothes?

The families of these people should be given reparations for this disgrace.

They're showing traumatic abuse against disabled citizens. This is a lawsuit.

How sick! the people just didnt get it or were in denial!

What a sad story!! To do this to these men is an evil most never know!!

My heart breaks for these poor men. I will never understand how anyone can abuse the vulnerable like this.

Every facility should be marshaled by someone who can spot abuse on a regular bases. When it comes down to people who can't stand up for themselves, it is our job to stand up for them. No different than using prisons for cheap labor.

I expect most of the lynch mob commenters here have never worked closely with people with intellectual disabilities. This is not a good vs. evil conflict here. Nobody wanted to care for these men properly so they were warehoused. Where were their families? Then they got jobs at the turkey and made money! They felt like they mattered! Oh, and, hey, somebody has to prep your turkey people. That their jobs turned into slave labor was tragic and inevitable without government regulators doing their jobs. Where were they? The NYT doesn't go there either -- not that there was much regulating going on in farm country in the 70s. Anyway, the truth is somewhere in between the do-gooders commenting and the "evil-doers" in the documentary. The truth is always in the middle. I work with people with disabilities.

First off, they aren't "boy's"!
Second,
if Mr. Big ball's cared so much for these individuals.
He would have made it a point to be hands on.
Constantly checking in with them.
I'm well aware of the challenges of taking care of folks who have a diminished capacity.
But the onus is almost entirely on big ball's!
The shitbags that tormented these individuals were under his employ.

20:05
just like every seriously dysfunctional family!

Ladies, why don't you make quilts for the "boys"?
I'm thinking this might be a way for you all to "re-connect" with these men. Also, maybe send them some home baked bread.
Just a suggestion, but I know those would be tangible proofs of the fact that you all care and that you miss them.

Hoping the town put a memorial in place, of the bunkhouse. These men and their stories need always, to be remembered. How many situations, like this, are out there, now?.. Pay attention, to the tears of a clown

....so we just weren't looking. Excellent qoute by the lady at beginning of the Video.

2nd part- "So things that are happening around us we miss them"

"routine can be a dangerous thing for all of us because we stop looking at our to do list.". etc.... excellent qoute.should go down in history

Thank you for covering this and giving these men a voice.

It sounds like the Germans who said they didn't know what was going on in the concentration camps in ww2

Capitalism at its finest. Lord have mercy on us all. God bless

These people were failed!

Thank goodness for that wonderful redhead lady! If not for her those men would probably still be enslaved, none of the other townsfolk cared enough to speak up.

And this is the first world? Everybody is trying to blame other from the guilt.
The population of Atallissa are only trying not to be blamed for this slavery case...that's their only interest...not the mentally challenged people that lived there.....and they are right! They are not to be blamed.
The owner of the turkey factory should be incarcerated for slavery.
And the goverment should stop playing dumb with all that burocracy only to not pay them what they deserve, taking advatage of them because they are mentally challenge people that don't know best.
At the end.....if this is what the almighty united states of america takes care of cases like this.....you should be ashamed of youre selves!!! This is inmoral, unhumane and simply inacceptable.
Shame on you!

Seeing them dressed as clowns ....!! Horrific .

The whole town should have known. The men weren't allowed to go to the quick Mart. It's a horrible town. Nothing good can be said about the townspeople and the pastor or priest.

Sad story. Thanks for sharing. Those policemen didn't search very well if Alford Busby was found dead less than 2 miles away frozen in the snow on a farm. Seems fishy. SHAME ON THEM!

Man the way everyone was calling these men boys went from ight to naw drastically by the end.

There’s no excuse for this to have gone on as long as it did!!

I’m praying for these men..

this is disgusting and deplorable that these men STILL have not been properly compensated for their work.

And with all the outrage over this video in this comment section, people are still being blinded by their emotions. How do you think you got the meat you're eating today? Where does every ICE raid always take place? At meat processing plants. These disabled men have simply been replaced with employees living here illegally. Nobody is outraged by that though. Do you honestly think conditions are any better today as you feign outrage on your pretty cell phone, sitting on your soft couch, eating a turkey sandwich?

Im sorry but every single person in that community had a chance to step in.. i find it hard to believe that there wasn't muttered gossip about not trusting them etc etc.. You just know they were on that wave ever since they moved in! and now this news has broken.. ''ooh they were the best 'boys'''... they are men for a starters. MEN that had their lives taken from them. This is unforgivable. Enjoy your ghost town, because only now do you realise that those boys were keeping the whole town afloat..ALWAYS speak up if you see any kind of abuse, child, person, animal, whatever, ALWAYS speak up! there is only one man in this that i kind of respect for giving the initial tip off about the abuse... but these men were done so wrong, by everyone they came into contact with. I hope they get some pay out at least.. though, you cant put a price on a lifetime of experience that they have missed out on, never mind the abuse they endured. This has made me so angry.

Watching this and just assumed it must have happened decades ago.. im sickened to hear this ran to 2009.. wtaf. those poor men.. their whole lives taken and abused. This is so wrong :(

lol it not personal its just business, welcome to Capitalism you have to exploit something,

I still don't understand how this could have happened for so long! Its horrible and no charges to the turkey plant? Outrageous.

As long as there are people that can be taken advantage of, there will be unscrupulous people who will capitalize on it. It is a shame that this happened here, in this country.

I bet that Owner of the Turkey service company got a lot of money hidden away, sorry SOB that he is. They want it gone so it does not remind them that they failed their fellow human beings, what low life's.

Henry's service owner still claimed that they did a good service and the boys should be there with him when he knows his company MADE MILLIONS off those poor disabled boys!! Animal abusers get more fines and jail time than that man EVER DID OR WILL PAY!!! SO sad!! I always say when moms know they are having defective kids and know or can't take care of them PLEASE ABORT THEM UNLESS YOU WANNA READ ABOUT THEM BEING TREATED WORST THAN DOG!!!

George Bush Jr. on the right? 7:38

there's no such thing as an eleven-year old man

Ask yourself, What is the fate of females born into this situation. What happens to disabled women?

61dollars a month. Im not the smartest person but dam it. I think these owners owe these men or their living survivors a whole lot of money. Still to this day they call these men boys.

Well pay phones are out.. RADIATION IS IN... WHERE'S your cell phone! Keep it away from your head, Heart, & Genitals.

Don people don't like asking for help ! Especially not daily ! Hundreds of times in a month ! That's unspeakable ! Congrats on the fun game tho ! You winning yet ?

I could only stomach this disgusting story halfway. These abused MEN deserve so much more than what we can offer.

Of course it would benefit the ranchers behind it. Profit has become more important than people and it has been this way for decades.... edit 'the Magic of Simplicity'? That is clearly meant to be a tongue-in-cheek insult poorly disguised as a title.... u didn't realize because u never bothered to look into it....