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I don't necessarily group people who receive public assistance in with child abusers though. Sometimes people fall on hard times. Those programs were created because Americans don't want to see children and old people starving on the street.
People who abuse the system, and those that abuse children deserve punishment.
oh, I agree. I do however know people that have been on assistance that have had multiple kids they could not afford. No job, living in the projects, etc.
IMO the option should be given
This is an issue in my town now too. There was an article saying that the abuse being seen now is more severe and brutal. Could this be tied to the economy's problems? Statistics show that domestic violence goes up when unemployment is higher.
From a young age, some are bombarded with violence, more and more. Video games, TV, movies, the more blood and guts the better. After a while, I personally believe, some are desensitized.
I also think the TV shows glamorize these events and some sickos out there just want their 15 minutes of fame.
Years ago, you rarely heard about a child being harmed or murdered by a parent. Now, you see all the time. The same goes for spouses killing each other. I am stunned when I see another "well-educated person supposedly murdering his wife....I mean, what were they thinking?
Our movies are more violent, the TV shows have dropped their boundaries, the comedy shows are more and more disrepectful. The envelope keeps getting pushed.
I feel fortunate that I grew up with pretty decent TV shows but I feel sorry for this generation of 11-17 years olds who think reality TV is it.
I agree with this, in that there is a disproportionate amount of child abuse and deaths relating to these categories (that is kind of a contorted sentence....<s>). I do not believe that all child abusers are sociopaths or that drug abusers are necessarily sociopaths , by my understanding of sociopathy. Are sociopaths born or made ? I believe that the need for the drugs are
the main source of child abuse and deaths. An addict will do anything for a fix, neglect the children, turn thier anger at not getting a fix toward the children, etc. But, yes, some people are just plain sociopaths from the get go and are born evil.
All I know is that we must find a way to get a handle on what is happening to these children. I believe it is symtomatic of where our society is heading, the lack of moral values and lack of training children how to be good citizens and human beings, placing emphasis on doing the right thing and not seeking instant gratification......the family is fragmented, children are left to grow up on their own, while being
bombarded with violent movie, tv, games, gangs and peer pressures.
I don't know whether anything I said makes any sense, I just know we have to find a way to try and save as many children as we can from this horror.
There is a disproportionate amount of child abuse and child deaths in these categories.
This is not a racist or classisit statement. It's a documented statement. Social research supports this.
What is wrong with better educated parents, who are not frightened that they will not be able to make ends meet, who are not obsessed with finding a boyfriend or girl friend, and who do not feel cheated from having fun in their late teens and early 20s?
It's normal to want to have fun then. But the definition of fun, needs to be expanded from sex and drugs to learning and wholesome social interaction. Good self esteem from the the completion of a vocational program, a little travel, and some work experience would help people to parent. Age does not hurt.
Another poster mentioned that a part of the brain does not develop until age 25. That would be the prefrontal cortex.If we expanded maditory education until two years after high school, child abuse would drop.
^^
Not from the liberals, from the constitutional conservatives.
It's difficult to fit people in political categories so readily. Today there is little respect for tradition, marriage, the elderly, or life itself. Children used to be considered such a blessing, and parents sacrificed to do their best being positive role models, and raising their children to be self-reliant members of society. That was my experience. Those days are gone. Today people cannot trust eachother, neighbors, husbands and wives, children can't even trust their parents to have their interests at heart or make good decisions on their behalf. People that are not stable, which seems to be a good percentage of the populace, should not be bringing dependents into this world.
I don't even want many of these people to have pets. Last night our news was full of people abusing and torturing animals. One female tortured and killed her boyfriends German Shepherd to get back at him. I can't stand it, something must be done to protect the innocent.
Here's a new story about a "mother" stabbing her two children, 5 and 7, because she was angry at her husband. Prosecutor: Kids slain in Illinois begged to live
This has to stop, and if that means putting people thru some kind of evaluation periodically, that sounds good to me. Then the question becomes who can we trust to have this responsibility? If this woman's husband had no idea she was such a lunatic, how is a stranger to know?
Odd that it came up just when we were discussing these issues.
Claudhopper, you are correct. It's hard to pigeonhole people into political categories because many of us are liberal on some issues, conservative on others, and libertarian at the same time.
Odd that it came up just when we were discussing these issues.
Claudhopper, you are correct. It's hard to pigeonhole people into political categories because many of us are liberal on some issues, conservative on others, and libertarian at the same time.
Sounds like this judge has overstepped his bounds. I would say the guardians have all the authority to make this decision, and to get her out of that group home. Seems pretty simple to me.
Many years ago, I took an Ethics course and had to write a paper on an ethical issue and decided to write one on forced sterilization; I thought it would be an interesting topic and conversation.
One of the examples I used was in fact, child abuse. That being, if a parent, more so, a mother, had already been found guilty of child abuse/neglect, should she be compelled to have some form of sterilization, as opposed to birth control measures, which she could stop taking. I researched as much as possible, true cases of child abuse, the Court findings, including plea deals, jury verdicts and punishments. I was naively stunned at the sentences, or lack thereof, the plea deals, at best, no substantive punishment/incarceration.
I will also admit that my view and position is also extremely tainted because I lost a child so to me, I almost take it personally [smile] as I am sure other parents may do if they suffered the loss of a child -- I find it reprehensible when a child is hurt; I find it reprehensible when others know a child is being abused and do nothing; I find it reprehensible when the system does not sufficiently punish a parent for abusing/killing their child.
And Phil [smile], believe it or not, I have to agree with you that if there has been child abuse, especially leading to the death of a child, I do not think it is reasonable or warranted to let a parent have another opportunity to do the same to another child.
I do not think child abuse cases are getting worse; I think this has been going on for years and years -- I think people are at least recognizing it more and are becoming more outspoken about it.
I am also wondering [yikes] if having a registry of some sort, or even something on a license plate [like Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter] would be appropriate - only for convicted abusers - I wonder if that would begin to negate the number of child abuse cases/deaths.
I hope the moderator keeps this w/in the scope of true crime / child abuse -- it was not meant to go off track [thanks].
I think that all of these ideas need to be discussed and sorted out.
Have no problem with former abusers being sterilized. A registry that is accesable to the public would be a great ideal.
I would stop at a Scarlet Letter but I do think that you are on right track. Whose rights should be considered first? Abusive parents or children who have been or are in danger of being abused?
I kinda like the idea of the scarlet letter, or a tatoo mark or pinkie ring that can't be taken off or perhaps just remove the little finger all together. I'm a libertarian and hate having to think this way, but there is just too much evil out there, some people abuse their freedoms and we deserve notice. I'd go even further and not let them have any pets either.
I do think it's much more prevalent than ever before. When I was growing up, everybody used babysitters. Parents went to party's all the time and hired a sitter, word of mouth. Young people could be trusted with kids - a sitter abusing a child was unheard of. I imagine it happened, but rarely. Times have changed so much. Now people have to have a spycam to make sure their child isn't being harmed.
I think that all of these ideas need to be discussed and sorted out.
Have no problem with former abusers being sterilized. A registry that is accesable to the public would be a great ideal.
I would stop at a Scarlet Letter but I do think that you are on right track. Whose rights should be considered first? Abusive parents or children who have been or are in danger of being abused?
That question is not a hard one for me.
I'm sorry but I have to disagree on the registry that is accessible to the public. The public has shown time and again that they can't handle a registry, and the ones that already exist have put countless lives in jeopardy, and have caused bullying and threats to not only the registrants but their INNOCENT families including children. A registry for law enforcement, and those entities that need access would suffice, and it would also need to have something in the way of an appeals process.
I understand what you're saying faeryedark but I think a registry is necessary. There is room for improvement. I don't think an 18 year old boy should be classified as a sex offender for having a sexual relationship with his 16 year old girlfriend, but these hard core offenders should be made public. Our neighborhood had a kindly older gentleman move in a few years back. He was pleasant and friendly especially with our neighbors young boys. The mother discover him hugging and kissing her young son. She did some investigating and discovered that he was an ex-priest with sealed records. He was also asked to leave the church he attended across the street from his apartment because other parents were complaining that he would sit with his arm around random children. The whole neighborhood had their eyes on him and pretty soon he moved on to greener pastures. It makes me sick to think that he is in someones neighborhood potentially grooming another victim in front of unsuspecting parents. He was never convicted of a crime but I'm wondering why the church sealed his records? If I were a parent I would want to know if a predator was living next door. I believe innocent children should be the first priority, not the criminal. Violent crimes are far worse than teasing and taunting. If you're a mother and have your children living with a monster than I think you need to have your head examined. No child of mine would ever live with someone convicted of a sex crime.
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The advent of violence
