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."
