BaltoNorth blog: Martha Coakley, the Amirault case, and the demonization of men in the 1980s:
That's just sad.
I remember it as a milestone in the rise of day care sex abuse hysteria in the 1980s and think of it still as a tipping point in the demonization of men in our culture.
I remember it as the case that caused a generation of men to view interacting with other people's children as a risk.
It was the case that caused men to hesitate before volunteering at the Y, hesitate before helping out with the girl scout cookie drive, and hesitate before signing up to coach youth sports.
It was the case that caused men to think twice before watching a neighbor's kid, think twice about driving a child's teammate home from practice, and think twice about entering the teaching profession.
That's just sad.
posted by Helen at 12:47 PM
10 Comments:
1. who watches her anyway?
2. people from her background--what does that mean!
3. O. can afford health insurance.
4. Why make a big thing about some dumb talk show host? Next: Tyra Banks?
Don't forget the enraging particulars of this case. The women who were prosecuted in this case, Gerald Amirault's sister and mother, were released without conditions. Gerald Amirault, however, was released only on the condition he register as a Level III sex offender, wear an ankle bracelet, keep a notebook on his comings and goings, obey a curfew that prevents him from taking odd-hours jobs, and not travel through (let alone stop in) certain areas. He, not surprisingly, can't obtain employment under those conditions.
I still won't volunteer to help with other people's kids. It's just too risky. I won't volunteer with kids (I don't volunteer to help adults either, but I especially won't volunteer to help with kids) and will never date a single mother (there are plenty of other reasons to not date single mothers, but the risk of going to prison because she's a vindictive psycho is pretty high up on the list).
It's worse than you think, J. Bowen. If you date a single mother, you may well be denounced as a sex offender by her ex-husband, and the tiny kids will denounce you as well, since you are the interloper keeping their parents apart.
In compensation, of course, you won't have to (read: can't) cross-examine the kid accusers at the trial that sends you to prison for 2 to 20 years and deprives you of your right to practice law, medicine or teaching.
It was in the 80s, in grade school, that my sister came home, with her head held high, an air of superiority, announcing that she learned in school why women matured faster and were less violent than men. Because, according to her teacher, all this was because girls are pure and boys are hybrid.
That case was not just a legal mess, it was full of horrible interviews by people who were either untrained or dangerously unbalanced.
The "approach" used to interview the kids was recorded in some cases and has been used to istruct people how NOT to interview suspected child sex abuse allegations.
Trey
That case was not just a legal mess, it was full of horrible interviews by people who were either untrained or dangerously unbalanced.-TMink (9:50 AM)
That also describes the typical media treatment of the case.
Don't forget the enraging particulars of this case. The women who were prosecuted in this case, Gerald Amirault's sister and mother, were released without conditions. Gerald Amirault, however...-randian (4:19 PM)
I hear that's what feminists like Janet Reno, Martha Coakley call "equality." Think about that when a campus Women's Center director and her student acolytes try to get away with the "feminism is only about 'equality'" lie.
I have a nephew about to graduate from high school, and he loves kids, and wants to go to college for Elementary Education.
It makes the pit of my stomach drop, knowing the risks--the suspicion of men who like children. He's different in other ways too, in his appearance, that make him look different. I can just see how things could turn out badly.
But what do I do or say to him?
I think we need more male elementary school teachers.
I have seen him interact with younger kids--he's really good at it.
He teaches Sunday school and the kids love him and he likes being called "Mr. [lastname]" and he loves school and ideas and studying and really likes the idea of becoming a teacher.
I don't want to piss on his dreams, but I will feel terribly guilty if some kid or parent makes his life hell, exploiting society's suspicion of men around children.
What do you all think?
Think about that when a campus Women's Center director and her student acolytes
At my alma mater, this center was named the Women's Resource and Action Center.
WRAC for short. heh heh heh
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