is cropping up all over the country, from MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry saying, "We have to break through our kind of private idea that 'kids belong to their parents' or 'kids belong to their families,' and recognize that kids belong to whole communities." to former Massachusetts education director Paul Reville saying, "The children belong to all of us." to Hillary Clinton saying it takes a village to raise a child.
McDurmon gives some historical perspective. Almost two centuries ago, Horace Mann, often considered the father of public education, believed that children should basically be wards of the state. He famously said, “Massachusetts is parental in her government.” The mistreatment of Justina shows just how abusive a parent the state of Massachusetts is! McDurmon sums up what happened to Justina:
First, the decision to take the child was based upon the self-assured expertise of a doctor with the latest-greatest training. How could he be wrong? This is what he was trained to do. On top of his expertise, doctors in general are “mandatory reporters”—a series of laws that turn many officials into agent-snitches of the state who can get in trouble for not reporting potential cases of abuse. As a result, there is an incentive to over-report and to report non-cases just to be safe (for the doctor, that is). There is a sanction for not reporting, but no sanction for reporting non-cases. So doctors who have even the slightest suspicion, no matter how it is triggered, even based on malice or revenge, hurt pride, whatever, and no matter how wrong the suspicion may be, need only to cite psychological reasons, or call in a psychologist or social worker to foist even the most dubious diagnosis to confirm their suspicion. They will be upheld by the state, exonerated in the end, and perhaps even praised.
Secondly, the state itself— “society” codified—has every incentive in the world to cover and hide its mistakes (and corruptions, when applicable) from the primary agent of sanction which can challenge it, public opinion. Why not, when the sanctions for lying and cover-ups are almost non-existent anyway? At the most, a singular bureaucrat or two will lose their jobs, only to be replaced by others of the same mind and character. But “society,” as a collective—that’s what’s important. That’s what matters. She is the mother of all rights. And that “society,” the state, must at all costs be upheld, perpetuated, exonerated. Else, we shall be bastards and live in chaos and anarchy.Doesn't this sound like exactly what's happened to Justina? It's the tyranny of the trifecta: Boston Children's Hospital, DCF, and the local juvenile court. They all worked hand-in-hand not to protect the child, but to uphold and cover up the incompetence of the state functionaries. Hence the gag order. Because the only chance to save that child is public protest and lots of it!
Even then it will be an uphill fight as so many families have learned when fighting so-called child protective services and enabling juvenile courts. And don't forget, there's lots of money involved in getting and keeping these children in the system. Here's just one video about what's happening and why. Follow the money! This is essentially human trafficking.
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