Child Protective Services Lacks Compassion
by April Shenandoah
September 25, 2002
Every parent I know has had a temper fit with his or her child at one time or
another. It doesn't make it right, and child abuse is intolerable; however,
in many cases the Child Protective Services are just as abusive. They appear
to protect when in fact they numb and damage the emotions of many children affecting
them for their entire lives. This could be the case concerning four-year-old
Martha Toogood, who was recently caught on videotape being slapped and punched
by her mother Madelyne Gorman Toogood. Yes, there are times when Foster Care
is the only answer, however, this is not one of them.
The reason being given for the backseat attack in the parking lot of Kohl's department store in Mishawka, Indiana, was that Martha was unruly in the store. It seems that the video we have viewed on TV appears much worse than it looked, as there were no bruises or signs of a beating when she was examined at a hospital. Therefore, logic dictates that she was unmercifully slapped but not actually beaten. This mother should have been given a strong warning and put on some kind of probation. Instead she is being subjected to a full-blown trial and threatened with jail time (prisons used to be for criminals).
Her bond was set at $5,000; however, prosecutors requested a $50,000 bond because she is known as an Irish traveler (going from place to place for work). After listening to many interviews with Toogood there may be some things in her life that will go against her. She certainly doesn't stand a chance against the judgmental public that has not walked in her shoes. Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity want her locked up. God expects us to reach out and help, instead, most are ready to discard this young woman and label her a monster.
I am not defending child abuse! I am defending the rights of parents and the fragile hearts and minds of children. Many psychological studies have shown that children are better off with bad parents rather than no parents. Ask any child that is about to be taken away from parental care, they will clearly say, "I want my mommy" (or daddy). For the most part the CPS officials act as heartless robots, paving the way for "state" control of our children -- stripping parents of their rights.
One of the saddest cases I remember concerning this issue was in the news a few years ago -- a family who had migrated here and started a successful restaurant business was completely destroyed because the father was seen patting his little girl on her bottom at a baseball game. He was sitting next to his wife and other children with his little girl on his lap when a spectator reported him. In his native country, taps on the behind were customary (all parents give love-taps on their child's backside). The CPS removed all their children from their home and they lost their business and house because of lawyers' fees. Their statement to the press was, " We came to America thinking this was a good place." They were devastated. (If anyone is familiar with this case please let me know if the children were ever returned)
Hillary Clinton fights for the rights of children -- what about their right to sleep in their own bed at night, to see familiar family faces, to have their own favorite toys, to feel safe and secure - what say you to this CPS? It has been reported that the Toogood's are a very tight-knit family and that they were traumatized by the decision to place Martha with a strange family. Toogood's Attorney, Steven Rosen, said, " To me this is very detrimental, very psychologically detrimental, bordering on abusive." In order to survive this type of ordeal children shut down and withdraw. The child feels abandoned and is never quite the same. Even when being reassured, they constantly deal with abandonment issues. Feelings of guilt develop as they believe they are being punished, and that it is their fault -- thus unworthiness and anger ensue in to adulthood.
Our society in general has developed a "lynching" mentality. If we do not show compassion to those who are suffering we cannot expect to receive compassion when we are in need of it. Pray for Martha and her mother. ***
© 2002 April Shenandoah
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COPYRIGHT © 2002 BY THE AMERICAN PARTISAN. All writers retain rights to their work.