Who Is To Blame?
I have been trying to process my feelings the past few days about the tragic case of Christian Choate. The 13 year old was killed from repeated abuse by his parents and older sister, kept in a dog cage most of his life and was locked up every night. There is news today that Christian wrote about his experiences and I hope those letters come to light and give a glimpse into what happened and how he tried to cope.
It is at times like these that I wish I could personally go and administer my own kind of justice to the people responsible. Who is responsible though? Of course the people who did the beatings and if there is any justice they will be locked up in dog cages for the rest of their lives. Seriously.
But what about the doctor who saw Christian many times over the years and complained of injuries like running into a door and he even told the doctor he was locked up every night. The doctor never told anyone anything. F**ker. I hope you lose your practice and that your family never speaks to you again.
What about the teachers who read Christian's writings? Did they ever talk to authorities or show them these letters and papers? They waited until he died. Why? Did you not notice the kid withering away in front of you everyday and stop to ask why? Get involved!!
What about Child Protective Services who says they made frequent visits to the home but never saw anything out of the ordinary and no one ever complained. Did they interview Christian separately? No. They interviewed him right in front of the people beating him and keeping him locked up. WTF was he supposed to say? While you go back home to your comfortable warm families and homes, he knew that if he said anything he would get no food, be subject to more beatings and more time in the cage. How can a trained professional get snowballed like that? They should all be fired. Seriously.
Don't let there be any more Christians in this world. Get involved. If you suspect abuse, report it. Follow up to make sure something was done. These are children. Protect them.