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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Talk of a Kennedy curse is nonsense, latest death of Kara revives idle chatter

Posted on Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 04:15 AM

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The latest Kennedy tragedy to hit, the death of Kara Kennedy, just 51, once more reveals how much this great family has suffered.

Untimely deaths run like a river through the history of the family and Kara is no exception.

Ted’s two other kids, Ted Junior, who lost a leg to cancer and Patrick who has had major substance abuse and alcohol issues illustrates just how tough the battle has been for the younger generation.

John Kennedy Junior was also a casualty of course, dying far too young in that Martha’s Vineyard plane crash.

His sister Caroline remains the only direct inheritor of the JFK family name as a result.

Is it a curse or is it just what any family so large and so extended would go through?

I believe it is the latter. Talk of a curse is nonsense really, this is a massive extended family, always under scrutiny and one which every illness and death is highlighted.

The madmen who gunned down JFK and his brother Bobby were not acting out some curse, but rather a twisted agenda of their own.

The death of this generation of Kennedys has actually been few and far between.

David died of a drug overdose, brought about by a very tough childhood after his father’s death. John died in a plane crash that arguably was avoidable, and that is really it until Kara’s death.

So talk of a curse, with such large numbers in a massive extended family is just nonsense. The Kennedys may not be that all American normal family but then who is these days?

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erieshark | Sep 21, 2011, 10:12 AM EDT

The Kennedy "curse" is because four of the 9 children of Rose and Joseph Kennedy Sr died of violent and early deaths. Joe Jr. died in the war, Kathleen was killed in a plane crash, and John and Robert were murdered by assasins. The following generation continued to have ill fates as listed above with two sons of Bobby, the son of Jack, and alcohol and drug abuse problems among the Kennedy off-spring. Did they have more than any large family? Of course they did which is why it was known as a "curse" on the family. Sadly they had more than their share of tragedy.

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RedBranch | Sep 19, 2011, 01:42 PM EDT

Michael collided with a tree while skiing. Apparently he was passing a football amongst his pals while going down the mountain. That isn't a curse, that's entitiled stupidity! Chappaquidick anyone?

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MegK311 | Sep 18, 2011, 10:47 PM EDT

I don't think the Kennedys suffer more tragadies than any other family. Because they are a large family there will be more deaths ect., than a smaller family. They are just in the public eye and we hear more about them.

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CitizenWhy | Sep 18, 2011, 05:38 PM EDT

The Kennedy curse was allededly put on them centuries ago when they still lived in Clare-Thomond. The same curser, if true, has workmed many strange tragedies in my own extended family.

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Sueliskelly | Sep 18, 2011, 01:39 PM EDT

Robert Junior is alive and well...it was David who died of a drug overdose...Michael died in a skiing accident..this is how rumors get started...lol

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snakehips | Sep 18, 2011, 11:47 AM EDT

Nature takes its course regardless of what you call it

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Rebelforce | Sep 18, 2011, 11:13 AM EDT

The so-called "Kennedy curse" revolves around President John Kennedy and his brother Senator Robert Kennedy being murdered. If murdering people is considered a curse, why don't we hear the Holocaust referred to as the "Jewish curse"?

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cHICAGOMAG | Sep 18, 2011, 06:16 AM EDT

Robert Kennedy Jr is alive and well and living in New York. He is an active environmentalist attorney who helped to save the Hudson River. David Kennedy is his brother who passed away, as did his brother Michael. Get your facts straight! There are always mistakes in Irish Central articles!

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