Oh my gosh. Your post has me tearing up a bit. That last paragraph. You should be a writer if you're not already.
I see something else less charitable in the strenuous efforts overall that we've seen in general in these women's histories, with friends and doctors and the legal system and since this horror, among various friends and acquaintances in the public, as well as various people who've commented in comments sections of articles, since the beginning of this case, to give these women the benefit of the doubt while their kids got the burden of doubt.
It's not surprising. They were the "nice", middle class saviors. Their kids were damage goods needing rescuing from the stereotypically dire backgrounds they came from, destined to a horrible life otherwise and burdened with the assumption of their dishonesty due to the "packages" they came in, which made anything they said automatically suspect to many.
Think about the difference. Grandma or aunt (I can't recall) of Devonte, Jeremiah and Ciera, had a nice, safe and stable home for the kids. She fought hard for them. Loved them. They were her blood. But custody was yanked permanently and heartlessly from her for the sin of allowing their birth mother to come over. Once.
Now we look at Jen and Sarah Hart.
Allegation one. They beat Hannah with a belt causing a bruise on her arm. Their excuse that she was running and fell is believed without question and nothing is done. They are allowed to go on to adopt three more children.
Allegation two. Various teachers in Minnesota have witnessed the kids hungry and begging for food. After seeing the kids are punished each time they report to the moms that the kids are hungry, they stop telling the moms that the kids are hungry. And keep feeding them. Hannah reports being hungry but punished with a banana and nuts shoved in her mouth. Sarah tells the school nurse "she's playing the food card. Give her some water." The teachers and nurse must know something is wrong and eventually discuss the issue with CPS officials. But where were the calls to CPS all along?
Allegation three. Abigail has massive bruising after her mother beats her over a bathtub and holds her head under water. For having a penny in her pocket. And being a liar. There's an arrest and investigation. But the main more serious charge is dismissed. None of the children are ever removed, even Abigail, for any period of time, despite evidence of severe abuse. During the investigation other incidences occur and allegations are reported to CPS but not acted on and closed as they are simply "morphed" into the main allegation. Which overall reduces the seriousness. It's like, "yeah we have a problem in that home but they're already under a safety plan so it is being dealt with." What? There is an active CPS investigation and criminal case and during that time about two more allegations surface and again, no escalation of CPS activity? No removal of the kids? The criminal charges are reduced via plea instead of sticking despite the fact that clearly, even while under a microscope, these maniacs are unable to stop themselves from maltreating their kids.
They are given "services" and counseling and allowed to abruptly yank their kids out of school, totally isolating them from any protection, and they're on their way. Why wasn't aunt or grandma given "services"? One strike and she was out. A woman who loved and cared for the kids. But these women? Who brutally beat and bruised a tiny six year old and couldn't stop from abusing them even after the initial arrest, during the investigation?
Allegation five or six (when you consider the additional allegations during the pendency of the bathtub beating case). A couple friends see something terribly, terribly wrong. A CPS worker tries hard to investigate and document the horror and save these kids. It is clear something is very wrong. But a nice doctor, despite examining six very small kids, five of whom are so tiny they aren't even on the growth charts at all, who are from two separate families, and despite the fact that he or she is aware of a CPS investigation and allegations of food withholding, casually determines there is no evidence of abuse or neglect. Maybe the kids are just small genetically or from whatever happened to them previously. It will take several months to determine a baseline. Again these monsters are given the benefit of the doubt. Their precious kids are given the burden of doubt.
They must be damaged goods who are lucky to have been rescued by their saviors. Those women who appear "normal". The kids are returned to their life of isolation and the abuse intensifies.
Allegation seven. A tiny 7 year old (appearing) with no front teeth bursts into a stranger's home, desperate and terrified, having ripped through thorny bushes to escape. She races upstairs to hide behind a bed. She says she's being beaten with belts by her racist mothers. She begs for help. She has never been seen before. She and her siblings are kept prisoner, isolated in their home. The mothers burst in frantically searching for her.
Is there a call to the police? Is there a call to CPS? Nope. Again these charming middle class saviors are given the benefit of the doubt while their kids are given the burden. And sent back into isolation and terror and abuse.
Allegation 8. It's the same as allegation 7 but reported months later to CPS. Despite the seriousness of the situation, no action of any kind is taken. (Remember the stable relative who allowed one visit by the kids' birth mother?)
Allegation 9, 10, 11. Devonte comes over to those same neighbor's home months later. He says he's being starved by his parents as punishment. He begs for food. Food is given but no calls to CPS. No calls to police. Once again, his nice, savior mothers are given the benefit of the doubt while he is given the burden.
Finally, but only after days of begging and asking, "Have you called CPS yet?", the police are called.
It's too late.
Regardless, despite evidence of a prior abuse conviction and the knowledge of what the neighbors witnessed, and the lack of skid marks or swerving, people everywhere find multiple excuses and justifications and alternate explanations for everything that happened in this case:
"I'm unwilling to conclude this was intentional. I need more info."
"Maybe they camped on a high turnout with no guardrail and a frightening cliff face, with six kids and accidentally rolled, or something!"
"Oh they could've fallen asleep and travelled 75 feet across obvious gravel without knowing it."
"It's hard to see in the dark where you're going."
"They might just have been on another camping trip. They didn't pack much because they're spontaneous. It doesn't point to intent!"
"The kids probably did have food issues. Just because they were digging through garbage and begging for food and claiming they were being starved doesn't make it true. Many foster kids have hoarding and bingeing issues."
"They likely just bit off more than they could chew and had a hard time dealing with kids with serious behavioral issues. So they broke down or had some bad moments. They just needed assistance. They needed help not judgment."
"They had mental health issues but they should be idolized. Did you know them? They rescued those kids. Turned their lives around. They were stressed. You don't know them."
"Just because one of these tiny, abused kids , lost her front teeth, which were never replaced due to the ridiculous excuse that a sixteen year old liked the toothless look, doesn't mean it wasn't an accident. I mean my kid lost her teeth. Are you saying I'm an abuser?"
Sigh.
There are "saviors" and there are "damaged goods" in this world.
It is a bias that impacts how all of us react to cases like this, to parents like these and to kids like they were, crying out desperately for help.
Ultimately I believe that bias led to the deaths of six beautiful, intelligent, incredible, innocent kids who anyone would've been lucky to call theirs.
That makes me very upset.
