Victims & Sympathy

We once had a friend who lost her father in a horrible traffic accident when she was just three years old; the same year she was raped—yes, literally raped. She soon saw her mentally challenged brother placed in a home when her mother could no longer care for him. Her childhood and teenage years were filled with poverty and even verbal abuse when she “wore other people’s clothes.”

An early marriage was hardly the one she had dreamt of. Her husband was verbally abusive and at times resorted to physical violence. She saw her not quite three year-old son’s body lying in a pool of blood only seconds after being run down by a teenage speeder.

Do you have sympathy for our friend? We hope you do, but let’s continue with this story. The young woman sought solace in the wrong place and began an affair with a second abusive man. She later shot him—seven times. She was arrested and convicted of murder. If you’re wondering how my friend is now doing, she later killed herself.

So looking at the above sad tale, just when did your sympathies diminish for our friend? We’re betting it was at the point she murdered a man by shooting him seven times.

It took a while, but we eventually realized that no one to whom we told this sad story had any sympathy for our friend. Why? Because they didn’t know her. Yes, our sympathy for this lovely young woman will never diminish because we know what a wonderful kind, caring, and witty person she was.

Yet most people are quick to point out that others have endured hardships as great as hers and never resorted to violence of any kind, much less murder. The same can be said for Chip Dillard’s six victims.

We recently made a remark about a photo of one of the six victims in the sex trafficking case, and a reader took great exception to it. Was our remark snarky? We’ll plead guilty. We’ll also remind our readers that many women have come from abusive homes (one of these young women was actually recruited into a life of crime by her own father), have been raped, have come from the most heart-wrenching circumstances imaginable and still managed to leave their past lives behind. They’re not thieves, drug addicts, or prostitutes. Why are some successful in leaving this lifestyle and others are not? We don’t have the answer to that one.

Rest assured, our sympathies are with these six women…up to a point. We hope all six can come through this and turn their lives around. Are we betting that they will? We’ll let you answer that one for yourselves.

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From the Stanford rapist to Matthew Tidwell to the six sex trafficking victims to local thieves/druggies, we’re seeing many who choose to overlook their friend’s/relative’s total unwillingness to accept responsibility for their actions. The Brown Recluse addressed this very issue in her blog earlier today; it’s well worth reading:

Personal Responsibility

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Tomorrow is the last day of the Lauderdale Rabies Clinic. Don’t miss the chance to have your little ones vaccinated for only $12.00 each. Click on the ad in our left sidebar for times and locations.

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Would Tim Staggs be so stupid as to ask for bail reduction? Tune in tomorrow for a most interesting account of his latest court shenanigans.