Posted on 03/03/2009 11:49:48 AM PST by nickcarraway
Here's a peek at our justice system.
A Miami juvenile court judge recently told a 15-year-old runaway foster child that she could end up a 'dead crack whore' if she didn't straighten up, reports the Miami Herald.
Exasperated that the girl was refusing to return to a home where she said her caregiver hit and cursed at her, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Spencer Eig lectured the sobbing teen about making bad choices during what began as a routine hearing.
''You're throwing your life away,'' Eig told the girl. ``You could end up on the street toothless. You've seen these toothless hags on the street? You know how they get there? They blow their opportunities in life when they're 15. They run away, they end up -- people turn them into whores.''
''Toothless, dead crack whore -- dead at age 19? Is that the destiny you're looking for?'' he added.
At the hearing, Eig asked the girl why she ran away.
At first, the girl replied, ''Cause she mean.'' But, a few moments later, she told the judge the woman hit her and cussed at her.
But Eig told the teen she had no better alternatives. ''It's time for you to get over whatever bad experiences you had,'' he said.
SNIP
Which led us to wonder: Is this really a newspaper story or a page from a Dickens' novel?
You decide.
(Excerpt) Read more at weblogs.sun-sentinel.com ...
Judge probably knows what he’s talking about.
Tough love.
This lack of compassion on FR is a bad thing to see...
Sounds like my kind of judge.
She told the judge the woman hit her and cussed at her. But Eig told the teen she had no better alternatives. ‘’It’s time for you to get over whatever bad experiences you had,’’ he said.
Sad.
Without a lot more evidence the judge is sending her to an abusive home, I say he tried to scare her into straightening out. If he should have taken her out of the home she’s in that’s another issue. But what is the harm in lecturing her about how she could end up?
Oh I forgot, we now depict the homeless as the pinnacle of society. And discouraging the use of crack is racist. And no woman is a whore even a street addict prostitute.
I hate the way this country treats its abandoned children.
But she's not the first foster child to run away because the foster parents were abusive. Just becuase you take in a child not your own does not give you amnesty from bad behavior. Those foster parents need to be investigated. And thats a fallacious assumption you make about people who stand up to defend homeless.
Absent some sort of evidence to the contrary, I'm inclined to trust the judge.
My thoughts were solidified when I found out the judge's boss thought he'd come down too hard on the 15 year old.
Im not saying I didnt think the judge should reprimand her. Im saying that the fact that she said she was hit and cursed at by the foster parents was brushed aside. If she were the only one to have ever claimed that, Id blow her off too...but Ive heard horror stories.
JMO but usually a kid that runs is running from.
I recently told a soon to be 18 yr old that her sleeping with two different 48 year old men then bragging about it until her parents caught wind and prosecuted the men that as an adult she is going to have to take responsibility for her actions and she may want to not brag about her adult sex life.
I was accused of calling her a slut (never used such word) and the fellow she works for told me he would never have me as a customer again. No big deal.
She also has a past of blaming a family member of lewdness when her folks gave her heck for doing something wrong and about 2 years ago she was found in another boys bed having sex.
Something must have gone terribly wrong in her childhood for her to be so sexually active and yet when giving her advice that she was shocked to receive she went crying to her boss.
If I was the judge I would have used a bit tamer words and suggested she get a job and concentrate on school perhaps get some counseling and report back to him every four months.
And if through counseling it is reveiled that she has issues at home give her the tools to deal with them so she can make it to 18 then she is free to go it on her own.
But his reaction is more likely to make her more bitter and angry.
I didnt notice that she had parents IIRC the article said careproviders...could have some abandoment issues.
There is tough love and I dont see his cursing down at her as tough love.
If they are treating a drug addict that way, maybe they shouldnt be fostering her? That she has need of stronger souls to help her? And if they are willing to do that to her, what are they doing to other kids they have in their charge? What HAVE they done to other kids in their charge? That’s not addressed in this article, so please forgive me for some “assumptions”. Sheesh.
You put it much more eloquently than me. Thank you!
“Cause she mean”.
Uhhhh... Yeahhhh..... I guess I get the picture. :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.