A recap of the show as it relates to the themes raised in my book, LOST: A Search for Meaning.
Archive for May, 2010
New Video: Thoughts on the LOST Finale
Thursday, May 27th, 2010Priests and Abuse: Misplaced Anger?
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
(Originally published in PULP)
It seems almost cliché to write about religious sexual abuse scandals in a faith-oriented column, but sometimes news stories simply demand a response.
First of all, I want to make clear that, as a leader in a faith community, Im personally both saddened and outraged every time I hear about another innocent soul falling victim to a sexual predator who uses the context of the ministry to cloak themselves in protective immunity. With every new revelation of such abuses, my question isnt why these predators arent defrocked; its why theyre not sitting in a cell somewhere.
That said, I think some of us are focusing our righteous anger in the wrong direction. Yes, priests and other religious leaders who exploit their position to take advantage of anyone in their congregation, be they of age or not, have no business in ministry. And yes, those in positions of greater power who knowingly obfuscate the scale of the problem, making it even worse by moving guilty priests around, should also be removed. But simply to direct our ill feelings toward these individuals is to ignore the deeper, more disturbing reality.
By its very nature, church leadership roles present extraordinary opportunities for abuse. Few other jobs offer such a combination of power, lack of accountability and social pressure to present oneself a certain way. People trust ministers or at least have done so historically because of their positions. Its assumed that it takes a special kind of person to accept a call to act as a servant of a church and its followers.
The problem is that, although this is generally true, it also is an imperfect system. True, some potential predators see ministry as a system waiting to be taken advantage of, but more often than not, I am of the opinion that the systems of religion themselves are guilty of creating these monsters, and not just letting them slip through the cracks.
Imagine being told that, for the rest of your life, people will look at you as if youre set apart, different. In some ways, they will hold an unnatural admiration for you, but this same perception also will distance you from the rest of the culture. Add to this that, in some cases, youre expected never to act on your natural sexual impulses, or even the innate craving for emotional and physical intimacy, all sexual acts aside.
Then youre given a uniform and are afforded authority over people that, by its very nature, places them in a vulnerable state, while also being drawn to you. And though its assumed youre carrying out the duties assigned to you by the higher authorities from day to day, the level of oversight generally doesnt match up with the level of responsibility you have.
Weve all heard the stories about how lots of men turn gay when sent to prison for long periods of time. Its not that these guys actually are suddenly more attracted to men than women, but for lack of a woman, a guy will have to do. This is not uncommon throughout the animal kingdom, with same-sex animals pairing off when its the only option.
So is it that these priests who molest boys are actually gay? Some may be, and may likely arent, in the sense that a homosexual act does not a gay person make. But the system itself places young boys in the trust of male priests all the time, and lo and behold, the combination of personal repression and otherworldly expectations find an outlet, though in a chilling and violent way.
An immediate reaction to such moral tragedies is to clamp down, enacting zero tolerance policies and throwing the so-called book at perpetrators. And although such action might make us all feel better for the moment, its not likely to change the behavior of a person who is already risking everything they have in the world for what amounts to a licentious thrill.
I believe that the biggest problem is the repression. When we ask people to be something theyre not by nature, those repressed dimensions find a way of seeping through the tiniest of cracks. And when they do, its usually not pretty. If we were actually more open about allowing our spiritual leaders to accept that their sexuality is actually a beloved gift from God rather than a dirty thing to be despised, it would go a long way toward allowing them to be what they actually are: human beings.
Not only that, but it also would give those followers within the church permission to accept as much about themselves, hopefully coming to realize that healthy sexuality expressed in mutually consenting relationships is as God meant it to be. Otherwise, none of us would be here!
From the first stories in the Bible, were wrongly taught to hate our bodies and to understand our sexuality as detestable and wrong. But as Ive heard it said many times before, hows that working out for you?
Couldnt it be that reading stories like those about Adam and Eve could tell us why we tend to view our bodies with shame, rather than taking from it that we should hate our physical selves? Couldnt it be that, if we are indeed created in the image of a Creator, our impulses and urges are supposed to be there, to be used and expressed in wonderfully creative ways?
If we can learn anything from history its that nature wins over the will of humanity every time. We may like to think that having the appearance of control over our sexuality makes us more highly evolved, or even somehow closer to God. Ironically, its those same God-given impulses that, when repressed find other ways into the light.
The problem is that, by then, its too late, and the shame continues.
Vehicular Manslaughter = $100 Traffic Ticket (NewSpin)
Friday, May 7th, 2010(Originally published in PULP)
We are a society whose order is built upon laws. Though there certainly is no guarantee of safety and quality of life, we generally can rest assured that the legal system will provide some recourse for victims and appropriate justice for those causing harm.
But things dont always work out the way they should.
Last September 30, Betty Joyce Kuykendall, 62-year-old Pueblo resident ran a stop sign on Tejon Avenue, rolling 85-year-old William Doroughs car with him and his two passengers, Katherine Waller, 75, and Spencer Waller, 19, inside.
Dorough was admitted to Parkview Medical Center the next day, and on October 27 died from complications from injuries related to the accident.
For this, Kuykendall was fined $100 and faces no further criminal charges.
So what happened? A number of things, actually. First, the Sheriffs deputy handling the accident reported that no one was injured seriously enough at the time, following a medical exam, to warrant any charges related to bodily injury. Instead, Kuykendall was issued a ticket for failing to stop at the stop sign and the rest was left to the insurance companies to deal with.
Kuykendalls lawyer advised her to plead guilty and to pay the fine. Her check was processed at the Colorado Department of Revenue on October 26, one day before Dorough died from complications related to the wreck.
The Pueblo District Attorneys Office, which is responsible for determining if the initial charges were sufficient or if she should be charged with something like vehicular manslaughter, didnt receive the Sheriffs report of the accident until December 16. By then it was too late to charge Kuykendall with anything further, as she was protected by the principle of double jeopardy as outlined in both the Colorado and United States constitutions, which ensures that a plaintiff cannot be charged twice for the same crime.
By the time our office received the full report and evidence, says Bill Thiebaut, Pueblo District Attorney, and a copy of the summons and complaint, and the disposition of the traffic case, the defendant had entered a guilty plea to the traffic charge.
In most cases, explains Thiebaut, Our office would staff the case and determine if someone committed a chargeable offense. If it was determined that a defendant should be charged, our prosecutors seek justice with a charge or charges equal to the offense. The problem is, at least in this situation, that it took two-and-a-half months for the paperwork to reach the DAs office.
I wondered if this is a normal timeframe for processing the materials needed to determine appropriate charges. It is not unusual that we receive reports after this length of time elapses, Thiebaut says. It takes time to put together the case.
As for the injuries not being reported, Thiebaut states: Apparently, the deputy sheriff did not know the extent of the injuries to the victim and issued a summons and complaint at the scene for a traffic violation.
I asked Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor for his assessment of the incident, to which he said, In reviewing the case, I have found that my deputies responded appropriately given the circumstances that they were faced with. This was a terrible tragedy and atypical when it comes to investigating and prosecuting an offender.
According to the Sheriffs report, the lack of reported serious injury is based on medical exams performed at Parkview Medical Center by a doctor and nursing staff. When the parties from the accident were taken to the hospital, says Taylor, my deputy inquired with the hospital personnel whether or not the individuals had sustained injuries that would amount to Serious Bodily Injury (SBI) as defined by statute. He was advised on the night of the accident that there was no SBI by both the doctor who examined them as well as several nurses.
The Sheriffs report details the nature of Doroughs injuries, not discovered upon intake at Parkview the day of the accident, but identified the following day when Dorough returned to the hospital and was admitted for complications. His neck was fractured and required surgery that would fuse portions of his cervical spine together.
In the week following the surgery, Doroughs condition worsened, ultimately requiring him to be intubated. He later had the tube removed but by then had partial quadriplegia, according to the report, which meant William (Dorough) could move his extremities but did not have any strength.
On October 27, medical staff recommended a second intubation, but Doroughs family declined, citing quality of life issues. He died at 11:11 am later that morning.
Deputy Jonathan Post, the one reporting on the investigation for the Sheriffs Department, questioned Dr. Rochelle Elijah, Doroughs hospital physician, asking why the Sheriffs Department was not told about Doroughs injuries when he returned to the hospital the next day. Elijah said she did not know, according to the Sheriffs report.
Asked also if Doroughs death was directly linked to the accident, Elijah said it was. The report does not list any of the medical staff by name that examined those involved in the accident the day of the wreck.
Following Doroughs death, Deputy Post and others from the Sheriffs department returned to the scene of the accident, gathering further information about the scene, which then was forwarded on to the District Attorney. But since Kuykendall had paid her traffic ticket, the DAs hands were tied.
So the DAs office did what they could, given the information they were provided when they got it. The Sheriff s Department issued the only reasonable ticket they could, given that attending doctors found no serious physical injury to any of the victims.
I asked Thiebaut if this kind of thing happens elsewhere, or if this was a freakish, isolated incident. Yes, there is precedent, he explains, however, this does not come up as often as you might think. Most bodily injury, serious bodily injury or death cases follow the model procedure [where the person causing harm is charged with inflicting injury or death]. On rare occasions, however, this scenario does play out.
In these cases, with double jeopardy shielding the would-be plaintiff from further criminal consequences, the only option for victims is to sue. According to Thiebaut, there is a civil case underway.
Incidentally, Betty Kuykendall has since been diagnosed with a neck fracture of her own from the accident and was scheduled to undergo surgery, according to the final report addendum included in the Sheriffs file.
Parkview Medical Center and staff involved in the case may end up being the subject of civil action before all is said and done, but I was left wondering what kind of legal responsibilities the medical staff may have failed to meet. Could emergency room doctors and nurses face legal fallout for missing two serious injuries in two different people the day of the wreck, one of which was eventually related to a mans death? And are they legally bound to report the injury to the Sheriff once it was discovered, considering an investigation was underway?
To be continued…