A couple of friends of mine Holly G.; http://rockintheboat.bravejournal.com and ShadowBear C.; http://that-loony-yid.blogspot.com have each posted comments on their blogs with regards to what I have been discussing on mine.
And while they both agree something needs to be done to curb/stop all forms of abuse (child/spousal/sexual/emotional), we still find a problem. They agree there should be parenting classes, as do I.
However, that is where the agreement stops. While I have proposed some sort of testing program to help not necessarily weed out the prospective parents who are found to be a high risk to abuse their children, but to find a solution before they and their children or spouse become another statistic, both Holly and ShadowBear have opposed that.
Which leaves me wondering how many more innocent victims of abuse must suffer before society as a whole says "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH." By choosing to remain with our heads buried in the sand and figure it is someone else's problem to deal with, IMHO I feel we are no better than Hitler's Elite SS Troops who were responsible for depriving the Jewish population of the right to live during the Holocaust, or the Serbians who murdered Muslim Men and Boys during their war in Bosnia or the Hutu's in Rwanda or the guerillas responsible for the mess in Darfur, Sudan.
Watching a two-part episode with Nobel Prize winning author Elie Wiesel on Oprah, (yesterday and today), I am struck by a very ironic statement that was made at the liberation of the concentration camp known as Auschwitz-Birkenau. The liberators and the governments of the day all said "Never again should something like the Holocaust be allowed to happen." Unfortunately Abusive relationships are still being allowed to happen just like the various groups doing ethnic cleanising are still at it. Women and children are being systemically beaten, tortured and in some cases starved to death, while society as a whole sits back and wrings its collective hands and says "What can we do to change it?"
Until we dig our heads out of the sand and say "ENOUGH!!!" and start talking and taking back the power from the abusers, nothing will be accomplished, except for a lot more hand wringing, and a lot more potential from the young people (children) lost forever.
4 comments:
Hmmm... I understand what you're getting at, Shari, and I agree that something has to be done. And, I agree that parenting classes are an excellent point to start from.
My concern with regard to testing, however, is the ethical and moral issue behind it. Telling people they can or can't have children because of test results raises far more issues than it resolves.
For example, if a couple both were raised in abusive homes, that automatically places them at a high risk of abusing their own children. Now, if they were to undergo the kind of testing you're talking about, well, based on those results, it would be decided that they're not allowed to have kids - which raises the issue of forced sterilization. It's unethical, Shari, because who's to say that just because they're high risk, they actually would abuse children? Do you see what I'm getting at?
I absolutely agree with you that something has to be done - maybe couples could undergo psychiatric evaluations for a year prior to getting pregnant? - but I'm not sure that the kind of testing you're proposing is necessarily the right way to go. It has to be refined, and it has to be in line with our rights and freedoms, otherwise, there's going to be a huge uproar...
Love ya, hon. *hug*
I posted another blog entry on this subject:
First and Second Hand Assortment of Parents
hello, i'm just a random person dropping in. i've read most of your posts, and what your friends have had to say.
i will have to side with your friends on the genetic testing matter. although your ends are admirable, and the approach is correct, but how it is carried out is questionable. ethical and moral issues nonwithstanding, i think a genetic screen would be less effective than a psychological screen test.
who we are is 50% genetic disposition, 50% upbringing. psychological evaluations (in several forms, as simple as a Q&A session) are performed every day with reasonable accuracy and can encompass both aspects of who we are. genetic screening would be more expensive (discouraging our goverments to undertake the policy), and wouldn't get the whole story.
i do like the idea of mandatory parenting classes for everybody. it would be a great service, and although a huge investment, ultimately i think it would pay huge divedends in the future, assuming parenting improves, which can curb violent and criminal behaviour.
that's my take on it. keep up the debate, i'll be coming back.
Another Entry on thr subject, in response to Shari.
Solution: Empower the Kids
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