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all seems surreal somehow.
In a strange twist, the son of one of the men suspected of kidnapping and holding three women captive for close to a decade in a Cleveland home
wrote an article about one of the missing women in 2004.
Ariel “Anthony” Castro, the 31-year-old son of 52-year-old Ariel Castro, wrote an article published in Cleveland's Plain Press
about how Gina DeJesus’ disappearance "changed her neighborhood."
“This is beyond comprehension," Anthony Castro told Cleveland's NBC affiliate WKYC last night. "I'm truly stunned right now.”
What is truly beyond comprehension is how three young teens were captive in one house and none of the neighbors suspected anything.
One of the teens gave birth six years ago. How did that happen without notice?
Police officers even visited the home of Ariel Castro, in January 2004
after he left a child on a school bus and went for lunch while working as a driver for the local school district.
after he left a child on a school bus and went for lunch while working as a driver for the local school district.
Investigators knocked on the door but left when no one answered –
coming within feet of where Amanda Berry and Michele Knight are believed to have then been held.
The third victim, Georgina DeJesus, went missing months later.
coming within feet of where Amanda Berry and Michele Knight are believed to have then been held.
The third victim, Georgina DeJesus, went missing months later.
Mr Castro, 52, was later "interviewed extensively" about the bus incident but
was never charged
and remained off the police's radar for anything other than traffic violations until he was arrested on Monday night.
and remained off the police's radar for anything other than traffic violations until he was arrested on Monday night.
He and his two brothers – Pedro, 54, and Onil, 50 –
are now believed to be responsible for one of the most extraordinary kidnapping mysteries in American history.
It is a world of suffering because we make it so with our indifference, self-focus, and people going through the motion of their jobs and their lives.
What is wrong with humanity?
are now believed to be responsible for one of the most extraordinary kidnapping mysteries in American history.
It is a world of suffering because we make it so with our indifference, self-focus, and people going through the motion of their jobs and their lives.
What is wrong with humanity?
The rain forests are still burning. But no one is listening to the smoke detectors.
On every channel, you can watch man, the pearl of creation, tear apart his fellow man. And what do we do? Why, we change the channel, of course. Why deal with the backlog of misery when you can just ignore it? It’s become a cliche even.
We are the hollow people.
Science would say there are great gaps between the nucleus of an atom and the protons and neutrons whizzing around it. Squeeze all that empty space out between atoms, between molecules, and you would have very little solid matter.
But we have allowed our self-focus to squeeze so much more out of us:
compassion, empathy, love, a sense of community, and a sense of awareness of those around us as anything more than the backdrop in the grand movie of our lives.
On every channel, you can watch man, the pearl of creation, tear apart his fellow man. And what do we do? Why, we change the channel, of course. Why deal with the backlog of misery when you can just ignore it? It’s become a cliche even.
We are the hollow people.
Science would say there are great gaps between the nucleus of an atom and the protons and neutrons whizzing around it. Squeeze all that empty space out between atoms, between molecules, and you would have very little solid matter.
But we have allowed our self-focus to squeeze so much more out of us:
compassion, empathy, love, a sense of community, and a sense of awareness of those around us as anything more than the backdrop in the grand movie of our lives.
Why do you think madness such as this occurs within feet of us,
and we suspect nothing?
Is something broken inside many of us?
What can we do differently?
Is this the twilight of our capacity to care for others?
That is really horrific.
ReplyDeleteHave we become desensitized? To an extent, probably.
The devil truly has a grip on this world. Fortunately, he won't have it forever.
Alex:
ReplyDeleteYes, he won't have it forever. But to many, it will seem like forever, and it may well be the end of them -- physically.
I do think we have become desensitized to the plight of others in our lives. Perhaps it is a case of "Shut Down" to avoid "Breakdown." Sensory overload of the world's pain.
Your autographed photo of Kate Beckinsale is in the mails! :-)
Personally, I think this kind of tragedy is easily pulled off in our day and age, especially out here in the West. All these conservatives that live around me want nothing but privacy privacy privacy. Mormon church builds huge walls, they got secret ceremonies, people are secretive behind walls, etc. It's literally a way of life. I know none of my neighbors, and I'm a friendly guy. Just people don't socialize. The goal from an early age is to socialize in high school, get into a relationship and then solidify that relationship by isolating one or both partners (usually it's the man isolating the woman) behind a closed door.
ReplyDeleteThe unsaid rules are:
1) You are now my girlfriend/wife and you will not talk or carry on relationships with your old friends.
2) We will do activities, but only those done together. There will be no separate "going out" ever for the rest of your life. Together, or both stay behind closed door.
3) You will lose those friends that don't want to be friends with "the couple."
Dude, that's basically how it is. Isolation, separation, and control.
Humans are becoming desensitized, through the distances that interfaces provide (like computers, etc).
ReplyDeleteWomen and young children need more protection against domestic violence and abuse. Harsher penalties for these offenses. There is much that can be done to improve the situation. Much.
Michael:
ReplyDeleteI hear you those unsaid rules cost me a friend who married a woman who did not know nor did she trust a single man to be around her husband lest he lead her husband into temptation. Ah, make that two friends I lost like that. Wow. I feel sorry for grasping spouses that are so atrophied in the trust department!
D.G.:
I agree with you: women and children need more protection from domestic violence and abuse ... and from predators on the outside as well!
Like you and Michael say: we have allowed our dysfunctions and our addictions to the web isolate us.
Sad.
Desensitized sums it up.
ReplyDeleteHugs and chocolate,
Shelly
Shelly:
ReplyDeleteSadly, I believe you are right: "Desensitized" is the key word for our culture.
it's scary how in sync our thinking is lately...
ReplyDeletei believe it's several things. first, you and Alex hit it square on. second, television and air conditioning drew people from their front porches to the living room. people used porches for socializing back in the day. now, we're inside and even more isolated-computers. and families aren't nuclear anymore. we move away. and live by strangers. greed, too. lawyers will sue the pants off a robbery victim because a perp got injured while breaking into his/her home. life has no value. it's gravitas is gone...
I firmly, and sadly, believe that society as a whole is broken. But then, the profession I just left behind opened my eyes to things like this and how horribly often they happen right under our noses. So sad.
ReplyDeletesome of that doesn't make sense because i'm thinking along several lines at once...sorry.
ReplyDeleteWords Crafter:
ReplyDeleteYou made perfect sense to me.
The value of life is diminished in the eyes of most people -- except for their own, of course.
You cram a lot of grasshoppers into a small area and they become locusts. The same with humanity.
We are packed next to one another and withdraw for our sanity and promptly lose it and our humanity.
You're right: computers alienate us. We can post on Facebook and delude ourselves on how many "friends" we have. When we find ourselves in the hospital, those "friends" will not sit by our bedside and hold our hands.
We are alone as only deluded souls can be. You made perfect sense to me. :-)
Heather:
Yes, I imagine your last profession put a bad taste for humanity in your mouth and mind.
Sadly, I beleive you are right: society is broken because its people are, for the most part, broken. Sigh. Thanks for visiting. :-)