Thursday, January 24, 2008

What the fuck is wrong with this country?

Reports like this are becoming distressingly common:


A mother whose two teenage daughters were placed in an orphanage when she fell ill during a post-Christmas shopping trip to New York has been told she is under investigation because her children were taken into care.

Yvonne Bray, took her daughters Gemma, 15, and Katie, 13, to New York shortly after Christmas for a shopping trip but was taken into hospital when she fell ill with pneumonia during their visit.

The girls were then told they could not wait at the hospital and as minors would have to be taken into care.

Social workers took them to a municipal orphanage in downtown Manhattan, where they were separated, strip-searched and questioned before being kept under lock and key for the next 30 hours.

The two sisters were made to shower in front of security staff and told to fill out a two-page form with questions including: "Have you ever been the victim of rape?" and "Do you have homicidal tendencies?"

One question asked "are you in a street gang?" to which Gemma replied: "I'm a member of Appledore library."

Their clothes, money and belongings were taken and they were issued with regulation white T-shirt and jeans. Katie said: "It was like being in a little cage. I tried to go to sleep, but every time I opened my eyes, someone was looking right at me."

Eventually Bray discharged herself, and - still dressed in hospital pyjamas - tracked down the girls.

She said: "It is absolutely horrendous that two young girls were put through an ordeal like that. They were made to answer traumatic questions about things they don't really understand and spend over 24 hours under surveillance."

Since returning home, Bray has received a letter from the US Administration for Children and Families, notifying her that, because the children were admitted to the orphanage, she is now "under investigation."


I've copied the entire article in blatant disregard of fair-use doctrine because this is one story that really ought not be lost to a stale link.

As far as I can tell, not a single US media outlet has picked up the story. Not that I'm surprised by that.

7 comments:

Jens said...

In my opinion its of the utmost significance how a society is treating their own kids because they will reflect it 100% in their interaction with the society. Living on a different continent does me cut up to see the whole picture but that few is enough to be anxious about where this is leading to. Seriously: A student got tasered while hundrets of others seemed to agree silently, Al Gore answered his questions while this guy was crying for help and after all he became the peace award? we´re all in really big trouble soon...

John Zachary said...

I wish I could say unbelievable, but I cannot. I'm just not shocked anymore by stories about our government like this one.

Unknown said...

This is what you get when "feel good" policies of doing things "for the children" are unleashed on the public. What the fuck happened to common sense? Oh right -- it got lost in the never-ending bureaucracy of liberalism.

Ron said...

I think it's pretty questionable to blame anything that's going on in this country right now -- good or bad -- on liberalism.

ctoole said...

Actually the notion that people should be told by government how to raise their kids smells of current liberal political thinking. Conservatism doesn't care how you raise your children until they commit a crime, although the Far Right wants to legislate what you do with your reproductive facilities.

What makes me want to call foul on this article is what authority does the US Admin. for Children and Families have to investigate anything. State and local governments are supposed to handle this type of thing. The ACF is basically a funding and policy body.

Well either way this sucks. But on the flip side, how many kids undergo real hell at home and no one says anything or catches it? And what really sucks is when it hits the fan and kid commits suicide, or shoots up a school, or does some other destructive thing, we get reactionary extreme policies that foment this type of thing that was reported in the article.

Unknown said...

The major issues i see with this is a lack of evidence to even support asking such questions, The poor mom went to the hospital with severe pneumonia, Not drug overdose or something else, stuff like this makes you sit back and wonder why in the hell does everyone get all patriotic sometimes, We have allot of work to do people lets step away from our barbecues, Chinese made televisions and the cheap, polluting fireworks and do something about this stuff!

And before people get all "you have a right to free speech in this country", I would like to point out my fellow Americans, most civilized countries have such rights now, were no longer the only land of the free.

Now we just look ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

You people have no one to blame but yourselves'... You elected a (POS) Marxist loving Socialist as the president of the U.S., correct?

Remember, you reap what you sow!!