This sounds hauntingly familiar. “….the beatings provided entertainment for the guards and administrators…There were bets, and money changed hands on who could draw blood on the first blow…” This sort of cruelty reminds one of the Holocaust (Full story: www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/15/boys.school.memories/index.html). .
Former students at the Florida reform school for boys recall horrific abuse. One former student said he’s been married for 42 years, and he never told his wife. Amazing.
One man remembers:
He said he was forced to lie face down in a blood-soaked pillow — a pillow with small pieces of lips, tongue and skin on it from the previous boy. He’d clench the metal bar of the bed. The ceilings were low. He would hear the strap hit the ceiling and make a “tick” sound before it swung down on him.
I don’t understand why this wasn’t brought out into the open earlier. You mean not one school administrator felt bad enough to bring this forward? What kind of monsters live amongst us? The intriquing question is, why didn’t former students come forward before now? Why now, after a half century has this finally been brought to light? Now, after so long, how can memory be deemed trustworthy?
What’s amazing is that these former students didn’t turn out to be monsters themselves. How does this happen?
So the thing is…..this is bogus. Those graves are going to be accounted for by a flu epidemic and a fire.
graves even……
I think memory can definitely be trusted when it comes to matters of tragedy.
Tramatic moments are engraved in one’s memory. They can be forgotten no matter how hard you try.
This just goes to show how people act when they believe there will be no consequences to their actions.
It was a different time. Where I grew up things like incest, sexual abuse, alcoholism and domestic violence were “none of our business”. Nobody interfered unless it had to do with their own. I know this from direct experience. Nobody called the cops…they just said “stay away from my family or else!” and the perpetrators would move quietly somewhere else.
A couple more mild examples: My grade school principal proudly displayed his “Persuader”…a small cricket bat…on the wall in his office. He used it regularly. When other kids assaulted me in the hallways or on the playground, if I dared to tell a teacher I was often met with an attitude of “don’t be such a tattletale!”. My parents knew that I was horribly bullied but their attitude was “you make them treat you that way by the way you look and act”. They would actually invite the kids that were mean to me to my birthday parties.
When you feel powerless you eventually just accept it as the way things are.
Different times.
Well, I am certainly glad that times have changed. I think you are right… my parent’s generation grew up in a world where you could be hit at school by your teacher, parents belted their kids regularly, etc. Thank God times have changed. Not to say these things still don’t happen in people’s homes. But on the other hand, I also hate the excuse “those were different times”. These CHILDREN were beaten with metal reinforced straps and stuffed in dryers. When these visuals go through my head, I feel like exploding with anger. I hope with all my heart that the people responsible for these atrocities are taken to jail and prosecuted. I could care less if they are 100 years old. They ruined and took lives. If they do avoid the legal system, I hope they burn in hell. I am a Christian and typically I don’t say things like that, but this case is really testing my ability to forgive. I’ll let Jesus and/or the devil take care of these men. Oh, and please stop talking about the flu… no victim in their right mind would come forward just because a group of kids died from the flu. These boys were tortured then and are still tortured in their thoughts today. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
I hate that any kid has been bullied by an adult or a child. That’s just one more reason why I don’t believe in a loving god. But, Laura, if there is a hell, I, too, hope that people who commit crimes against children spend an eternity there….
I HAVE NO DOUBT EVERY WORD THESE MEN ARE SAYING IS COMPLETELY TRUE. LETS SEE WHAT THE GRAVES HAVE TO SAY.
I’ll let Jesus and/or the devil take care of these men.
+++++
I hate to think of all the cruelty that is dished out because cowards will not act and use this kind of logic to disguise their moral weakness. Maybe physical intervention is not always called for, but there is always a way to fight back.