Classmate Alyssa's post:
Saturday, February 7, 2015
One of the first lessons a child
is never interact with strangers. It was pounded into our heads that if you do
not know someone do not accept any of their invitations. The worry was for
parent is kidnapping so it was a must to teach their children the lesson of
stranger danger. Most of the time, parents only talk to their children about
the danger of strangers and do not usually create an elaborate fake abduction
to teach their child a lesson. Yet, recently in Missouri a mother decided to
stage a kidnapping of her six year son because she thought he was too nice to
strangers. Involved was the boy’s mother, grandmother, aunt, and aunt’s
co-worker. The plan went down as followed. The boy gets dropped off by the
school bus at his bus stop after school where there is a man (the aunt’s
co-worker) waiting with a truck. The mysterious truck driver lured the boy into
his vehicle where the boy was tied up with plastic bag ties. The boy was
threatened with comments like “you will never see your mommy again” and that he
would be “nailed to a wall.” Later in the car ride the boy was threatened again
only this time with a gun if the boy would not stop crying. The truck driver
drove to the boy’s home where the mother, grandmother, and aunt where hiding
inside. The truck driver put the boy’s jacket over his head to shield the boy’s
eyes from recognizing that the boy was in his own basement. In the basement,
the aunt took of the boy’s pants and threatened that the boy would be sold into
sex slavery. His mother and grandmother listened to this event through a baby
monitor. After a few hours of being tied up in the basement, the boy was told
to go upstairs where he was lectured about the dangers of strangers. It is to
be said that this staging lasted for four hours. The mother is being charged
with felony of kidnapping and felony abuse and neglect of a child. The
grandmother, aunt, and aunt’s co-worker are being charged with felonious
restraint. Even with the charges the family claims they did nothing wrong.
There are plethora of problems to
this approach of hands on parenting (pun intended). First of all, it is against
the law. Kidnapping is a serious offense and is not a joking matter. Whether or
not it was a serious attack or a teaching lesson, taking a child or anyone
against their will is kidnapping, even if there is parental consent. Secondly,
if this false kidnapping was some how leaked as a real kidnapping in the
community it would caused massive repercussions. What if someone saw the
trucker take the boy into his truck unwillingly? That person would most likely
call 911 and the police would be on the hunt for a kidnapping. This causes
unnecessary police actions and a unnecessary concern and panic among the
community. Lastly, the trauma this incident boy has been through really
believing he was kidnapped and later to find out it was all a set up. This boy
is going to remember the horrific statements and actions against him even if he
now knows it was all a lie. He is only six years old, a time where child’s
brain’s are absorbing every little detail. Many people have experienced real
life kidnapping and this mental baggage is something they tow with them for the
rest of their lives. Why put that unnecessary stress and shock on a young boy
who does not have to experience that ordeal? In the video linked below,
Lieutenant Andy Binder is still haunted by a kidnapping that happened to him
when he was five years old. He will never be able to let that terrible
experience go.
The real question here is will
the family become guilty to their charges. The family intention of teaching the
boy a lesson about stranger danger is extremely valid. The family wanted to go
outside of the box and have a real effect on the boy’s thinking about
strangers. Yet, did they go too far? Or are the justified because the planned
was in a controlled environment?
Please comment to share your
opinion on this lessons gone unlawful.
Article Link:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/05/us/missouri-fake-kidnapping/
By Alyssa Marino
Word Count: 725
My Response:
I really found this blog
post particularly interesting. In response to Alyssa’s question- YES,
they did go too far.
When I first started reading, I honestly was
questioning if this had been a joke because I could not believe that anybody
had the audacity to do something like the Missouri family had. I agree with
Alyssa's statement when she says how parents only discuss stranger danger and
don't create a fake depiction of a scenario that could potentially happen. That
being said, not by any means should a parent kid nap their own child and scare
the living day lights out of them! What really concerns me is how the mother of
this child did not evaluate how something like this could seriously affect her
son psychologically. According to the
American Psychological Association, "When
hostages are
released, it is essential for them to:
~Receive medical attention.
~Be in a safe and secure environment.
~Connect with loved ones.
~Have an opportunity to talk or journal their
experience if and when they choose.
~Receive resources and information about how to
seek counseling, particularly if their distress from the incident is interfering
with their daily lives.
~Protect their privacy (e.g. avoid media
overexposure including watching and listening to news and participating in
media interviews).
~Take time to adjust back into family and work.
Family and friends can support survivors by
listening, being patient and focusing on their freedom instead of engaging in
negative talk about the captors”. I found these facts particularly ironic
because basically every tip is indicating how crucial it is for a released
hostage to be supported by their family. What is going to happen for this
little boy is
Missouri? His family is the ones who kid napped
him!
I was very happy to see how charges were being
pressed against the parties involved.
Something else that disturbed me about this event
was the fact that the boy was shown a gun and told he would be forced into
sexual slavery. I had searched the NBC news report and it had said, “The
blindfolded child was then taken to the family's home, put in the basement, and
his aunt allegedly removed the child's pants and told him he could be sold into
sex slavery”. When I read how the aunt had removed the boys pants I was
particularly disturbed. So not only was the boy told about the so called sex
slavery, but the aunt put her hands on him and went to the extent of removing
his pants. It just honestly blows my mind how this group of people planned this
and went through with it. It makes you wonder how long absurd things have been
going on and if the boy was being abused all this time.
Something else that I found rather crazy was how
the scenario was a whole family ordeal. The mother, the aunt, the grandmother,
and a close family friend. How is any of that normal?
To me, a lesson is an experience where you can
learn and grow. A learning experience where one can take things and move
forward. This “kidnapping” definitely does not fall into that category of a
lesson.
One last thing that I wanted to touch upon was how
the boy now has no one to look after him. After reading up on some reports, it
was mentioned how the boy is still in social services custody and was not
placed with a family member yet. I find it so sad how this boy will most likely
be in the system for a good portion of his childhood because all of his family
was convicted and is currently behind bars.
Overall, I am in utter shock and dismay. I hope
that everyone involved gets locked up for a very long time and the boy gets
help from over qualified professionals. One can only hope that he will have a
normal life again, but the truth is, after something so traumatic, it is
unknown if he ever will.
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