Friday

Good morning,

Quote of the day:

“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is.”

                                                   Yogi Berra

                                              Child Abuse

Since before recorded history child abuse has been suspected but not proven. Infants were found mummified in Egypt tombs and even then there was no soft tissue to determine the cause of death if there were no broken bones or skull damage. That is not only place mummified children were found. In the upper elevations of the Andes in what is now Bolivia and Peru children were found mummified some with suspicious markings on their throats. The people that produced these mummification were the predecessors of the mighty Inca empire later to be overpowered and enslaved by the Spanish Conquistadors for their gold, silver and precious gems. Then we have definite proof of child abuse. There is no question that the Maya and Aztecs sacrificed children by throwing them into cenotes (large wells) or gruesome ceremonies with flint knives to appease their Gods especially during a drought. The Spanish saw these ceremonies and were appalled at the savagery so they the honorable thing and waded into the adults and slaughtered them wholesale. After the Spanish prevailed the slaughter of the innocents abated because they needed slaves including children to work in their gold, silver and precious gems mines.

Here is one of the most mysterious events in history involving children. In the late 1400's King Edward IV of England had two sons aged 12 and 9 and the eldest was next in line for the crown. Edward was dying and on his deathbed named his half-brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester to be regent (temporary king) until his eldest son was of age. Due to political squabbling Richard decided to take personal custody of the young princes. The two boys were seen frequently playing in and around the Tower of London. In those days the Tower was not a prison but one of the residences of the sitting king. Richard decided that the children were illegitimate and therefore not eligible for the crown and that he should be king. It was not because their father had been promiscuous but King Edward IV himself was illegitimate. Richard produced two documents showing that King Edward's mother and father were 100 miles apart when the conception had to have occurred. This accusation produced a hell of lot more hell-raising especially from Henry Tudor. In June of 1483 the boys seem to have disappeared and Richard was crowned King Richard III. You would automatically think that it was Richard was responsible for the disappearance but that did not suit his character. During his entire life he displayed much courage bravery in spite of a cruel physical condition. Richard's title came under challenge by Henry Tudor who landed in Wales and was headed toward London gathering an army as he went. Richard gathered his troops and went to meet him. They met at a place called Bosworth Field and Richard was struck down and killed. Here was the king of England leading an army in combat. Henry was crowned King Henry VII. Two hundred years later a construction project was under way in the Tower and the skeleton of two young boys was discovered under a stairwell. There is little question whose bones they were. The actual murderer(s) was never identified.

Remember the Spanish Conquistadors? In spite of the time and distance involved, these guys brought horses with them to the Americas. Eventually a few of the horses escaped and ended up in Mexico and the Great Plains. Over a period of time the herds increased precipitously. One of the greatest human conglomerates that arose in North America was based on the horse...it was the Comanche. They were the first to capture, break and train the Spanish mustangs. The horses made it possible to run down and kill bison and this made the horse a very valuable commodity. The Comanche kidnapped women and children from anywhere they could find them and a few times a year they would take them to Taos and Santa Fe. There were “fairs” in those towns where the Comanche traded their kidnapped women and children for horses primarily with the southwest and Mexican Apache. Women and children were valuable commodities also. They were used to replace those women and children that had died in various villages in the intervening months. It was important to both the Comanche and Apache to maintain or increase the population of their tribes. Eventually when the white man arrived with firearms the value of women and children increased exponentially. Kidnapped white women and children would be kidnapped and held for ransom.  They would use the payment, mostly in gold and horses, to buy firearms from the illegal gun runners. A Comanche expert horseman armed with a repeating rifle was a formidable opponent. The central and north Texas Comanche raiding parties was considered to be the best light cavalry in the world for years. They and their mounts were able to go further without rest, food or water than anyone chasing them. They also would sell women and children to those tribes that mined silver and use the silver to buy guns. As you might suspect, the women were used to replace those that had died and to birth more. The children were used in the mines until they came to an age where the males would become warriors and the females would become mothers or they would be traded or sold into slavery. The Comanche added a twist once the white man arrived. If one of a tribe died of a “white man's disease” like smallpox, TB, measles, etc. they would raid a white settlement and kidnap a replacement. Speaking of slavery...human slavery is alive and well in the world today especially in central Africa with Zanzibar being the major trading post.

At first blush, child abuse appears to have been with us for a long time but to intentionally make someone suffer that is innocent and helpless brings revenge to most of our minds. One of my friends said that a public hanging would be appropriate for all child abusers. There is a gray area here. There are children that are born into abject poverty are will never fed and clothed properly. In my mind this is child abuse. What would be the appropriate punishment here...sterilization? I do not have an answer, all I have is questions. I have heard and read that education would go a long way to preventing child abuse. Education cannot happen without a desire to learn and as we all know there are many that just do not care. That leads me to only one conclusion...make the penalty for child abuse so severe that no one would risk it. Is that the answer? I cannot dwell on the premise that someone intentionally abuses a child that relies on that person for love and care. It bothers me...a lot.

 

      Thanks for listening  I can hardly wait until tomorrow