I’ve been having a rough week and couldn’t come up with a QotW on my own. So, Miz UV was kind enough to help me out.
There was that article in the news this week about the mom who was supposedly so distracted by having to stop and buy donuts for a meeting that she forgot her kid was in the car and left her there the entire day. I can’t see how ANYONE could forgive that. She should be tried for manslaughter or whatever an appropriate charge would be. Reckless disregard for human life? Same as what a drunk driver would get after killing someone. Agree? Disagree?
At first glance I thought “Fuck that nut!” as any sane person would, I think. Then I decided to think a little more. How could someone justify forgetting their child in a car? And why does it seem to be happening more and more often? Is it only just getting more air time? Was this common before and no one paid any attention (as with domestic violence back in the day)? Should we have some compassion?
Um, no. There’s something seriously fucked up if you forget your own child in a hot car all day. Where’s that little alarm that goes off when you forget something? You know there’s something you forgot to do and it bugs the hell out of you until BINGO! that little light goes off. Speaking completely unscientifically and with no data to back me up, I’m pretty sure that most people get that feeling. Right?
I think that the “stress” excuse might be a little apt, though. I have to say that I have never been under so much stress that I would inadvertantly kill my own child, first off. But, I have had doctor after doctor attempt to shove psychotropic drugs down my throat for various reasons- the most recent being my chronic pain. When I was first diagnosed with PTSD I took Paxil for my anxiety attacks. And that shit really fucked me up. Then a couple of years ago I was prescribed Lexapro for them, because the doctor said it was so much better than Paxil and I wouldn’t have the SRI Discontinuation syndrome if I missed some. She was right. Except for the fact that the fucking Lexapro made me like a zombie. I honestly couldn’t form a complete thought. And I had the most inane songs playing over and over in my head. Then I had the jaw clenching- which was so bad I cracked two of my molars. HORRIBLE doesn’t even describe it. So, I’ve sworn off anything that has “serotonin” and “inhibitor” in the description (my latest doctor tried to trick me with Celebrex, but I’m not as stupid as he thinks I am). I know that doctors are quick to whip out that script pad and give someone drugs that will fuck them up even worse and I wasn’t even that bad.
Now suppose this woman was on one or more of these “miracle” drugs. Maybe she was also on pain meds and/or sleeping pills. I mean, stress doesn’t really have to be managed by cutting back on your routine, exercise, diet and simply relaxing every now and then. Take a couple or three pills and alls well. Right? Well, until you’re so zoned out that you forget your child in the car and come back to a dead baby.
Of course, now I wonder if this was the case with this mother. I have no idea, because I won’t read the story (dead baby issues and all that), but it’s plausible. It’s plausible that she had such a reckless doctor or she was so desperate for a quick fix that she wasn’t thinking at all. Stress really could have killed her child.
I don’t think she should get off though. I think that she needs to be seriously evaluated and then she needs to do her time. And I think that we as a society need to slow the fuck down and realize that doing twenty-five fucking things in one day isn’t worth the sacrifices. We don’t need what we think we need and we most certainly don’t need those goddamned devil pills. This poor woman needs help, but she’s got to do her time first. I don’t have any sympathy for her because she wanted more than she could handle and she killed her own child in the process.
I can’t imagine being so busy and so stressed that I would forget my own child. But then I actually know how to say “Enough” and take a breather. Having all the latest gadgets isn’t worth my kids’ lives or my own. Shoot, that’s why my house didn’t get vacuumed today.
Yeah, I changed the title a little.
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10 Comments
I’ve tried to be generous on this, but I just can’t see forgetting your kid for the whole day. There was another story I mentioned about a parental mix-up re who was taking a baby to daycare, mom put sleeping baby in dad’s car, he thought she had taken baby, etc. That I can kinda see. No one forgot the baby; each parent thought the other one had it. Good people can do bad things when overtired, stressed, superbusy, whatever. I remind myself of this because my life has never been that way for more than very short periods of time, but even so I can’t relate at all to forgetting about your kid for the entire day. As you say, don’t you think of your child periodically? And DING DING DING DING!!
I never thought of it this way, JJ - yuou may have a point there. Even if there is no connection, it certainly wouldn’t hurt our society to slow down a little. It’s gotten so you really can’t feel any accomplishment or simply feel content if you aren’t on the gogogo 16 hours a day. Then we wonder why we have so many damn heart attacks and need all these frigging drugs.
I’ve posted on this before. I just don’t see (short of some sort of mental illness) how someone coudl forget thier kid in the car. I’ve had just as stressed a life as anyone and I NEVER forget when my kids are with me. I might lose track of them for a few minutes in the store or something, but I always KNOW whether or not I took them with me when I left the house.
Not sure what the woman should be charged with, but she should be charged. And convicted. Then she can do some quiet jail time to reflect on how she killed her kid over a dozen donuts and then get to live with that for the rest of her life.
That should be appropriate punishment.
Hey there. I found your blog via Jerry. And after reading your post I keep thinking “Yea, but….”
What you are saying makes total sense. How could anyone possibly forget a kid in the car??? Yea, but… what if they did and didn’t mean to?
Where was that little warning alarm that goes off when you forget something?? Yea, but what if it really didn’t go off?
Should they be blamed? Yes, I think so. Should they be punished? Yes, of course. Should they be locked up and have the key thrown away? I’m not so sure…
I really cannot see how anyone could forget their child short of, as already mentioned, some sort of mental illness or being really whacked out on something.
My guess would be she got caught out and the ‘i forgot’ was the first excuse she thought of.
I can’t imagine doing it. I can see how someone could do it. Still, I don’t excuse it. And I think she should get smacked with some time.
Everyone’s got to hurry, hurry, hurry and then they get stressed which leads to little pink/blue/magenta pills which leads to ZOMBIE which can cause children to be left in cars and killed. It’s sad really.
I agree. I don’t think they should give her any damned pills to make it all go away either. A dozen doughnuts. Heh. Figures.
Hi, Adam! Welcome! Thanks for coming by.
I completely understand what you’re saying. I don’t think that she meant to leave her kid in the car. For some reason she really did forget. I can’t imagine, as a mother, how that’s possible for that many hours, but… I do think she needs to be held responsible. I know that she’s going to be remembering this forever and that’s going to be some serious punishment, but what if someone else uses that as an excuse and gets away with it?
You’ve heard of Münchhausen’s Syndrome by Proxy, right? Imagine if women afflicted with that disease started doing that to their children and claiming forgetfulness due to stress. Or the people that just don’t want their kids anymore. The depressed mothers who don’t feel like they’ve got other options. That’s why she should be given some jail time and punished. JMO, though.
I cannot believe that she was sober and/or sane and forgot her kid. I guess because my kids are on my mind all the time, like Miz UV said. I really do blame it on those goddamned devil pills doctors like to prescribe.