# I hope they lock this woman up for a LONG time! \*fume\* **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 18, 2004, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377 "2004-08-18T11:43:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/1 "2004-08-18T11:43:58Z")
Since I didn’t see any other Pit thread concerning this, I’m cross posting this entry from my journal. I’m still angry at the thought of this. Wow, just…wow. :mad: :eek: I found [this](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040817/ap_on_re_us/abandoned_children) news story today. I just sat there, mouth hanging open as I read it. What the hell is wrong with some people? How could that woman do what she did? How could she get any peace at all, knowing what she did? > [@](#): > > HOUSTON - Seven Texas children were discovered abandoned at a Nigerian orphanage, suffering from disease and malnutrition, and have been brought back to the United States. > [@](#): > > Three of the children were hospitalized with malaria and later released, said CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin. The all were thin and covered with mosquito bites and scars, officials said. > [@](#): > > The three boys and four girls, ranging from 8 to 16, were discovered in late July by a visiting Texas missionary. > [@](#): > > Four of the siblings were adopted from Houston in 1996, followed by a set of three siblings from Dallas in 2001, according to authorities who interviewed the children and their adoptive mother. > The woman took all the children in October to Nigeria, where a relative of her fiance lived. The children were enrolled in school and the mother returned to Houston about 30 days later. She went to work in Iraq in April. > > But the children were removed from school because payment for their tuition stopped. Nigerian child-protection authorities found the children in a wooden shack, malnourished and sick, and moved them to an orphanage in late July. > > A minister from a San Antonio church alerted lawmakers after he overheard the children speaking with American accents and talked to them. At least the 16 year old likely had enough common sense to help their siblings survive. I wonder if this case will set precedents? If I were a prosecutor I’d be sorely tempted to try to prosecute her for some form of attempted murder/reckless endangerment. She left them behind, in a foriegn country to fend for themselves. Three of them contracted malaria. I cannot imagine being lost and unable to truly help myself without commiting a crime in this country, let alone a strange one with customs and languages I didn’t understand. Who knows what those kids had to do in order to get food. I hope she rots. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/2 "2004-08-18T11:50:56Z")
I heard a radio story about that situation that said she was still receiving her payments of a little over $500.00 per kid while the kids were in the orphanage! Also, I find it interesting in the new story that ‘state officials were deciding whether to bring charges’. “Whether”? …Should be “When”. I hope she doesn’t get off on some loop hole such as “Uh, we don’t have a law against dropping adopted kids off in foreign countries”. ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/3 "2004-08-18T11:52:39Z")
It amazes and sickens me that horrid people are allowed to adopt and then neglect/ abuse children. I sincerely hope that in her next life, the adoptive mother ends up as neglected as these kids. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/4 "2004-08-18T12:05:23Z")
What makes me shudder is wondering how the kids got food. Did the “only” steal? Did they forcibly rob people? Or did they have to “sell” themselves in order to eat? Do they have other diseases besides malaria due to this? My heart aches to even consider what they had to do just to get food. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/5 "2004-08-18T13:10:42Z")
I agree that this woman’s behavior was totally reprehensible and that she should indeed be prosecuted. > [@](#): > > What makes me shudder is wondering how the kids got food. Did the “only” steal? Did they forcibly rob people? Or did they have to “sell” themselves in order to eat? Do they have other diseases besides malaria due to this? My heart aches to even consider what they had to do just to get food. However, this is the day-to-day fate of 1000’s of children in Nigeria. Does your heart ache equally for them? ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/6 "2004-08-18T13:27:02Z")
Yes, it does actually. Does yours? ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/7 "2004-08-18T13:43:49Z")
> [@](#): > > **Zabali\_Clawbane** - Yes, it does actually. Does yours? No, in all honesty, it doesn’t. And before anyone starts screeching about how unsympathic I am, I’ve don’t think a bleeding heart necessarily helps put food on the table. It can but it can also allow one to wallow in a kind of inactive compassion that enables one to feel good about oneself while doing nothing but paying lip service to the problem. I’ve discovered that what works for me is to 1) support the politicians that actually attempt to address the issue of poverty in the Third World and 2) to give what I can to organizations that attempt to alleviate the mind numbing poverty. Of course, this is not in any way an implication that you do not do the same. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/8 "2004-08-18T13:49:20Z")
I was just wondering how long before someone would pop in to say that the woman is innocent until proven guilty. Assholes that they are. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/9 "2004-08-18T14:02:13Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > I was just wondering how long before someone would pop in to say that the woman is innocent until proven guilty. Assholes that they are. And what post did you read that defends this woman or her actions? ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/10 "2004-08-18T14:34:30Z")
> [@jlzania](#): > > No, in all honesty, it doesn’t. > And before anyone starts screeching about how unsympathic I am, I’ve don’t think a bleeding heart necessarily helps put food on the table. > It can but it can also allow one to wallow in a kind of inactive compassion that enables one to feel good about oneself while doing nothing but paying lip service to the problem. > > I’ve discovered that what works for me is to 1) support the politicians that actually attempt to address the issue of poverty in the Third World and 2) to give what I can to organizations that attempt to alleviate the mind numbing poverty. > Of course, this is not in any way an implication that you do not do the same. Of course not, why would you imply anything like that about me? Those implications deserve no more comment than that. Here’s a quote from the OP, just in case you missed it. > [@](#): > > I cannot imagine being lost and unable to truly help myself without commiting a crime in this country, let alone a strange one with customs and languages I didn’t understand. The topic is a specific case of extreme case of child abadonment. Wherever it occurs, it’s wrong. I just happened to bring up a specific case that has recently had media attention. Why don’t you stick to the discussion at hand, and quit coyly sniping at me? I thought I made your “brain bleed” anyway? Why are you participating in, much less reading this thread which I started, in the first place? Surely it’s not to take a chance to slyly slip in a dig or two, is it? Why not show that you can stick to the topic, and not be petty? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/11 "2004-08-18T15:00:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Also, I find it interesting in the new story that ‘state officials were deciding whether to bring charges’. “Whether”? …Should be “When”. In a lot of cases, there’s simply no real law about it. I mean, its like there’s no law on building black-hole generators and sucking the universe into your basement. Its simply not something that people think about when they right laws. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/12 "2004-08-18T15:10:56Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > In a lot of cases, there’s simply no real law about it. I mean, its like there’s no law on building black-hole generators and sucking the universe into your basement. Its simply not something that people think about when they right laws. Or when they write laws either. 😉 Back to the generator! ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/13 "2004-08-18T15:11:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Why don’t you stick to the discussion at hand, and quit coyly sniping at me? Actually, I was and I agreed that this woman’s act was beyond the pale. However given that millions of children are forced daily to to perform the very acts that “make your heart bleed”, I was just curious as to whether it bleed only for these particular children. > [@](#): > > Why are you participating in, much less reading this thread which I started, in the first place? Truthfully, I’m a wee bit bored this morning and I read every thread in the Pit . And I thought your “aching heart” comment was an example of over the top sentimentality . Plus I didn’t know that it was verboten for me to comment in your threads. > [@](#): > > I thought I made your “brain bleed” anyway? What, do you keep a file on everyone that’s ever disagreed with you on the board? > [@](#): > > Why not show that you can stick to the topic, and not be petty? Actually, I did. I commented on the original topic > [@](#): > > I agree that this woman’s behavior was totally reprehensible and that she should indeed be prosecuted. and added that this was a common state of affairs for a large group of children who also live in Nigeria. If you were so very concerned about staying on topic, why did you decide to lecture me? ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/14 "2004-08-18T16:26:01Z")
> [@jlzania](#): > > Actually, I was and I agreed that this woman’s act was beyond the pale. > However given that millions of children are forced daily to to perform the very acts that “make your heart bleed”, I was just curious as to whether it bleed only for these particular children. Wow, you’re kind of an asshole, aren’t you? What’s with these people who feel the need to search for any instance of compassion and (always without grounds) accuse the compassionate person of being a hypocrite? Usually this only shows up in political threads with phrases like “bleeding heart liberal” tossed hell, west and crooked, but it’s nice to see that the hypocrisy police are expanding their activities. In other words, for throwing a tantrum at seeing another person feel human compassion, I brand you a :wally ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/15 "2004-08-18T16:48:32Z")
Asking a question is now throwing a temper tantrum? Hardly. What don’t you understand about the words reprehensible or persecution or the phrase "beyond the pale’? And I certainly never called **Zabali\_Clawbane** a hyprocrite. As I said before, this is the lot of thousands if not millions of the children that live in Nigeria. Prostituiton, theft, starvation, and disease. A way of life. While it’s nice that the plight of these children has caught both the eye of the media and **Zabali\_Clawbane** , all I asked was if her heart ached for the one’s that weren’t today’s topic de jour. Because they’ll still be living that way, long after these kids have come home. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/16 "2004-08-18T18:04:36Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > I mean, its like there’s no law on building black-hole generators and sucking the universe into your basement. What a complete waste of time and material! Why not just buy one of the many used ones readily available on eBay? Sheesh! (and I don’t mean “cheese”) ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/17 "2004-08-18T18:20:44Z")
> [@jlzania](#): > > Asking a question is now throwing a temper tantrum? > Hardly. > What don’t you understand about the words reprehensible or persecution or the phrase "beyond the pale’? > And I certainly never called **Zabali\_Clawbane** a hyprocrite. > As I said before, this is the lot of thousands if not millions of the children that live in Nigeria. > Prostituiton, theft, starvation, and disease. > A way of life. > While it’s nice that the plight of these children has caught both the eye of the media and **Zabali\_Clawbane** , all I asked was if her heart ached for the one’s that weren’t today’s topic de jour. > Because they’ll still be living that way, long after these kids have come home. Maybe I’m an asshole too, but I think jlzania raises a provocative and worthwhile point. We feel outrage over the stories that hit the front page, while we let a lot of other stuff slide. Some of that is probably sensible survival. We’d get compassion fatigue. We’d also get depressed if we spent all our time (and pit threads) focused on tragedies that befall children. I’ve often felt that ranting about stuff like this is purposeless. Maybe it lets off a little steam, I guess, but what else does it do? Show other Dopers that you’re Sensitive, Caring Person Who Gets Upset About Things Like This? I salute those of you who work, in any way, shape, or fashion, on improving the lives of people who are featured in these sorts of stories–or the nameless faceless people who should be featured in these sorts of stories. I understand those of you who can’t, or won’t, or are spending your time/energy on other compelling causes. We can’t all do everything. And we can’t fix everything. But if you’re one of these people who just enjoys ranting, well, I hope it makes you feel better. Not sure what else good it is doing. It’s not even entertaining (which makes many a pit thread worthwhile)–it’s just a big bummer. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/18 "2004-08-18T18:46:45Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > In a lot of cases, there’s simply no real law about it. I mean, its like there’s no law on building black-hole generators and sucking the universe into your basement. Its simply not something that people think about when they right laws. I’m pretty sure _Arizona v. Wile E. Coyote_ touched on some of the relevant issues. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/19 "2004-08-18T19:08:56Z")
> [@jlzania](#): > > And what post did you read that defends this woman or her actions? Think you misunderstood me. I like the whole rant/pitting, it is just that any time there is a thread condemning someone’s actions, some fucknut pops in and tries to tell everyone that “…we should remember that everyone is innocent until provien guilty in a court of law…” Just trying to fend off those a-holes before they get going. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377/20 "2004-08-18T19:28:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* Philster\*\* -Think you misunderstood me. I did indeed-I didn’t realize that yours was a preemptive action. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hope-they-lock-this-woman-up-for-a-long-time-fume/260377.md?page=2)