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In my days as a social worker I worked with cases of poor school performance and attendance. I was later an officer of the court in the juvenile division. I later moved on to a mental health halfway house and day treatment center for juveniles and adults with mental disturbances combined with another disability, usually a physically limiting one.

The school attendance and performance cases ran from simple poverty, to limited parent functioning, to school phobia. The school phobia instances had cause in an inability of an individual child to work and achieve in a minimal manner. My case population was K thru 4. When a child that young is unable to tolerate school something is wrong. We identified causations that ranged from simple shame and embarrassment over home circumstances to bullying and sexual predation by both older boys and girls. The sexual predation was an unbroken string that could be tracked back by simple questioning of affected older siblings of our mandated target group K thru 4. If the abuse is evident at home by way of older siblings preying on younger sibs for sexual gratification then the chain of learned behavior reaches out to link the predators who were preyed on themselves by older sibs, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, neighbors, school workers and on and on.

My work in that population took me to juvenile court on hundreds of occasions. The reasons for a child, a parent, or other caretaker having to appear was not always predicated on a sexual incident. There were many other reasons for the appearance. What emerged from collected data from target schools was that in way too many cases, sexual activity by the very young and predation by others in their extended and immediate family and community was too frequent for mere coincidence.

Our target population was originally limited to the three principle Zip Code areas of the SMSA that reflected the greatest number of families on some sort of county, state, or Federal assistance. Once it was found that affected family members from our target population had been placed in foster care outside of our immediate zone of responsibility and that affected family members were attending school in more affluent neighborhoods, we were allowed to expand the limits of our mandate to those schools for the children that has come from the target area. What we found was that sexual predation and bullying was experienced there by way of the relatively affluent anti-social element present in those schools. Further investigation by the county attorney and the States Attorney’s office, revealed a disturbing presence, in otherwise nicer schools and nicer neighborhoods, of incidents and behaviors that were linked to trusted organizations and community leaders. None of this got into the local media. It was to be found there also.

I had done organizational and political dynamics studies and research in university within the whole of my community’s political sphere. I met with and observed political operatives and candidates of both principal parties and their attendant wings. The research and exposure to the whole of that universe put me in a position of being much like the TV puppet character ALF or Alien Life Form. ALF was fond of eating cats. When asked how he had come by a particular piece of information that he would spring on his human straight man, Willie, ALF would answer, “Willie, when you crawl around under peoples houses, you hear things.”

Well, that is what I did. I ALFed. All the pols knew me from my aggressive community organizing and precinct and ward organization days. When I went on to my social work days, I would cross paths with those same people or their tracks in less than harmless or in questionable covert social activities. After a bit, I too became a target for co-opting or pleasant recruitment to that darker side of the community. It got to the point at which I would not meet for any meal offer, casual drinks or the offer of a doob. I was very social and if I was going to break any substance taboos, it would be on my terms, in the company of those I knew I could trust, and in a place that I knew, without doubt, would be safe.

In 1977, an FBI field agent visited me. He wanted to know if I had any reason to believe that I was being investigated for a government job or a defense industry job. I had a fat FBI file because, I had been investigated for a military security clearance. My file was not available to routine inquiries for a period of 10 years after I left the service. The agent visited me because after a specific date the number of inquiries started to become numerous. They had come, I was to find out later, from local, state and congressional political entities. The agent wanted to know if I was seeking a position in government at any level. No. I was not. I was squeaky clean and well received in all strata of society. I was married. My wife was an administrator in county government. Both of us were known for aggressive question asking. She was a Republican and I a Democrat. A lot of doors were open to us.

The ugly part of all this is that we both knew who was friggin’ whom in every part of the community political rigging, both figuratively and literally. We also knew who the questionable predatory apples were at all levels of the education establishment. At that time, the problem was so pervasive that it touched every element of every organic part of the structure of both parties and the community. It remains so to this day.

Before we finish here, let’s add another dynamic. There are teens who are entering the Congressional Page structure who represent the proclivities of teens in the general population. Some are chosen for the best reasons of merit and ability and some have an added dimension of being primed for sexual activity, no matter the orientation. It then comes to be a potent combination of access and willingness for the breaking of age and appropriateness taboos by their minders.

I was subjected to bullying and to sexual predation in grade school by older more world wise kids. I was a nervy little snitch and I dumped it all, first on my teacher, then the principal and finally the superintendent of schools. It caused a bit of an uproar. Kids left school. Parents sold farms and moved elsewhere. And, teaching staff got a bit of a shakeup. It was 1955. I refused to be messed with. I was 10.

Let’s sum up. One – there is always an ugly undercurrent of questionable adult/child interactions going on in our society. There are sibling and kinship interactions that break taboos. It is in every level of society and in every institution. Yes, it is in church also. Two – many adult and authority figures are quite aware of the questionable activity, but for one reason or another will ignore it as if it didn’t exist. Three – it makes no difference with regard as to what level of society or economic status an individual may be in, the problem is always there.

The reason “it takes a village”, is because the narrower the canopy of responsibility for the wellbeing of each individual child, the more opportunities there are for abuse.

Sexual predation and abuse is a chain of learned behavior. Break the chain!

Lantern Bearer

Please, be attentive, be intelligent, be reasonable, be responsible.

You have no business to believe me.
I ask you to believe nothing that you cannot verify for yourself. . .
If you have not a critical mind, your visit here is useless.
G.I. Gurdjieff

The survey also found that just 45% of Americans would allow their son or daughter to be a Congressional intern. Thirty-five percent (35%) would not, while 20% are not sure. Higher-income Americans and investors are more likely than others to do so.

Only 35% of these same American’s wouldn’t let their own kids work as congressional aides. LMAO. More polls I say!

Are you referring to this story? http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/three_more_form.html

That page was getting explicit e-mails before,/b> he turned 18.

No, this is an adult we are talking about – an 18-year old former page, as even ABC News now admits. You really should pay more attention!

I’d change my name if I were you.

I’m not that concerned though. The left has been largely marginalized over the last 20 years…

Then again, if they find any more Republican congressmen, I’m sure they’ll wait until after the election to bring it to light. If they find any Democrats, it’ll be released immediately.

The neo-cons have to do SOMETHING to try and spin the news in their favor!

Skocking poll result. Media leads with the “Hastert covered up for Foley” story for 4 days straight (even though this has not been established as fact) and the public thinks that’s the deal. What a surprise.

Actually, it HAS been established as a fact. You are once again wrong as usual. Yes, us long timers remember your dumbass CC.

The headline should read: “61% of American adults decived by false media reports and Democratic lies” The lede should feature Patty Wetterling’s lying TV ad and the admitted reporting erros of ABC News. The article also should prominently report the fact that several news agencies knew at least as much about Foley – if not more – by 2005, and that they did nothing to “protect the pages.”

Only if the rest of us lived in a kool-aid induced haze of republican spin and talking points, like you do.