Today, on one of the common internet news sources (AOL? CNN? Something else? I forget.) featured a stirring report from California, where “10 children were rescued from horrible conditions.”
Oh, I have absolutely no doubt that they were rescued, and that the conditions were horrible. The story used part of the videos taken at the squalid home. I’ll guarantee you that not ALL of the videos were shown. An out-of-focus video of the kitchen floor was shown, and it featured what appeared to be rodent/cat/dog feces. The bathroom wasn’t shown, and I’ll bet the ranch that human feces, urine and other fluids better left in the body were found there.
Also, the limits of video deprived me of the full experience of such a home. There is that odor which attacks the senses before one goes into such a place. It is the sweet, sickening, stomach-wrenching odor, the stench which says “What the hell am I doing here?”
Incidentally, I feel sorry for the people who come to the bar and think that they can represent real people without ever having been in a poor and miserable home.
The point is not that these children were rescued. The point is that such a big deal was made of this ONE home, and that (1) this was supposed to be something unusual or unheard of and (2) thank God because now we can rest easy because these ten children have been rescued.
Those are stupid impressions messages to spread.
You are sitting somewhere in a city, a county, a township or some similar minor political subdivision. Right now, RIGHT AT THIS VERY MOMENT, there are children near you who are worse off than these California kids are.
It’s popular to “build awareness.” Okay. Let’s build a bit of awareness about child neglect and abuse.
In your city, county, township, etc.:
- Multiple children have been raped, sodomized, fondled and threatened not to tell anyone in the last 24 hours. The threats range from “Daddy will go to jail” to “I’ll kill Mommy” to “The Devil will fly down and take you.” That’s not an exaggeration. I’ve heard each of those threats. All it needs to be is believable to a 6 year old.
- Multiple children are high from intentionally using or accidentally being exposed to drugs used by their parents, grandparents, caretakers and the miserable class of friends those adults gather round them.
- Multiple children have ingested fecal matter within the past 24 hours.
- Little kids have eaten insects and insect parts. They inquisitive and hungry.
- Multiple children have a readily apparent physical problem that any fool can see - a limp, eyes that can’t focus on a big line of print, or ears than can’t hear speech. Unfortunately, they are only amongst fools and nobody will take them to a doctor or otherwise call anyone who will give a shit about them. And equally unfortunately, some of the conditions COULD have been corrected but are now permanent. (In the past year, I’ve had a kid left unnecessarily with a permanent limp and another kid with a needless neurological condition that will not let his/her mind recognized that one eye is providing visual input to the brain.)
Wow, kids raped, eating bugs, handling crap, who’d believe that in America? Believe it. Don’t believe it. The truth is already happening independent of what you believe.
I think I’m being generous when I say that responsible adults - by that I mean someone who will do something about it - find out about maybe HALF of the abuse and neglect that really goes on.
So - be aware. Or not. Look, a blog post cannot “make people aware” of the truth of conditions which readers aren’t ready for. Besides, “my” truth has to compete with Trump-is-a-Russian-spy, Don’t-let-the-other-sex-use-our-bathrooms, Welfare-is-inherently-evil, and Welfare-is-a-right-and-a-good-way-to-live, together with a light dusting of 9-11-was-an-inside-job.
Well, I’m putting forward what I know to be true. Maybe someone will acknowledge it. I just figured out that I’m in mid-career, so I’ve got a long way to go. So I’ll put on my pack, put on a big Scout smile and keep walking up the mountain.
Mizpah.
