Charges: Fridley Couple Made Girl Run In Diaper With Shaved Head

I wish I could deny the truth in your statement. Sad world..

 

What's horrifying is that statute's punishments. The greatest penalty there, for causing "great bodily harm" to a child, is less than getting busted for smoking a joint for the second time in a lot of states.

 

If you think getting your haircut when you join the army is the same as what happened to this kid I think you ought to think hard before you continue to take part in this discussion. It isn't always a problem to have a significantly different view of the world than most people, but child abuse is a touchy subject to many and I think you well offend people genuinely.

 

You are unbelievable. I am being offensive for drawing legitimate parallels between a child having its hair shaved off and a legally-adult conscript (such as in Germany) having his hair shaved off with or without his consent?

It is incredible that you state my viewpoint is in opposition to the majority view on the matter of child abuse. And that only because I don't accept your absolutely insane conjecture that shaving the child's head was serious assault (which would equate the shaving with somebody running around and stabbing a bunch of people in their guts with a 6" knife), or that making the child walk in public with a tank top and diaper inherits sexual malice towards the child and warrants for the parents to be put on the sex offenders list.

I'm not going to accept these entirely moronic statements from some wise-ass who sits in his safe apartment and does work for some IT company, when I am the one actually working towards the prevention of really fucked-up child abuse that goes on here in Afghanistan, having spent more than $15,000 so far on the creation of a not-for-profit organisation to help youths, women and promote change in society for a better life for those mentioned, and working against the organized crime here that supports the systematic abuse and sexual trafficking of children.

To think you believe the crap you spout, that you have the gall to make those implications about me, and that you think you're on the acceptable-and-totally-not-completely-melodramatic side of justice... breaks my brain and makes me wish for a quick and painless lobotomy.

I suggest you re-evaluate your line of thinking with a measure of common sense. Any measure of common sense. Though, as they say... common sense isn't actually that common.

EDIT: Honestly, if the opinions on the child abuse I have expressed so far in this thread have offended anybody, I couldn't care less. I have clearly stated how appalling the actions of the parents was and that the possible 1-year prison sentence is just retribution.

 

At least the hair will grow back. Maybe she won't be as distracted with worrying about how she looks and focus on her grades. And boys won't bother her if they know her parents are that crazy.

Maybe the parents should learn some tips from the Full Metal Jacket movie, but also to avoid really messing her up or she will go on a murderous rampage... But, maybe it will scare her straight and make her into a very successful person.

And where did these 30-50 guys come from to look at a 12 year old? Yeah, she would show more if she went to a beach or a pool, but still. When was Chris Hansen going to show up? http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/291/575/d9f.jpg

 

I took genuinegirly's husband's comments to reflect a feeling of dismay over the fact that we, as a society, have drifted away from taking on responsibility for those within our own community. Your response suggests to me that you are not aware that there once existed a time when neighbors knew each other and kept an eye on each others' children. Incidents you describe would not be unknown to the community who would certainly have intervened (either as a group or, if the incident warranted it, by contacting law enforcement officials). It's no longer that way, of course. The lesser signs of abuse which may one day culminate in a child "being burned to death with scalding water" go unnoticed. It's a shame, but there's probably no going back to those days.

 

Jonie "those days" never existed. People watched over each other's children when they were out and about, true, but they also didn't feel it was "proper" or their "place" to step in when the Missus slipped in the kitchen... nor did anyone think twice about lashing children with sticks and whips like they were slaves or animals.

 

Reminded me of this:

 

I suppose it depends on how far back you want to go or what communities you want to look at. I grew up in two such communities in the late fifties and 60's so I know for a fact that this sort of intimate involvement with one's neighbors did exist. If any parents were beating their children with sticks and whips or each other, for that matter, everyone in the community would have been aware of it, at least. I remember one intervention my parents were involved in where it became evident fairly quickly that domestic abuse was occurring and recall many occasions when the neighborhood came together to help a family in financial trouble or comfort them through the loss of a loved one.
--- merged: May 12, 2012 at 10:16 AM ---
Strange that anyone should consider this particular incident to be sexual abuse as it's obvious that was not the intent of the parents. Was it physical abuse? Probably - when they were shaving her head and putting her in a diaper, I can assume they would have had to physically restrain her to do so. More than physical abuse though, they are guilty of psychological abuse. There's a huge difference between shaving the head of a 12 yr old girl and doing the same to a military recruit or even a 12 yr old boy. A woman's hair is a huge part of her identity and the relationship starts at a young age. Forcibly shaving the head of a 12 year old girl can be immensely damaging psychologically. Whatever problems the parents had with girl prior to this incident, they are likely to find minor in comparison to what they will be faced with going forward.

I wouldn't mind seeing the parents spend some time behind bars for this abuse, but I also hope the young girl gets some psychological treatment.

 

The problem with locking them up for such a short period is the same as confronting an abusive boyfriend once. Unless permanent action is taken it's only going to antagonize the abuser further. I don't want to think what this girl's life would be like when her parents were released and regained custody of her in that situation.

 

I guess stuff is much worser in Afghanistan, so these parents didn't do such a bad thing... yep

Really, comparing prison haircuts, and military haircuts, to shaving a young girl's hair? Bro, you need a drink or two, and some perspective. ( maybe multiple bros need multiple drinks. I know I do )

 

You do realize the point was serious assault, yes?

If you believe shaving a girl's head constitutes serious assault, I should fly to where you live and take you to a bar so we can both have our drinks.

 

How's this for a run-on threadjack:

Hey, we're not in this child abuse / sad-that-families-are-an-island thread debating how women totally lose their feminine dignity and entire worth as a human being and should basically kill themselves instead of waiting a few weeks for their made-from-the-same-stuff-as-toenails fleece to reemerge from their pale scalps even though long hair is basically a skirt for your head and women ditched the shackles of skirt-only society like fifty years ago.

 

I do believe it is serious assault. Serious as in, it needs to be addressed and not glossed over as something unimportant, not send them to jail for eternity with acid dripping in their eyes. Just because there is worse in the world, that doesn't change that opinion. Good for you, by the way, for working for justice for a highly unrepresented people.

I do agree that the response of liver-punching the father is overboard, if that makes you happier. My first impulse was that these parents needed a thrashing, but I try not to let my first impulse rule my final judgement. Violence is usually the dumbest answer, IMO.

If you're ever in Raleigh, NC we can disagree over a couple of drinks, for sure.

 

Agreed on the not-glossing-over bit. I repeatedly said that I think a possible 1-year prison sentence is more than just. Also agreed on giving the parents a mighty slap.

No idea where Raleigh is, but I'll make sure to find it whenever I manage to cross the Atlantic.

 

Maybe the fact that I'm over here, where things are 'nicer' that I think that such behavior is worse than you do. I guess that's what I meant by perspective. I have my own upbringing to compare other's to. My parents weren't the best ever, but they would never have done something like this. Personally I'd rather have the belt or switch ( and I did ) than have this kind of humiliation. I was humiliated enough with my family, but that's another story.

 

Hm... I get what you mean, but I don't think it has much to do with where somebody lives and what he/she witnessed.

I believe, if I had not come to live in the Third World, that I would still have the same opinion.

There's no disagreement here on the appalling nature of the parents' actions. But really, just how bad would you classify the actions to be? Would you agree with a prison sentence of more than 1 year being proportionate to what they made the girl go through? I'd think 1 year is proportionate and adequate. Do you disagree on that?

Regarding physical punishment, I'm no stranger to it and I don't really see it as anything bad. It served to discipline me for the very dumb things I'd pull off (and they included getting my father involved in a brawl), and I see it all from that perspective.

Of course there's a big difference between very strict parenting and its corresponding disciplining, and sadistic and abusive parents.

I simply can't get on the abuse boat like other TFPers have. From how I see it, it was disciplining taken too far but not with the malicious intent others associate it with.

 

i had a friend who got kicked out jr. high for getting in several fistfights. his punishment besides being grounded was 1) his parents took the door to his room off his hinges so he had no privacy and 2) he had to wear a "uniform" to school every day for 6 months.... it consisted of a plain white T shirt and generic blue jeans. back then i thought it was pretty brutal but now that i think back on it, i think it was appropriate enough.

this diaper thing is insane though.... especially for bad grades?? really?? you'd think locking them in with a tutor and actually helping them learn the class material would be better than traumatizing a girl to the tune of what will probably take years of therapy to get over.

 

After my first response of string 'em up, I tend to become a wimpy liberal on punishment. I think probation and some kind of parental training might serve this family better, but with our system is it going to happen? I don't think they meant to be abusive, but I do think that's what happened. I think we kind of agree on that.

 

Yeah, we do.