No, angered is not a strong enough word. Pissed, upset...livid. There. Livid.
The Catholic Church has received a lot of press lately about the molestation scandal and the fact that people are not dealing with it correctly. Another issue grabbing headlines is that Russia has now suspended U.S. adoptions from their country because some dipshit in Tennessee sent the child she adopted back to Russia.
This makes me hang my head in shame and really question the state of our world. Sure, there are lots of other depressing things in the world happening, but what really stands out in these two stories is the fact that they involve children getting hurt and adults handling it poorly.
I remember when I learned about prison justice my junior year of college and we learned that even within a prison, inmates judge a person based on their crimes. Any crimes involving children, such as rape or molestation, results in the inmate being ostracized by his/her fellow inmates. A convicted serial killer will refuse to interact with someone who molested a little boy. That should be a big metaphor to a lot of people that harming a child in any way, shape, or form is the one of the worst things a human being can do. It is the lowest of the low.
In my 8th grade class we are reading the classic "To Kill A Mockingbird" (please read it if you haven't) and the book discusses how the greatest sin is to kill a mockingbird because they only sing for the pleasure of humans. In another word, they are innocent. When I asked the class if this metaphor applies to anything else in life, almost all of them said it applied to children. They said it was one of the greatest sins to harm a child because they are innocent.
As a educator I know children are less innocent now than they were back in the 1920s, when TKAM takes place, but I do know and fully believe that the essentials of this are still true. People who hurt children should be severely punished. I do not care that the Catholic Church preaches forgiveness, any priest who touches a child in a sexual way should immediately be de-frocked and never allowed to preach from the pulpit again. I do not care how sorry they are, how good of a priest they are, that is all meaningless when a man of God hurts a child. The Catholic Church is doing a terrible job of handling this situation. I know there is a shortage of priests, and that defrocking more means less priests, but a institution that claims to be extremely holy does not need bastards like child molesters in it's robes, acting the part of Jesus, shepherding the flock and all that jazz. The Catholic Church did something wrong. Let's face it, everyone. This issue wasn't handled well and I for one am angry and I want to see something happen as a result of this.
(As a side note, the New York Times columnists have been doing a bang up job of writing some awesome editorials on the issue, especially one Maureen Dowd. My friend Katie posted one of her awesome pieces on Facebook and I suggested all your ladies who read this blog go read that.I And guys too, of course. It's not directly about the scandal, but interesting nonetheless.)
Now about this mother from Tennessee who is a fucking idiot. True, the circumstances of her case have not been fully explored. Her mother claimed the little boy she adopted, who is seven-years-old, threatened to burn down this house. As a person who spends significant time with children Monday through Friday I find this laughable. He's seven. When I was seven I threatened to throw a jar of peanut butter at my dad's head. When you're seven, you say things you don't mean, or understand. It's part of growing up.
Now this woman, Torry Ann Hensen, said he was psychologically disturbed. I mean, spending the majority of your early developmental years in a Russian orphanage was probably no picnic for Justin/Artyom, so I could see where there would be challenges. But, when you adopt a child, you become a parent. I hear time and time again that when you become a parent, your life is not your own. You have to make choices, sacrifices, have to learn things and deal with challenges not for your own good, but for the good of your child. It seems to me that this woman was having a hard time with the kid and didn't know how to deal with it and finally she got fed up and sent him back to Russia, alone, with a note. It seems like a cowardly act to me, an easy way out for her. Did it ever cross her mind the media firestorm and international problem she would create? Probably not. She was probably only thinking of herself.
Plus, the kid was apparently with her for a while. Since January at least. This is like the equivalent of ordering a dress, wearing it a few times, deciding it doesn't fit right and sending it back, but in this metaphor the item in question is a living, breathing human being and not a mass produced clothing item.
Boy, if this kid wasn't messed up already, he certainly is now. I am anxious to read about this investigation to see what kind of steps she took to try and make things better. She really has not done herself or anyone else any favors by doing this. Her life is in no way easier. Plus, now she's put a stopper on other couples getting kids they actually want. When you adopt a child, you accept the challenges that come along with it. If you grow to love them, you will work at making them healthier, happier, and a better person.
Being around kids is a challenge and a blessing and it seems to me like many adults in the world have not learned how to handle challenges that are faced when interacting with children. It makes me fear for humanity.
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