Andrea Yates
“Doubt is to certainty as neurosis is to psychosis. The neurotic is in doubt and has fears about persons and things; the psychotic has convictions and makes claims about them. In short, the neurotic has problems, the psychotic has solutions.” ~ Thomas Szasz
“severe mental illness like psychosis can lead to a tragedy like this -- that people can see things that aren't real and hear things that aren't real and believe things that aren't real, and act in that distorted reality.” ~ Andrea Yates
I grew up with a psychotic parent. A very fucking scary psychotic parent. I have a foot in both camps--that of an abused child and that of an adult who understands how helpless people are to overcome their own psychosis. It has an enduring grip on them. I've had a few arguments about Andrea Yates. Here in Texas, we believe in punishing people. My friends find it difficult to understand how I can defend her, given my own history. I hold a lot of people responsible for what happened to her children. At the top of the list is her husband. He knew she was sick and he knew that she shouldn't be left alone with the kids. So why was she left alone with the kids? I hold her doctors responsible. She could only get whatever treatment her insurance company would cover. I hold Andrea responsible for not recognizing her own mental instability and following her treatment plan. That doesn't mean I don't have compassion for her. I can't imagine how it must feel to wake up every day, knowing you murdered your own children. Not only that you murdered them, but that there was some struggle to accomplish that feat. Her children did not wish to die. In her dreams, does she seee their faces as she held them underwater? I don't see much point in inflicting further punishment on her. I don't think there's anything we could do to her that would be worse than what she's done to herself. In her moments of clarity, she understands the monstrous nature of her behavior. I think we should face the facts and send her to a prison for the criminally insane. That's where she's been spending most of her time, anyway. On the other hand, I grew up in some fear that my father might kill me. It was not an unreasonable fear. I can imagine the terror her child faced as Andrea chased her through the house, caught her and drug her back to the bathroom, back to the bathtub with feces and vomit from the other children. I can not imagine looking up at your mother's face as she holds you underwater. Yes, it makes me angry for them. It makes me angry for all children who suffer at the hands of their parents. It makes me angry for the child I was. It's an interesting, but not unfamiliar equipoise. It's a conundrum I have yet to resolve. How much responsibility does the psychotic parent have? How much does the non-psychotic parent have? I anticipate a much closer look at those issues as we embark on another trial.
America held hostage day 1518
Bushism of the day: "It's totally wiped out. ... It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground." --turning to his aides while surveying Hurricane Katrina flood damage from Air Force One, Aug. 31, 2005
This is where things stand
No, Child Abusers Don't Generally Invite An Audience
“Whoever wishes to keep a secret must hide the fact that he possesses one.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I've been following the trial of a young man accused of killing his parents when he was 14. Many, many people who worked on the ranch where the boy lived were witness to episodes of abuse. In the prosecution's rebuttal case, they continue to call witnesses--police officers, teachers, principals, etc--and question them about whether they witnessed abuse while they were in the presence of the boy and his family. There were many who never saw anything. The prosecution asks repeatedly if anyone saw bruises. Here's the thing. Parents don't generally allow others to see the abuse. They know it's illegal. They also know that many people find that behavior completely unacceptable. We're not talking about spanking; we're talking about using hay hooks and various other implements to punish the boy. Abusers also know that you're a lot more likely to be able to get away with abuse if you hurt the child in places like the back, the upper thighs or other places not generally visible to outsiders. The prosecution called a child protective services worker who went out to the ranch to investigate allegations of abuse. The child was nine years old. The cps worker interviewed him some thirty feet away from his victimizers. He thought everything was fine because the boy didn't admit that there was any abuse going on. Brilliant. In my personal experience, I denied everything. I denied it because I knew those people would not be coming home with me to face the abusers. I would have been on my own.
Abusers don't generally forgive and forget ratting them out. That in itself would warrant some pretty awful punishment. Sometimes I wonder if anyone has any common sense. I mean, let's pause for a moment and think about it. Do you not think that unless there's an iron clad guarantee, no kid is going to risk being beaten to a pulp just to tell some idiot adult what terrible things are happening. My experience with sharing some part of my disastrous life never led to anything other than pity or disbelief. Abuse is endured alone. You can try to make yourself invisible. You can try to manipulate the abuser or, if you're a slow learner, to pleae the abuser. Discussing it with adults never got me anything of value. I suspect the same was true for this boy.
America held hostage day 1492 (That's right. I'm still counting.)
Bushism of the day: "One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."
