On Child Abuse and PTSD

Part of what happens, when a child is abused, is that they all too often have thier very spirit crushed...  With the fight to get it (thier spirit) back offtimes insurmountable, leading to lives that are often torn apart and compromised by anxiety, depression, PTSD, addictions, revictimization (s) and so much more...

How many times have I heard that I "am full of potential"?  How many times has one of my children (victimized as a youth; now an adult) heard that he is "full of potential?

Indeed he is.  And so am I...

But a feeling of "safety in the world" has to preceed self-esteem, self-confidence and "self-actualization" [a theory that has been fleshed out by a number of top psychologists] --- and those things --- for survivors of chronic childhood trauma --- are hard to come by and/or hold on to --- indeed.

Which leads me, again, to ask why more focus on the prevention of childhood trauma and the protection of our children from familial, "friend" and stranger abuse is not given a much, much higher priority?

Is my writeup below on Human Greed Virus (HGV) somehow applicable here?  Why so much emphasis on petty (my opinion) issues (i.e. a commission to study cats...) - and so little emphasis on the prevention of childhood abuse?

Don't get me wrong, I like cats - and they deserve thier spot (I've said before that I think the cat issue is a animal warden / SPCA / etc. issue)  in the sun...

But here we sit, in the midst of how many unidentified and identified (but now free...) child abusers and child sex offenders - with one of our main concers - cats?????

My research, extensive, tells me that when a "prostitute" is arrested - the police are more than likely arresting someone that has a history of severe child abuse...

My research, extensive, tells me that a lot of the folks in our battered womens shelters, homeless shelters, jails and prisons generally have a history of severe child abuse...

My research, extensive, tells me that the folks that end up in rehabilitation centers and/or psychiatric hospitals generally have a history of severe child abuse...

And my EYES tell me that a whole lot of jobs [from non-profits, to pharmaceutical company employees, to hospital employees, to rehab workers, to folks employed by the penal system...] depend upon this very [Isn't this pretty damn sad?] population...

Prevention, folks.  Lets look at how we can prevent HGV (human greed virus) from spreading and demoralizing our children, our communities, ourselves...

Let's protect our "angels" --- in the manner that a civilized society CAN and SHOULD.

Because in my opinion [I once heard this said at an MHA workshop]:  "child abuse is the
greatest 'weapon of mass destruction' (WMD) out there."

And, as long as we ignore that fact? 

Nothing - in my opinion - is going to get any (over the long term; for the families that need
it most...) better.

I read in yesterday's or today's "Freeman" that there is going to be a child abuse and awareness
workshop or seminar (I forget the exact wording) at a school in Boiceville sometime soon.

This is great. 

But why not in Kingston too?  Why not at every school in Kingston and in an open community
forum?

Why not set up a child abuse prevention committee - bringing in folks from the Crime Victims
Assistance Program, the YWCA, the Neighborhood Watch, etc?

If cats are worthy of our focus...

Don't you think the safety of our children should be on somebody's "focus list" as well?????

[It is a good idea to keep an eye on what crimes are being committed in the city and where released sex offenders are reputedly living.  One can see an up to date map of this [put a check in the sex offender box] at:  http://classic.crimereports.com/widget/widget.html?CRSearch=Kingston,NY .(This link is also available in the sidebar)]