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Too Many Horror Stories To Think We Are Immune
We may be lucky enough not to be victims of abuse, but chances are we are close to one (whether we know it or not).
In stories with monsters and their victims, we automatically focus on the monsters and the victims. A hero is usually needed for the story to be a story, but, sadly, when story becomes history, the lack of real heroes is painfully ostensible. Victims and villains. Villains and victims. Yet, most of the time, someone let the door to the castle open knowing there were trolls on the prowl.
I recently read one of those shocking stories involving pupils and a degenerate teacher in a position of power. In this case, the hero was the journalist who was allowed and encouraged to pursue the story for months even if the villain enjoyed a certain popularity and boasted an aura of protection. I don’t want to get into the details of the horror, because, unfortunately, we’ve all heard the story before: vulnerable kids abused by unscrupulous adults. I want to discuss the other villains, the ones that so often lie in the shadows, those responsible for the circumstances that made the horror possible.
It turns out that many children had complained, that there had even been group protests. Every time they were waved aside, if not ridiculed or…