The name ‘Starkeisha’ was what caught my eye while I was reading the Los Angeles Times tonight. I’m sorry that I read about her and her girlfriend, Kristal.
Even with those optomistic names, the two young women have been torturing Starkeisha Brown’s 5 year old son for around two years. They burned him with cigarettes, and starved him. They are in jail tonight, but that doesn’t solve anything.
Both of these women have fancy Myspace profiles, with slide shows no less. Even I don’t know how to make a Myspace slide-show. So no one can excuse these women on the basis of mental illness…at least, not in the usual sense of the term.
I can’t really bear thinking about this too much and I’m even sorry to bring it up. But I’m trying to turn it into something useful. Someone in their neighborhood must have known what was going on. Some neighbor or relative or friend of a friend. But no one wanted to get involved.
If you ever have a suspicion that a child is being neglected or abused, call 1-800-4-A-CHILD (in the US)
Let us pray for a better world.
Where in hell do people get the notion that abuse (of any kind) is a good idea?
Good on you!
Too many people say “it isnt my place”
Whereas I always say to myself, “what if I see this on the news tonight and realise that I could have done something”
Yes, it is a hideous topic. The whole missing Madeline thing over here made me turn the tv off. I just didnt want to think about where that little girl was.
But you are right to face up to it and then be proactive about that phone number.
It is our place, and if we dont tell, who will?
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Sadly people usually don’t want to get involved. I reported a dog that was being abused/neglected & it was not easy in any way. (getting through to the right person, let alone trying to get a follow up report).
I know you are talking about child abuse here, but anybody who could possibly hurt a child, or anyone that can’t defend themselves (elderly,animals,special needs) should be tortured in the same way… & then some. People who inflict this sort of pain upon others are way beyond help as far as i’m concerned. Harsh but true.
I think I just ranted to hard & somehow left out the fact that any kind of abuse should absolutely be reported. That way there will also be some form of documentation. Builds a much stronger case if needed.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that
matter.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
In today’s LATimes they question the boy’s caretakers. It’s beyond comprehension to understand how your own mother can torture her own child. Sad story.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-abuse20-2008jun20,0,2072890.story
Thank you enc, Hammie, Lora and Susan for taking the time to read and comment.
I read Susan’s link and feel physically sick about it. Years ago, someone called Child Services about my sister’s boy, who was always covered in bruises. He was a kid who liked to climb up fences…a little dare-devil.
She was outraged by the visit from a social worker, but I always felt that this sort of reporting and quick response is exactly what we should want, as mothers.
I can’t take it anymore! Every time I open a newspaper… it’s all hideous! How is it possible for someone to hurt other innocent people? Did they do it for fun? because there was nothing interesting on tv? because the child’s voice was annoying? Something is seriously wrong with society and the way people are raised and influenced and moulded when seemingly ordinary people callously inflict violence on others.
When I read the name Starkeisha, I didn’t know what you meant by optimistic names. I read it as “Stark – eisha”.
Miss Wombat, Keisha is a standard name in the “African American Community.” So adding “Star” is like taking it up a notch. Again, a tragic mess all around.
Just looked at the MySpace pages of both of them. They’re loaded with friends and family. SOMEONE had to know what was going on. Vile pigs.
She gives all the StarKeishas of the world a bad name.
You must have a mental problem to do that.
i’ve had to report abuse i found out about a few times. some of it was when i was a kid, because my friends confided in me, and some was when i was older. the truth is it’s very easy to tell the right people what’s going on. just go to the nearest teacher or other person legally required to do something, who also cares about the victim. (they are usually better prepared for paper trails and follow up checks.) if you’re really confident then i guess go to the police or child services. and for me, “getting involved and not minding my own business” is a hell of a lot easier than knowing i never did anything at all.