Protect Others from False Accusations of Child Abuse
Step 1: Don’t be hasty to report child
abuse
- Don’t report others out of anger, prejudice, or anti-spanking
zeal. Studies show the system all too often responds through terrorism of child
removal. It might make you feel better, in an "I hope it taught them a
lesson" sort of way. However, overzealous system response will
permanently scar parents and children. The lessons a family learns may not be
the ones you have in mind!
- According to studies conducted in 1992 and 1998, caseworkers spend
roughly half their time chasing down unfounded reports. It wastes much time, energy, and
money that could be spent on those who seriously need it. It doesn’t do any
favors to genuinely abused children to drop a dime on the mother who spanks her two
year-old at the grocery store.
- Is it really ethical to ask men with guns to enforce your value
system without first getting involved personally? The mother of that two year-old is
probably under a great deal of stress. She might benefit most from a smile and some help
getting her groceries to her car. Isn't such redemptiveness what is really meant by,
"It takes a village…?"
Step 2: Educate yourself and your friends
- Study the information on this website and its links. Talk things
over with your spouse, friends, and counselors. Recognize the anti-spanking war is
being carried out by men with guns. Recognize the system is powerful and
unaccountable. Recognize you live in a police state, at least in Oregon.
Probably in most states.
- Unlike the image they project, recognize SCF and Law Enforcement
agents are NOT brilliant, highly moral people. They are at best normal
mortals. Likely they are mortals who like exercising power. At worst, they are
thugs with an attitude, a gun, and a badge. They, too, need meaningful
restraints.
- Don’t fall for the "nothing here but us chickens"
responses from law enforcement and SCF. Realize the chief goal of any bureaucracy is
to maintain and increase budget and power. Seriously abused "poster
children" will be used to justify ALL of those agencies’ actions.
- Decide what civil rights are. Are they restraints on
government action, or are they an excuse for action by government? If you believe
the former, recognize there is a price to be paid. Reducing power of SCF or law
enforcement means, more bad people will get away with bad things. This is the price of
an insurance policy that will protect you and those you love, if you should be
unfairly targeted by those sworn to protect and defend. If you want system reform,
be willing to squarely face the downside.
Step 3: Protect others
- Be there for your family, church, friends, and neighbors. If
they need $5,000 fast - get it for them. If they need you to care for their
children, their house, or themselves, do that, too. Life isn't about the latest fad,
sport utility or ball game. Life is about connectedness. Connectedness takes
time and money. Spend it.
- If someone you know and trust is charged with a crime, determine
first if they are still worthy of support. If they are, support them, don't just
cluck about it or pretend it didn't happen! The first thing they need is a
visit from you and a shoulder to cry on. The next thing they need is food - the kind
that makes good leftovers. After that, they need someone to show up in court with
them. They need a support network. Be an active member in that network.
Call once a week or so, just to chat. Have them over for dinner. Pray with/for
them.
- Hold overzealous officials accountable for their acts through the
power of the pen. Write letters to the usual suspects – local papers, your
sheriff, your state and federal legislators. Addresses for some of these are
elsewhere on this website. Without your personal commitment, the system will
continue to grow. It jeopardizes your family, friends, and neighbors. Billions
of dollars and huge amounts of power are at stake. The government will have to be dragged
kicking and screaming from both.
- If you serve on a jury, you have the absolute right to
disregard the judge’s instructions; to judge for yourself the law and its
application. Be a skeptical juror! Recognize the system is
too often corrupt. America
still grants huge power to individual citizens, if only those citizens will exercise
it. It’s called jury nullification, and more may be found at http://www.fija.org Use jury nullification to
protect parents wrongly accused of abuse and neglect. If you serve on a grand jury, know
that you have the absolute right to call witnesses, to disregard the prosecuting attorney,
to refuse to bring charges, and to conduct your own investigations. You may use this power
to hold government employees responsible for their conduct.
- Vote from knowledge and conviction to keep your rights, even if it
means supporting an occasional evilmeangunlovingseniorcitizensqueezing Republican.