Thanks ** Jayjay** and vetbridge. I almost didn’t come back to this thread because I was worried about being attacked for being overwrought. I cannot imagine the pain that Lindy and Michael Chamberlain went through. They lost their baby, Lindy bore a baby in jail and had to give the baby up to Michael and missed out on that baby’s babyhood and they were unjustly convicted of the murder of Azaria. i don’t know how one would maintain one’s sanity.
There’s another fucking hideous South Australian case in the news today. The baby died. I can’t find a link at the moment.
This isn’t weird. In two years, here’s three American babies frozen, assaulted and burnt (all news stories from the past 15 hours). There’s nothing exceptional about the tragedies in Australia, sad to say.
You have to remember, too, that probably 95% of Americans (myself included) know nothing about the Chamberlain case outside of Meryl Streep screaming “A dingo ate my baby!” That doesn’t excuse my lack of taste and class in making the joke I did, though.
It’s the same in the U.S. Shit…we’ve completely lost at least one little kid. No one has any idea where she is all these years later. Low pay, low supervision, high burn-out rate…I think it must be one of the hardest jobs on the planet. Something has to change.
There’s no question that incidents like this are directly linked to the deterioration of the family unit itself. The Australian stories refer to “de facto” husbands. The Baltimore case involves a teenager and an adult male who were not married. If I had to wager, the smart money would be on her being raised in a home without a father as well.
Screwed-up living arrangements like this lead to a rise in abuse cases. It’s unfortunately true. Stepfathers are far more likely to abuse children in the home than their own fathers. Single parenting, whether through divorce or through never being married in the first place, is also intimately tied with poverty, and child abuse is seen more in poorer areas.
The best answer to this is to encourage marriage and the raising of children in two-parent households. But the tax code, family law, and changing social values has placed the traditional family unit under assault for about fifty years.
I think a real change in attitude to favor marriage in society and in law will help lessen cases of abuse like these.
I had been searching Google News for the most recent story when the first one turned up instead. Surprised the hell out of me and I had to say something.
I don’t think so. The focus in your post is on satisfying your sadism and laughing at someone’s pain. That would be completely useless in saving any other child or working out how Jordan’s death could have been prevented.
Your reaction compounds the tragedy. The story’s revelation could have, at the very least, spurred some members of the public to actually do something useful for abused children who haven’t been killed yet. Lobby for better social services, or foster an at risk kid. There are plenty of other things you can do. However, it only provoked a completely ineffectual and venomous response from you. Righteous and impassioned calls for vengeance like yours are as useless and tedious as yet another dingo reference.
It would be better that you said nothing if that’s all you had to say.
Gest, I think you’re being overly harsh.
A desire for a fitting punishment can coexist with concern for the child’s welfare. In fact, if one weren’t completely horrified on a base emotional level because they cared, there would be no desire for vengence, right?
I’ll admit I had much the same thought as Satyricon. Not so much envisioning it as a punishment, but just wondering what she might do in that situation. Because I think about an adult methodically shattering ten tiny toes and I wonder–didn’t the baby scream? Wouldn’t this women think “hey, I wouldn’t like if someone did that to me so maybe I should stop.” It’s ridiculous and naive, I know; but I thought it all the same. Basic empathy is a crucial thing in human society, and I think it’s only natural to want to “force” it onto people who’ve exhibited such a frightening lack of it.
[joke]Hey in America she probably woulda been electrocuted before they discovered the false evidence [/joke]
Why is it so amazing that this happens in Australia? This entire thread is bias. Of course bad stuff happens here too, bad stuff happens in America.
[thought to ponder]Makes you wonder if America preventing Japan from invading us was such a good thing after all[/end useless thought]
Gest, when someone hears about an abuse case, it’s very normal for someone to voice anger towards the abuser, which is what I did, because I was shocked at how horrible it was. People who commit such terrible crimes have no compassion because they have no concept of the pain, fear, and terror that such an act causes. THAT’s why I said the punishment should fit the crime. That poor baby never did ANYTHING to deserve something so horrible, and never COULD do anything to deserve it!! The fact that you say I don’t care about the welfare of the child…I am very insulted. I never said anything to you to provoke this, so please grow up.
I dunno. Maybe folks shouldn’t be too hard on JayJay. In cases like these, laughter can often convey more anger and grief than tears can. At least, that’s how it seems to me. Excuse me for quoting again, but my words are so useless that I must borrow better ones:
And I am amused at the spectacle of an American lecturing an Australian on the Lindy Chamberlain case, especially after the Australian had already referred to it.
I wanted to respond to this statement of yours, too, zephyrine:
A loose conglomeration of people isn’t a family, especially if somebody in the mix is beating the snot out of somebody. There has to be some kind of bond there.
The bond comes from blood ties, legal arrangements and obligations, and emotional involvement. I really don’t think anybody here will argue this point.
I’m saying beefing up the emotional ties and legal protections will help lessen abuse cases. This is so intuitive that I’m surprised that it’s a statement that’s drawing much controversy. The only controversy this engenders in the real world is in the methods used to do the strengthening.
FWIW, I thought it was funny, not because I was reminded of the Chamberlain case, but because it reminded me of the Seinfeld bit where Elaine’s really bored at a party and says that to another woman in a really atrocious Aussie accent.
[/joke]