Me too. I feel that the Turpins are starting to get a pass as far as how they tortured their children.
If we as a society do not have rules and standards, we might as well figure we will live like Neanderthals.
People who want to will always try to circumvent rules. But at least if there are some, they could be examined to see if they are following the rules. We don’t eliminate the speed limit because people do not observe it.
I am not giving them a pass. However, there is always going to be folks like the Ts. We can't just have govt. employees knocking on our doors to inspect homes based on how others view our lifestyles. What I might see as abusive, others may not, and visa versa. It's a very frivolous little thing, but, as I've said, we are naturally nocturnal. When we could be, we are up, and out, at night. We've had the kids out in the car, often, at close to midnight, and off to Walmart, in the next county. After, we'd run by DQ and get milkshakes, and to top off the adventure...we'd go through another neighboring county, to take the vehicle through my spouse's favorite car wash! :loveyou: Then we'd ride around a bit, jam some tunes, and return home. A good time was had by all! Now, going out, and coming back, w/the kids, at those hours, may have seemed kinda weird to our neighbors who didn't know us (we were in a rural cul-de-sac then), but I'd have been furious, and refused to allow anyone in, and asked to see a warrant, if someone called CPS on us, for our outings.
My next door neighbor was a bit of a hoarder, (not trash, just "things") but her kids were well fed, loved, never had a hand laid to them, always dressed well, active in, and excelled in, school. Their mother would have fought a circle saw running backwards over them kids.
One of my kids friends in grade school, lived in poverty. There were times they had no running water to do the wash, or to bathe in (they had to haul it but had to wait for him to get a paycheck sometimes). When they were out of water, the kids would take spit baths in the creek. The child came to our home quite a bit, to play. She was sweet, no signs of abuse, a bit shy, but warmed right up when she got to know us. They didn't have a lot, but, again, I saw no signs of abuse.
If any of my kids' friends had had shown signs of obvious abuse, I'd have placed an anon call. I just cannot call on someone because they live differently than me, or because they may be struggling financially, and their clothing may not be stain free.
