Miscellaneous News Horrors

-Read this about a woman who abandons her 4-year-old son on the side of the beltway and as a parting shot bumps him with the car while speeding off, all because "[h]e wasn't sitting down [in the car] like he was supposed to..."(Washington Post). Evidently, car-related discipline of minors is on the rise in the DC area. Yeah! Because you know, if the kid misbehaves, it's a good idea and probably a cultural norm to put him in the trunk or leave him on the highway.

-Yesterday, both Washington Post and Washington Times carried coverage of the funeral of a 6-year-old boy whose mother had bludgeoned, asphyxiated, bound and left him in a bathtub full of water (just to be sure!). Evidently,

[f]amily members have said that Barber, who had been treated years ago for psychiatric problems, was acting strangely in the days before Donmiguel's death. They said she complained about voices and talking to the devil.(Washington Post)

This story is horrendous enough, but at a funeral which was attended by hoards of family and friends,

clergy at the service attempted to turn the focus away from individual fault and onto the goodness of the Lord and faults of a 'sick' society that ignores the safety of children.(Washington Times, emphasis mine)

Yep, that's right, it's "society's" fault! so, if 1) the mother was complaining of having conversations with the devil, and 2) the kid was beloved of so many people, why didn't someone intervene? Because it's society's fault! Buck-pass much?

Did I mention that this sicko has an 11-month-old child (from her newest ex-boyfriend)? Now in protective custody, but will probably end up back in her loving care ('cause she's the birth mother)?

I am, might I say after reading such horrors, apoplectic?