Tadpole12 can answer at that poster's convenience, but I'd like to get a few words in here, if nobody minds my butting in.
I believe you're missing the point.
It's the point that Tadpole and I are trying to make that's getting lost here, in my opinion.
What makes RDI armchair experts superior to all those people who actually knew and had contact with JBR, and did not report signs of abuse "in the right number, and in the right places'??
It's not a question of being superior, Holdon. It's a question of having to put the pieces together. In truth, I think Tadpole answered you quite well. There are plenty of reasons. And it's not just JB. How many people do you think COULD have prevented a child's murder and did nothing? Ask Hedda Nusbaum if you don't believe me.
Are RDI enthusiasts here better than they are?
More experienced with abuse?
I know an RDI who IS experienced with abuse, Holdon. She knows what it's like. She knows the signs. She knows the damage it does. And she knows that it's
damn HARD to get people to notice it and even harder to admit it. If I'm lucky, maybe, just maybe, I can convince her to answer any questions you might have. You may find it interesting.
But just in case I can't pull it off, let me give you a few pointers. Do you know what the average is on this, Holdon? Some estimates say that
90% of child abuse goes undetected. That is staggering. Here's a few words you might want to type into a search engine:
"Child Abuse Accomodation Syndrome." While you do that, if you choose to do so, keep in mind what I said about how hard it is to get adult women to report rape, and how much harder it must be for a little child.
What makes a third party group (us) better able to judge or recognize abuse?
Because we have no personal loyalties to cloud our judgment. How many times have we heard it said that someone is not the type to do something.
On what grounds do we claim JBR's close associates were unable to recognize abuse?
I could give you a really long answer to that, Holdon. I actually talk about it at length in the book. But to give you the compact version, it's a question of personal bias. My best advice to you is to track down a copy of Marilyn Van Derbur's book "Miss America by Day." It tells how Marilyn was molested as a child by her father, and how the whole city of Denver, including her own mother, looked the other way because of the father's standing in the community. Because he "wasn't the type" to do it. Marilyn has commented on this case in the past, Holdon. I think it's pretty clear what she had to say.
I believe it is because they had no murder to raise suspicion,
THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!
and RDI uses the murder to raise suspicion of abuse. Circular reasoning at its finest.
You can call it circular reasoning, Holdon. You can call it anything you like. But that's usually how it works with abused kids who turn up dead. Read the stats on that sometime if you don't want to take my word for it. Most people don't notice until it's too late.
You keep saying you want "history." And I work like h*** to give it to you.
Really, those closer to JBR were the ones in position to recognize abuse, while we are not in ANY position to recognize it.
Even if I agreed with that, Holdon, just because someone is "in position" to recognize it doesn't mean they will. If there's one thing I can tell you from personal experience, people tend not to see things right under their noses. Some people wouldn't know the truth if it reared up and bit them.