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Old 12-09-2001, 03:11 PM   #1 (permalink)
 
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August 8th, 2001

On March 5th, 1770 five rebellious men were killed by English soldiers in what was considered the "Boston Massacre". On February 14, 1929 seven mobsters were murdered by other criminals in what is still today named the "Valentines Day Massacre". On June 20, 2001 five innocent and helpless children were murdered by Andrea Pia Yates, a person the National Organization of Women calls a "victim of white male suppression".

Police received a call around 10am from a woman who apparently calmly stated "I just killed my kids". Police rushed to the scene and were met at the door by Andrea Pia Yates who invited them in and walked them to the back room where her five young children lay dead. Four of them wrapped up in sheets on the bed and the oldest still face down in the bathtub.

2-year-old Luke was the first to face his final moments at the hands of the person he probably trusted most in the world. Luke had an intelligent look on his face in the pictures that CNN posted of the children. Much like childhood pictures of some famous world leader or intellect might show. After Luke stopped struggling his lifeless body was pulled from the tub, wrapped in a sheet and placed on the bed.

Next to be dragged to the bathtub was 3-year-old Paul. Paul was the middle child in the family and probably faced much of the same things that most middle children face. The older kids can sometimes be bullies, especially the oldest two, having had more time together and he previously having been the baby of the family. The younger children of course get the most attention because they need it. The middle child can sometimes feel left out or alone. Paul had a more distant pose in the pictures.

After Paul was murdered and wrapped and placed on the bed, Yates went and retrieved 5-year-old John. The smile on John's face in the pictures looked genuine enough. He didn't seem to have the eyes of an abused child. He didn't look like a product of hard times. He looked like a happy young boy. He had a proud look on his face posing in front of his big brother whom he probably worshipped. John was held face down under water until the life was ripped from him by his mom. He too was wrapped and placed on his mothers bed.

The next victim was the most helpless of all. 6-month-old Mary was not old enough to walk, talk, or eat by herself. She could not run away or call for help. She had no idea that the face she loved and knew more than any other, and that had just picked her up and carried her to the bathroom, had any malice toward her. She did not know what life or death was. She did not know much of anything except simple emotions like happiness, curiosity, and hunger. She was a smiley baby according to the picture that she did not know she was posing for. Mary will never learn to walk, skin a knee, or learn to ride a bike. She will never go to school, learn her alphabet, or play hide and seek. Mary will never have any of the happy memories that fill most of our lives. Mary, thanks to Andrea Pia Yates, only lived to be 6 months old.

By this time, 7-year-old Noah knew something was wrong. Where were the sounds of his brothers getting up or getting ready for breakfast? Where was the sound of his young sister crying because she dropped her bottle? Noah being the oldest was there when every one of these children was brought home for the first time. He watched them grow and probably helped out with the little ones like most older siblings. Noah after walking through the bedroom and seeing these bodies wrapped up on the bed had to know that something was seriously wrong. He walked into the bathroom and saw his baby sister lying face down in the tub motionless. He asked his mother nervously "What's wrong with Mary?" We may never know what her reply was, but we know that he realized he was in trouble. He darted out of that bathroom and down the hall and probably crying and yelling for help. She, being much bigger and faster, overtook him shortly and dragged him kicking and screaming back to that bathtub. She viciously plunged his head under the water for several minutes until he finally stopped struggling. That is where the police found the lifeless Noah, ironically named after the Bible figure who survived the drowning of the evil of the world.

This, even worse than the previous crimes mentioned, was a massacre. I call it "The Houston Massacre." This is a tragedy that shivers normal peoples souls. Parents and children, men and women, struggle to comprehend such a massive departure from humanity.

Perhaps the worse tragedy, which is a major testament to the where our society is today, is the outpouring of heartfelt empathy in the media for Andrea Pia Yates. There is no outcry of grief for the children. We do have a national legal defense fund that has been advertised by Katie Couric. We have "overwhelming empathy" from Rosie O'Donnell. Patricia Ireland refers to stay at home moms as being "imprisoned at home with their children." In Newsweek, Anna Quindlen claims, "Every mother I've asked about the Yates case has the same reaction ... [S]he gets this look. And the looks say that at some forbidden level she understands."

Anna Quindlen may be able to read "looks" better than I can but NO ONE that I have talked to, man or woman, feels sympathy for this killer. In fact I hear stories of similar depressions from mothers who would never have considered such a horrible act. The media and special interest groups have made Andrea Pia Yates a poster child for post-pardum depression. This is a horrific insult to the women suffering from this disease. Why would anyone want to link these suffering mothers with a mass murderer?

When I watch the news or talk shows I sometimes feel that society has left me behind. They have reached a level of desensitization and devaluation of life that I could never understand. When I talk to the people around me and I realize that they, the media and others, have left all of us behind. I then feel a renewed confidence about the world I live in. Perhaps someday the media will more accurately reflect the values of us, the people at large.

Please Rest in Peace Luke, Paul, John, Noah, and Mary. The world will never know what they have lost in future contributions by you. But some of us will never forget.
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Old 12-09-2001, 07:27 PM   #2 (permalink)
 
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My views on this would take a lot more time than what I have to spend on it here. I do not endorse NOW and certainly do not see Yates as a victim. I do, however, feel that she had to be mentally unstable to commit the murders of her children. She may have suffered from post-partem depression, but there is a possibility it was compounded with another underlying, undiagnosed disorder, neither of which were being treated when she committed the murders. I am not trying to explain it away, I just think Yates should have been institutionalized at the time and those nearest to her did not recognize it or kept hoping things would get better.

I used to work within walking distance of their home...
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Old 12-09-2001, 07:33 PM   #3 (permalink)
 
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I think all mass murdurers have have mental disorders. This doesnt take away any responsibility however.
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Old 12-10-2001, 08:37 AM   #4 (permalink)
 
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I know it doesn't take away the responsibility and that is precisely why the prisons are full and people are living under bridges. 90% of the homeless are mentally ill, only 1% of those are able to be rehabilitated and go back to being productive members of society. I am not making excuses, but they really are unable to reason when they are in a psychotic state. I have seen this over and over again when I worked for a homeless resource center. We provided laundry, showers, one hot meal per day, some job training, medical, dental, and psychology clinics, and food distribution programs for those that would not or could not come to us.

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