Interesting post, kiki. Seizure medication may well cause the slowing down of speech. Does such medication prevent slow but coherent response to relatively simple questions? Since I do not know Crystal's medical history, I can only say that she often appears to have difficulty communicating on television, and I have wondered if one reason she hasn't pursued custody more vigorously is that her health may not allow it. I wasn't stating anything pejorative; I was describing what I saw. She seems, at time, to be dazed or in a fog--whether from prescribed meds or depression or something else, I don't know. Certainly if she has seizure problems, taking illegal drugs is not the best choice. I did not say one thing about her character. And it isn't me who paints people as unfit to be parents due to drug use. If that's the criteria, the kids shouldn't be with Crystal either. So far as I can see, she seems to be a decent person. I admire that she doesn't use the media spotlight to trash her children's father publicly or to heap blame on him for Haleigh's disappearance. The topic of my post was whether Haleigh would be with her family now if Ron didn't have custody and Crystal did. My point is that there are some issues with Crystal, as well as with Ron. Unless we are to imagine that kids with less than perfect parents should be placed in foster care, with its dismal, dismal record, then courts are left with trying to shore up weak, imperfect families formed by young people who make some bad choices. Does it mean nothing that child welfare agents have responded to allegations about Ron's fitness as a parent twice since Haleigh disappeared, and under intense media spotlight, so far have not seen it necessary to remove his son? Perhaps the people investigating the household know more than we do. None of this means that I would hire Misty as a babysitter or want my daughter dating Ron Cummings. I am just waiting until we know what happened to Haleigh before determining that "Ron put her at risk" for abduction and worse.
I don't think, for example, that people invited into a home pose "hidden, unknown risk factors." Those risks are right out there for all to see. When we hire someone to work in our home, we use licensed, bonded workers, usually based on referrals from people we know or other professionals we have worked with. We kept a close eye on the workers building a new home in our neighborhood, locking doors even when we were all at home in the day time. Schools in PA require background checks before teachers, aides and other workers can be hired. And so on. Even these precautions aren't foolproof. A predator may not have an arrest record or use a stolen identity; the criminal may be the new guy on the job. If we teach kids "stranger danger," why give adults a pass for letting the stranger danger into the house? Because even the best of people with the best of intentions make mistakes that put their kids at risk.
How is a child's disappearance the "forseeable consequence" of Ron's arrest record for poaching deer or possessing drugs? I can see how a child's abduction might be the forseeable consequence of inviting a stranger to work in your house without checking references. And remember: I am not arguing that Ed Smart is at fault or is in any way responsible for his daughter's abduction. I don't think Haleigh's disappearance is a forseeable consequences of dating Misty or moving her in the house, etc. Now, if (and God forbid) Misty killed this child in the same way that Robert Manwill's stepfather killed him--beating him to death--and she is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, then Ron will have to suffer the lifetime torment of wondering why he didn't see that his girlfriend was a homicidal child abuser.
But we do not know, yet, what happened to Haleigh. Who took her out of that trailer, and for what reason? If it was a child predator, and it turns out that Misty was indeed asleep in bed, then how would that be Ron's fault? I don't have to see him as a perfect parent or even a good one in all respects to withhold judgment on what he might have done to prevent Haleigh's disappearance until we know what happened.
arrot:
