Much has been said about the three young ladies who were kidnapped by that sick individual in Cleveland for ten years in his house without anyone who lived around them ever having a clue. Could this have happened in Mister Rogers Neighborhood? NEVER! Even with a neighbor with a creepy sounding pedophile-like name like Mr. McFeeley wouldn’t have ever thought of doing such a thing!
In case you’ve lived under a rock for the last few days, Ariel Castro, 52, who lived in the house where the women were held captive as well as his brothers, Onil Castro, 50, and Pedro Castro, 54, will pretty much have several charges put on them as the usual 36 hour limit to do so has been extended for suspects of a crime.
Kidnapped were Amanda Berry, 27, who somehow became impregnated while in captivity to having a now 6 year old daughter, Georgina “Gina” Davis, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32.
Between 2002 and 2004, these women all disappeared from the same street Lorain Avenue.
Now as far as the details of this travesty, you all probably know more than I because at the time of this writing there are more details coming out by the minute because of the investigation. So I just wanted to share some kneejerk reactions that I had when this story first broke.
Number one, WHERE was that nosy neighborhood woman when you need her? I mean, every street has one and if she was present this thing couldn’t have ever lasting the ten years that it did because it would have been busted apart after no more than two days. Sorry folks, I’m not poking fun at something so tragic but what I’m trying to bring attention to is the fact that it seems like there aren’t any close knit neighborhoods anymore.
What happened to knowing who your neighbors are? What happened to always keeping a vigilant eye on the goings and comings of your neighbors in a concerned way without actually being nosy or intrusive? Well, we need that again in our communities!
Another thought, with all of the police profiling going on in Cleveland and the harassment of minorities going on there, wouldn’t it have been nice if some of those same police who see the bogeyman as being this particular “Big Black Bloodthirsty Evil Predator” of a stereotype took the time to actually walk a regular beat to get to get to know those in the very same neighborhoods to which they are commissioned to protect?
Imagine if HERO Charles Ramsey (Pictured below) wasn’t as decent a person that he was to kick in the front door of the house that held the captive women when he heard the screams coming out of there? Imagine if he were profiled and shot at the very moment of kicking that door in to commit such a heroic act because he “fit the description” of a thug, criminal or murderer? Things are not always what they appear to be and this is why I love how this played out in this particular part of the story.
We have become so caught up in getting the news of our local world from our smartphones that we’ve forgotten to take the time to actually use our five senses sensibly to absorb what’s really transpiring around us and that to me is very sad.
While this can happen to anyone at anytime, you can’t tell me that if the breakdown of our civil expectations didn’t occur as it has that this could have gone on so long.
So yes I do feel as though we all are a little bit responsible for being aloof and turning our heads to the few things that happened there when one of the young ladies was spotted in the yard nude and the individuals who saw Ariel Castro with the young child didn’t inquire more as to who she was.
Sure, certain things are none of our business but we need to use the technique of what was normal behavior on a civil level in our neighborhoods even if it is not considered quite normal anymore.
Its kind of comparable to what is taught to new hires in these large retail spots like The Home Depot or Lowes, instead of watching a potential thief execute a theft of goods then calling a Loss Prevention Officer, they are told to politely approach that suspicious customer in a helpful manner that will force them to feel as though all eyes are on them without the store associate from accusing them of anything wrong if they are not guilty of having the intent to steal in their heart.
If some friendly persistent neighbor would have stopped to talk with Ariel Castro while he had that child around and about or spoke with him as he entered his front yard to go inside you can’t tell me that more information would have leaked out over time that would have caused those three young ladies to be discovered so. much sooner.
But imagine, if something so severe like this could happen in such a populated area, just imagine the tragic situations that are going on right up under our noses cloaked in the deceptive guise of what others may feel is a normal relationship?
Think of how many battered women are out there that never report the crimes levied upon them out of a fear placed in them by their abuser?
Think of the men who would be so bold to break an innocent woman down merely because of the evil that lurks within yet acts just as normal as a front to the world who accepts him as this wonderful upstanding pillar of decency and respectability in a very much deceived society?
Men who beat their wives and girlfriends yet no one knows. Men who rape their daughters, sons and step children in such a brazen fashion yet turn around and act as though they are such concerned citizens when in fact they are the very monsters to which we abhor!
I personally know of a situation where a man was found to be screwing his step daughter for years before impregnating her and the mother hadn’t a clue until the child cane into this world!
We have got to stop taking people on face value to understand that evil is a real thing and is brazen beyond measure, operating in your presence until you and I check it.
While we’re running around looking out for bombs and terrorists, the real terrorists are right here in our very communities destroying lives going undetected because they happen not to fit the profile!
In my brief stint in working as a Corrections Officer I can tell you that the child molesters look to be the kindest and most gentle individuals on the face of the earth who can exude an intense aura of decency and uprightness that deceives the world around to the true monster that they are and house from within.
Wake up people! The individuals who are out here in the world are not like those on Mister Rogers Neighborhood where everyone could be taken on face value and all things decadent ceased to exist.
Life is real and until we acknowledge that these negative forces are right next to us smiling as though the world is one big happy place while they seek to devour their next victim, expect the next Ariel Castro to rear his ugly presence time and time again until we get back to living as a community the way we USE to do!
Peace & Righteous Love Always,
LanceScurv,
407.590.0755
