Betsy Shaw
posted in Mom Stories
This story about the father who killed the would-be molester of his four-year-old daughter leaves me with so many questions.
In the off chance you don’t know the story, a Texas father caught a man molesting his daughter in a pasture during a get- together on his ranch and, in the apparent process of protecting/avenging his daughter, struck him multiple times in the head. The man died. While the father is reported to be “remorseful” and it remains doubtful that he will be charged with murder, many people are calling him a hero, cheering and celebrating this event as if it were a movie, or video game, rather than real life.
Many commenters want to shake this father’s hand. And that bothers me.
I don’t disagree that this would-be child molester, if that is what he was, got what he deserved. I don’t doubt that instinct took over when this father was apparently confronted with the sight of a man molesting, or attempting to molest, his four-year-old daughter. I don’t doubt that, were I in a similar situation, I would be absolutely enraged and not in control of my actions. I don’t doubt that I would wish any person who harmed my child dead. I might even want this person to suffer a bit before he or she died. I really can’t imagine how I would react.
But what concerns me is this:
First of all, so little detail is offered about how this happened– the relationship of the molester to the family, how the man happened to be alone with the little girl, how long he was alone with the little girl, what went down once he was allegedly caught in the act, did the father use a weapon to hit the man, was there alcohol involved — I find it hard to believe we are getting the whole story.
But the most important unanswered question, for me, is where the little girl was when her molester was apparently being beaten to death. Was she watching? Was she listening? Did she run? Was anyone with her, comforting her?
Imagining the potential scene makes me sick. And it also makes me a little sick to read all the articles and comments, few of which make any mention of the fact that, if we’ve got the real story and the whole story, on top of being molested, or nearly molested, this girl may have watched her father violently kill another human being, all in the course of one day.
So hearing that this father is a hero and that everything is as it should be, just makes me shake my head a bit and say, but…..how was watching this man die any less traumatizing than being molested? It’s the old sex vs. violence question in its truest, most brutal light.
So far I’ve found one comment, from a Babble post that recognizes this missing piece:
Linda T.O.O. says:
“While the instinct would be to beat the tar out of the person molesting your child, there’s a case to be made that watching your father brutally beat someone to death in front of you at the age of 4 is probably the more damaging event.”
What are your thoughts about this case?
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Read more from source:“babycenter-com-baby”
dad who killed daughters molester more tragic than heroic
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