Justice?
Several years ago a new 'technology' for communicating with the mentally handicapped appeared on the scene. It was called Facilitated Communication or FC. A facilitator would hold the hand of a disabled person over a keyboard and suddenly the disabled person would -- with the assistance of the facilitator -- would suddenly type out wonderful messages. In no time at all the technique swept around the country, winning the approval of important people, such as Zell Miller, Governor of Georgia who established a special program to spread the technique throughout the schools of his state.
Then another fact started to appear in the pages of newspapers across the nation. In quite a few cases, the facilitators turned out to be sexual predators, who forced the handicapped to type out entertaining stories about sexual abuse. In case after case, parents were arrested and families destroyed. It is unclear how many such families were involved, since they were handled in special secret family courts.
As time went on, though, it became clear that FC lacked the support of the scientific community. Many criminal prosecutions fizzled.
But one must ask, why weren't the real perpetrators of sexual abuse -- the so-called facilitators, themselves -- arrested? Most of the guilty parties, of course, worked for the state. In general, they pretended ignorance. So prosecutors gave them a pass.
And what happened to the politically powerful, such as Zell Miller? He went on to the United States' Senate.
We strongly doubt that he ever bothered to apologize to the people who suffered as a result of FC. Do Zell and those others in a similar position care about the innocent people whom they stepped on? We doubt it. Powerful men routinely step on little, innocent people. That simply comes with the turf. It certainly doesn't seem to bother him that a few individuals were sexually abused as the direct result of his playing God.
The facts are clear. He could have stopped the prosecutions very easily. But no, that would have been embarrassing.
We wish Zell all the happiness in the world in retired bliss. It would be nice if he had the courtesy to have cared for those others who suffered so he could rise to prominence.
Then another fact started to appear in the pages of newspapers across the nation. In quite a few cases, the facilitators turned out to be sexual predators, who forced the handicapped to type out entertaining stories about sexual abuse. In case after case, parents were arrested and families destroyed. It is unclear how many such families were involved, since they were handled in special secret family courts.
As time went on, though, it became clear that FC lacked the support of the scientific community. Many criminal prosecutions fizzled.
But one must ask, why weren't the real perpetrators of sexual abuse -- the so-called facilitators, themselves -- arrested? Most of the guilty parties, of course, worked for the state. In general, they pretended ignorance. So prosecutors gave them a pass.
And what happened to the politically powerful, such as Zell Miller? He went on to the United States' Senate.
We strongly doubt that he ever bothered to apologize to the people who suffered as a result of FC. Do Zell and those others in a similar position care about the innocent people whom they stepped on? We doubt it. Powerful men routinely step on little, innocent people. That simply comes with the turf. It certainly doesn't seem to bother him that a few individuals were sexually abused as the direct result of his playing God.
The facts are clear. He could have stopped the prosecutions very easily. But no, that would have been embarrassing.
We wish Zell all the happiness in the world in retired bliss. It would be nice if he had the courtesy to have cared for those others who suffered so he could rise to prominence.
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