Comments on Every Child Deserves a Mother and a Father...

You know, I used to think that Savage's point with these posts was that straight, traditional couples are often abusive. But now, after the thousandth or so graphic description, I'm starting to see them as disturbingly fetishistic.

dont mean to sound harsh
but I am
this is juctise served

I'm one who belives there should be fewer laws jail terms should be much shorter..substituted for public lashing

To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about this story, satisfied or horrified. Ultimately, I feel sorry for the 8 year old girl (good luck with your future years of therapy) and the mother (who was no doubt doing what she thought was best for her son). On the other hand, while I usually dislike vigilante style justice, I suspect I would have done the exact same thing if my 8 year old little girl had been anally raped.

@2, I completely agree with you that corporal punishment makes a lot more sense than interminable jail terms. But beating a 17-year-old with a baseball bat and then raping them anally with a metal wrench (I'm assuming no lube) ... I mean, I really don't condone that.

Hard to feel bad for someone who rapes an 8-year-old girl.

the thought of any one sexually assaulting my kids, makes me want to take the side of the dad

and, 18 is not a kid, but, a man. Dan calls him a teenager - what bull shit

and why, oh why, would this perv be able to return to the home where the 8 year old girl, brutally traumatized and messed with, still lives? duh, hope the dad ditches the cunt of a wife who would invite the rapist back to her home, even her son

complicated in some ways, but no sympathy here for the family rapist

Thank you Dan for yet one more nail in the coffin of "Mother and Father" are the BEST for the kids line of crap.

Though that father did just about the best thing I think he could have done.

So if vendetta, family-administered justice, and corporal punishment are so popular around here, what would it be about living in say, the tribal areas of northern Pakistan that you might object to? Just the lack of a good fall TV schedule? Not that we get that here any more.

It seems like other than a few conveniences, you must look with envy on life in the more backward corners of the world. Which is kind of sad when you think about how much effort some of us went to go build you a civilization to live in and here you'd rather be in the Bronze Age.

Uh, this is just normal for Texas.

I'm sure SLOG commenters are aware that the odds are good that the teenage son was himself a victim of childhood sexual abuse, and was probably raped as a child by a close family member - if the not the father, then an older relative (or trusted adult) who probably is male - which is why he would perceive this behavior as "normal" and "accepted". Does he have any uncles?

Which makes the assault and torture of the teenage son by the father all the more horrible. I hope the father has been arrested.

Makes me wonder also if the 8-year old girl had been raped before by someone other than the teenage son. Quite often childhood and family sexual abuse runs in families, from one generation to the next. The father's treatment of the son certainly increases the odds that the son will offend again, since he has been shown that it is "okay" to rape other people.

And most likely the mother knew something, both with the teenage son probably having been sexually abused, and with the possibility that her teenage son might assault her daughter. There's a good likelihood that the mother was sexually assaulted as child by someone in her family - or at the least, that as a child she knew that someone in her family was being sexually assaulted, perhaps a sister or cousin.

People in families where there is sexual abuse learn how to keep secrets and to tune out the obvious, and they often do so for the rest of their lives. The lesson that gets learned is not that the sexual abuse is wrong - since their own father or mothers or relatives are abusing them and these people love them and care about them - the lesson learned is that it is wrong to get caught.

So this whole story is a heartbreaking tragedy. I understand it is horrible and evokes loathsome feelings towards those perceived as the "perpetrator." However I think SLOG commenters who advocate rape as an appropriate solution are really just breeding the next generation of rapists.

You probably know at least one person who has been sexually assaulted as a child: 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men have been sexually assaulted; the majority of these assaults occurred before the victim was 18 [from a study in Virginia].

There are lots of online places to get good info, but you can start here.

Come on now, tell the truth: how many of you guys are gonna go stick a wrench up your ass just because you read this post?

Mother @12,

You obviously didn't read the story that closely. It was a step-family. Man with Daughter married to Woman with Son. I agree the Step-mother probably knew her son was a danger to the little girl, but the girl was not her child. Pedophiles do not begin abusing at the age of 18 when they become adults, they start much earlier. Step Mom probably knew all along what Sonny was, but other children are not HER children and so decided to protect her child rather than protect somebody else's.

Where do you think all those stories about evil step parents come from? Most step parents are not evil, but fairy tales do have a grain of truth in them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_Effect

I'm just a tiny bit appalled by all the people who say they aren't sure how to feel here. The young man who perpetrated this crime deserves the full punishment allowed by law--but the child's father has no right to take matters into his own hands. That's why we have a justice system--so that the penalty for crimes is based on societal standards, not personal outrage.

The father should also have realized that he'll go to jail for what he did, and that means he won't be around to support his daughter at this difficult time.

What sort of non-wrench metal tool is *wrenchlike*?

As usual, the mouth-breathers have indicated their preference for lowest common denominator "justice", undoubtedly based on some stupid movie or TV show they watched. They can't come up with coherent thoughts on their own.

We really should split this country up. Send the reactionary idiots to a new country comprised of the states of Kentucky, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The rest of us merge with Canada.

The father should also have realized that he'll go to jail for what he did...

In Texas? Fat chance of finding a jury down there that doesn't agree with most of the posters here that the kid had it coming.

It would be one thing if the father had just beaten the kid senseless...not that I think the law should condone that either, but the story wouldn't be as disturbing as it is without the rape. When you see a grown man doing something like that to anyone for any reason, let alone a kid, that's really all you need to know about them. Rape is not a tool of justice, except perhaps in the mind of the rapist. The one raped an 8 year old and the other beat and raped an 18 year old and yeah...they both had their reasons, and they both probably felt justified. Don't they all.

That man has no brakes. He's dangerous. They both are, but especially the man. But...it's Texas. The dad will probably walk.

I'm from florida...I hated the south for being a bunch of stupid ultra raceist reactionary douchbags......
I left 4 years ago liveing in various states...came to seattle to find i wasint "progressive' enough and didint toe certain orthedox lines
where the hell do I go where people arent hysterical on the right (the south) or the left (west coast)???

no I dont belive rap is a good punishment under certain circumstances but I do belive capital and corprol punishment might be cheaper options

dont make it required just tell the convicted that they have two options
30 days in jail
suspended licence
ass-load of fees
human tracking device
piss tests
or
15 lashes and be done with it

I'd go with 15 lashes

um, what about Louisiana (native daughter: Britney Spears) and Tennessee?

@16: I resent that! I was born in Texas, and I moved to Orlando when I was 9 years old. My dad and his brother and sister (my aunt and uncle) were all born in Miami, Florida. Then my grandparents, my parents, and my aunt all moved to Texas when my parents got out of college. None of us are red-necks or anything like that, and we're not racists!

Dan just gets a boner everytime he sees a story about abused children. Kinda like the mother in the Sopranos who had a deep seeded desire to snuff her own children.

The mother/father thing is just some sort of pathetic attempt at a tie in to his usual scree against the "strait vs gay" culture war. It serves as an excuse for him to read these, write about them and link to them.

Bottom line, these stories obviously get him hard. Not really surprising considering his background as a degenerate who declares that there is no such thing as moral absolutes. He just hates himself a little for being a guy who gets off on the pain of little children.

I'm having a difficult time believing the number of commenters here saying that they would've done the same thing as the father (i.e. beat and anally rape his stepson). That's really fucked up.

#22
the rpe part is fucked up...but come on!!
if this happend to your daughter and you had the chance of vengence while the feelings and emotions were still high wouldint you?

So all rapists were once raped themselves? Interesting theory, but I see no evidence for it. I think the 18 year old man was just a pervert seeking a warm hole, not caring about the effect on his third-grader stepsister. And you should never bring an abuser back to the scene of the crime -- what kind of sense does that make? Letting him sit in jail till trial makes the most sense to me.

I can't believe nobody comments on the incredible stupidity of the 18 year old. For the future, if you get caught raping anybody and there father gets you arrested. When you get out of jail, don't get in the same car as that father. Just because you're evil do you have to be stupid?

Yeah, and the kid had made so many good decisions up to that point. I wouldn't have figured him to do something dumb, would you?

On the upside, nobody got thrown off a bridge.

The mom is an idiot.

28, yes, an utter mush-brain. the only person in this story who isn't an asshole is the 8 yr old girl. she should be given up for adoption asap. this story sorta reminds me of bergman's "the virgin spring."

Read The Culture of Make Believe by Derrick Jensen. This is normal in our culture.

@17
"...tool of justice..."
hehehe

Violence begets violence.
What the Dad did in this situation will probably ensure that the stepson continues to sexually assault people.
I'm appalled at how many of you think that's ok.

The real world never ceases to amaze. Not quite as amazing as the guy who dumped boiling oil on his child such that the child's skin sloughed off, but pretty good all the same.

I think Dan's point continues to be valid. I'd be curious to know what kind of homosexual parent stories the anti homo crowd could come up with. Of course, there presumeably aren't that many homo parents, so the pool is rather shallow to draw from. We see what comes from the depths of hetero unions, so the the depths of homo unions should be pretty, umm, fucked up (?) too.

It's a fine world we live in. I'm sure the sun will shine tomorrow, children will play and laugh, the world will rotate on its axis and I'll wake from my sleep refreshed and ready to enjoy another day. That's real too and comprises the reality for the majority of us humans. One should never forget this when looking into the Abyss. One should never forget that the Abyss looks into you as well...

Cheers! :-)

Does anyone find it strange that the Arlington PD and criminal system allowed the 18 y.o rapist to post bail??? I think the boy still would've gotten raped by someone in jail but it would've saved the father of that girl the trouble of doing it and criminal prosecution if the Arlington court system actually did it's job and thought of that girl's best interest instead of the rapist.

Keep in mind that the son was accused of rape by the father, and apparently only the father. From reading the article, the dad was the only one who witnessed the assault, and there was no mention of a statement from the girl (although maybe there was, and it just wasn't mentioned).

Either way, I think I'd want a DNA sample from the dad, if I were a cop. Something's fishy here.

Hasn't anyone ever read the lyrics to Prison Sex by Tool?

Hm.

If I had been in the father's shoes, I can definitely say I'd *want* to do something similar to what he did.

It would be wrong, wrong, wrong, and I'd know it somewhere in my mind, but I'd want to do it anyway. I would not be thinking rationally. Who would?

Would I actually do it? I can't honestly answer that question. I would hope not.

An eye for an eye. If it was my child, I would have done the same thing. That's just me though. I can't believe that there is one person out there (including YOU, Dan) that, if they had the chance, wouldn't administer the same kind of "justice" if it had been their child that was raped.

I'm wondering if the reason he didn't want bail posted was because he knew he'd lose control like this and do something he'd regret, so was trying to protect all concerned. The mother, thinking the sun shines out of her son's ass, decides to spring him.

And whoever said they thought the stepson had been abused by relative - I'm betting for the father.

Unfortunately, there is the example of the gay foster parents in the UK who were incredibly abusive.

That poor little girl. Everyone else in this story is human waste.

@4: blood makes for very excellent lubrication.

Best. Stepdad. EVER.

good for him. that kid was just gonna go on to do the same thing to more kids. you really think that the system can turn him around? you really think pedophiles that get released after serving their time are really not thinking (or acting) out their desires?

stepdad should've cut his nuts off

If - and it's a big IF - the stepson was indeed guilty (as another poster mentioned, no one else apparently witnessed the original crime), then as a parent, I'd have had a hell of a time not just shooting the sonofabitch dead. And his dumb-ass enabler of a mother, too.

Which brings up an interesting question. Would people be equally outraged by the 18-year-old being shot and killed in a case like this, or is it the lurid, titillating nature of the vengeance that gets people's panties in a twist?

Is rape still considered "worse than death"? Would you rather be tortured, or killed outright?

This being Texas, chances are both stepson and stepfather will get sent to the electric chair, and good riddance to bad rubbish in both cases if ya ask me. But the poor little girl - stuck with that awful stepmother, who will now feel the need to take vengeance for her poor martyred son...

Keep in mind that the son was accused of rape by the father, and apparently only the father. How many witnesses to rape do you need? Don't forget that the hospital reported that the little girl showed evidence of anal rape. A DNA test coupled with a sensitive questioning of the little girl should verify the father's story.

Dan, usually you post these because of something wrong that the parents did. I don't see it here. Maybe you were talking about the mom?

OK - I don't really feel like scrolling through them all again, but I could swear that I just read 45 comments on this story, and not ONE of them seemed to talk much about the fact(s) that the stepfather also :

*received two years deferred adjudication probation in November 1996 after pleading guilty to burglary of a habitation.

*avoided prosecution on four other charges: possession of marijuana, theft by check and two cases of assault with bodily injury.

*had his probation revoked in 2000 and was sentenced to two years in prison.

*received a 30-day jail sentence for assault with bodily injury in 2001 and a 20-day jail sentence for possession of marijuana in 2006

So yeah - he's a real "justice" oriented guy, huh?

I'd say the whole damn household goes in the "do over" bin.

mother @12
much of what you say is true, however in my studies of pedophiles many actually know what they are doing is wrong by community standards, they just claim they can't help themselves.
Sadly, the only programs that have shown promise in treating sex offenders are the ones that catch the problem in the early to mid teens. 17-8 is at the cusp and there needs to be family, community and school involvement. after that there are no standard treatments that have no recidivism rate. at least none in this country. in europe there was some experimentation with non-chemical castration but flawed methodology and uncomfortable ethical issues.
which leaves many people feeling that they could understand the stepfather in this case. I am reminded of how Dukakis blew the presidential debate when asked if his wife was raped and murdered would he want the death penalty. he answered no I would not, when he should have said "yes I would want to kill the killer with my bare hands but my personal emotional desire for vengeance would not necessarily the best basis for making policy on a governmental level."
The question in such cases is how do you make good social policy that addresses complex problems.

Justice and Vengeance intersect at their commonly shared punitive impulse, and occasionally the two also agree in matter of degree. It's rare, but it does happen. We're close in this case.

However, neither Justice or Revenge should be thought of as primary servants to redemption. Their objective is punishment, and whether or not they make the world a better place is only a secondary concern.

Kill 'em.
Kill 'em all.

I don't understand why we make excuses for people who have molested and abused children. They will never be cured of that desire, ever.

I say the quicker they're snuffed out the better.