Does a bad economy equal dead children?

[Silvahalo]

As I was researching some posts, particularly a recent post by MJC regarding the children Khamari Hardwick and Dreshawn L. Lewis, both victims of child abuse, I happened upon a bit of an article and video that speaks of the rising cases of domestic violence in Milwaukee. Police chief Edward Fynn speaks on the video, 17cases of abuse, stating 70% are either that of a "murder of partner or death of a child".

An excerpt from the associated press:

Police Chief Edward Flynn and Mayor Tom Barrett are urging community members to be alert to signs of abuse and proactive in preventing it.

Flynn says putting more police on the street can't change what happens in homes. And once police get involved, the damage is already done. He urged families to get parental coaching.

Flynn couldn't say for sure whether the increase was caused by the recession but believes they're related, since at-risk families feel economic pressures first.

Mary, poster at freedomeden.blogspot.com
freedomeden.blogspot.com

So Flynn and Barrett are blaming the jump in domestic violence on the economy, but Flynn says he can't say for sure that's the cause, meaning he has no empirical data to back up his theory. Nonetheless, Flynn believes there's a relation between the violence and the economic turmoil. Barrett is on board with the explanation.

I think it's irresponsible to cite a cause for something without being able to verify that it is, in fact, the cause.

While it would make sense that economic pressures could lead to stress that might manifest itself in domestic violence and a rise in homicides, I think Flynn and Barrett and the media need to be careful about putting too much emphasis on the economy and not enough on the individual.

There's no excuse for shaking a baby to death. NONE.

No economic pressure is great enough to push good parents so far over the edge that they kill their children.

Although I think there is a link, as pressures go up, loss of jobs, loss of income, home and other necessities, absolutely can cause one to behave in ways one might not normally do so, a person who turns to violence in response to stress is likely lacking coping and anger management skills to begin with. No matter how terrible things might get for me and my family, acting out violently towards one another and our children is inconceivable....not an option.

What do you think? You should view the video.

[jo_momma_82]

My husband was laid off nearly 2 months ago and we've both been struggling to find a job and there have been moments that we've been alot more emotional than normal...

I can definitely see how emotions can be heightened during a time like this but, (as Silva said) the people who are acting out violently are more than likely people with emotional and/or psychological issues to begin with.

[malq]

My husband was laid off nearly 2 months ago and we've both been struggling to find a job and there have been moments that we've been alot more emotional than normal...

I can definitely see how emotions can be heightened during a time like this but, (as Silva said) the people who are acting out violently are more than likely people with emotional and/or issues to begin with.

Ive noticed that under stressfull situations the ones that fall apart the quickest are the weakest in mental /psychological health. They had problems to begin with.

Kinds like getting drunk with your buddies. The first one to create a hairdoo is the one that was off keel in the first place. It becomes really prevalent with halucingenics. The ones who have bad trips, are mentally scarred before that and it just gets magnified. LSD is one to bring out huge problems if they are underlying. Bad trips are magnifications of ones self. never had a bad one myself but seen it enough to know it's true.
How was that for off topic?,,,, but in general the economy is certainly a factor in peoples behaviour in violent crimes.

[DarkPrincess]

It certainly doesn't help that our economy is falling apart.

[swivel]

One of the top reasons men commit infanticide is their inability to provide resources for their children. I think it ranks very, very high in their justifications for suicide (you normally have to be depressed already, but this can be the internal rationalization). So yeah, we should see some job openings from all of this.

[Nell]

I had a bad trip once but i think it had more to do with the fact that I was tripping on LSD in my parents house and I was freaking out they would catch me.

[MichaelJCheaney]

Obviously I can ONLY speak for the Milwaukee and the Southeast Wisconsin Area....But it is a multi-layered problem that is only getting worse because none of the systems in Milwaukee County want to PUNISH. The want to help and that just makes the problem worse.

I am going to give you all an insiders perspective of where I see the Problems (Keeping in mind of course that I live in the Suburbs, but do travel thru and work in the inner-city)

Population: Milwaukees population is largely Minority, Black, Hispanic, and Hmong it is also one of the poorest cities per capita. Milwaukee has also had a HUGE PROBLEM with gangs and drugs, which thanks to Police Chief Ed Flynn has dropped about 30 percent in the 1 year he has been on the job.

The Mayor: Tom Barrett was a congressman from Milwaukee prior to being elected Mayor in 2004, and being the good Democrat that he is believes in throwing more money at the problems facing Milwaukee than actually taking steps to hold people accountable. (We call him the Milk Carton Mayor, because nobody EVER sees the guy)

Police Dept: Ed Flynn Came over from Springfield MA. In 2008 with the promise that he will clean up Milwaukee Streets and make them safe again. And so far the Crime numbers bear that out crime has dropped in the neighborhood of 20 percent, he has done that by adopting a "broken windows" approach to crime.

The Court System: (DAs Judges Etc) Again does not want to actually hold people accountable for their actions: They would much rather blame external forces for people who kill their Kids (Poverty,poor anger management skills) than hold them responsible for the end result. The problem with this is that Milwaukee is recieved to be soft on crime and it is.
(Again we need to throw more money into the social service system because MONEY SOLVES EVERYTHING) The System would much rather plead out a case than hold people accountable for their crimes. Which makes any progress Ed Flynn has made useless because the thugs are right back on the street doing what they did before.

Social Services: This here is the Biggest Joke: DFCS is responsible DIRECTLY for the Crystal Keith/Christopher Thomas Fiasco. In fairness this is run by the State of Wisconsin and has been since 1997 when it took over the reigns from Milwaukee County because again nobody was held accountable for the Babies who were being killed under their "protection"

You would think that after being responsible for 3 foster care deaths in the past year alone, that people would get fired and heads would roll right?
Well this is Wisconsin...so you'd be wrong. The same contract agency is still in charge and NOT ONE!!!!!!!! Social worker has been fired or demoted. In fact they Actually had the Balls to ASK FOR MORE MONEY!

So in my mind at least the bad economy is not the problem with dead Milwaukee babies.

The problem is this "its not your fault blame somebody else" Mentality that just oozes from the top down in the city of Milwaukee.

A trend that will tragically not get any better any time soon.

[MichaelJCheaney]

I had a bad trip once

Did you fall? You weren't hurt badly I hope......

[Silvahalo]

I think its interesting observation to see that my husband and I started having martial problems around the time economy started making a spiral downward. He hasn't lost his job but they have been warned to expect some cuts. Naturally, he's been stressing more as to secure our livelihood and I'm the one who manages our finances, so I see clearly where we are hurting and struggling. So yeah, we have had a lot more tension and arguments, although as of lately things are improving for us in our relationship only due to lots of work on both our parts. If he were to suddenly lose his job and feel the threat of losing our home, that would be enormous stress on the family. I hope we never get there. It would be our biggest challenge yet as a family to cope under those circumstances.

Families that are less than fortunate, don't have a home, have lost a job, parents are not stable in their relationship, I see lots of violence erupting in these types of homes. And yes, I do see and we all have read, that this can and will equal dead children. Sadly, I don't think we've seen the worst of it yet.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The blog writer is lazy.

There have been numerous studies on the relationship between domestic violence, child abuse, and economic problems. A quick Google can find more than ample examples all done prior to the current economic woes of the country.

These sources are reliable and verifiable from respected resources... had the blogger taken time to look. She may think the statements she addresses are "irresponsible", but her's are are even more so and just plain uninformed.

Stress is also thought to play a significant role in family functioning, although its exact relationship with maltreatment is not fully understood. Physical abuse has been associated with stressful life events, parenting stress, and emotional distress in various studies. Similarly, some studies have found that neglectful families report more day-to-day stress than non-neglectful families. It is not clear, however, whether maltreating parents actually experience more life stress or, rather, perceive more events and life experiences as being stressful. In addition, specific stressful situations (e.g., losing a job, physical illness, marital problems, or the death of a family member) may exacerbate certain characteristics of the family members affected, such as hostility, anxiety, or depression, and that may also aggravate the level of family conflict and maltreatment.

http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/use...oundatione.cfm

There is NO excuse for harming a child, but the fact remains that some people who can usually cope, are sometimes pushed to the brink... for whatever reason. Not an excuse, just a fact.

[MichaelJCheaney]

The blog writer is lazy.

There have been numerous studies on the relationship between domestic violence, child abuse, and economic problems. A quick Google can find more than ample examples all done prior to the current economic woes of the country.

These sources are reliable and verifiable from respected resources... had the blogger taken time to look. She may think the statements she addresses are "irresponsible", but her's are are even more so and just plain uninformed.

http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/use...oundatione.cfm

There is NO excuse for harming a child, but the fact remains that some people who can usually cope, are sometimes pushed to the brink... for whatever reason. Not an excuse, just a fact.

I think what everybody seems to be missing here are the triggers to what lead to these two babies being killed....

Khamari: Made a mess in the Dining room.....and this somehow warrant being thrown into a wall hard enough to dent it.

Deshawn: Had the audacity to start crying when the cumbucket had only and hour of sleep.

The only common link I can see is ANGER!

No where has it been brought up in either of these two cases that money was a problem.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The page I linked to gives all kinds of factors. I do believe there are homes where parents have enough "control" (for a lack of a better word) and would never abuse their kids but stress causes them all sorts of problems that make them lose control. Again, not an excuse, but an explanation of why some seemingly OK folks snap.

If you look it over, I think you will see some HUGE red flags that apply to Khamari and Dreshawn.

[Morticia]

When my son was about two, there was a lot going on with me, It had nothing to do with him, but I remember raising my voice a lot more, losing my temper quickly, etc.

There was a point where I realized that the issue was with me. It was sort of a revelation, and then I made the decision to change the way I approach my child.

I think we all have different triggers throughout our life that will make us act a certain way, but its all about personal responsibility. I was never physically abusive with my child, but I knew that I did not like the way I was treating him.

Now, I think I went to far on the relaxed side because he is five and talks to me like a teenager.