deconversion

"Only ignorance! only ignorance! how can you talk about only ignorance? Don't you know that it is the worst thing in the world, next to wickedness?--and which does the most mischief heaven only knows. If people can say 'Oh! I did not know, I did not mean any harm, they think it is all right."--from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell Well, it is over. The Springers have been found not guilty of first-degree murder in the death of their daughter Calista (see my blog The Island of Misfit Toys). I am not surprised, since under Michigan law, to prove first-degree murder you have to prove intent to kill, and I do not believe (as did the jury) that this was the case. They were found guilty of torture and first-degree child abuse, and could spend the rest of their lives in prison. But then again, who knows. The appeals could drag on forever. This was clearly not an easy case to decide. Despite all the glowing mush often written about the joys of having one of God's mismade little angels in the family, the sad truth is that these children often bring out the worst in people, especially a family that may not be all that stable to begin with. And this seems to be the case here. No, the Springers didn't mean to murder their daughter, but she does seem to have been made the scapegoat of the family and she paid a very heavy price for having the problems that she did. Which brings up the old old question of a loving God. Presumably Calista, no matter how intellectually impaired she was, had been introduced to the concept of a Jesus who loves the little children, all the little children of the world, because according to the paper, their church "rallied" around the Springers right after the fire that took her life. Did she cry out to that Jesus as the choking smoke closed in, knowing there was no way she could get free of that chain. And did that Jesus come to her in the end? Or was she so drugged that mercifully she did not know what was happening (apparently the lab found abnormally high levels of Benedryl in her blood)? I am surprised that the prosecution did not go for a charge of negligent homicide or manslaughter, which I think would have been far more easy to prove. After all, this clearly seems to be a case of "only ignorance"--they didn't know that chaining her like that would endanger her, they didn't mean any harm. Or did they? Either way, it no longer matters. One troublesome child has left this earth to cause trouble no more. And we can all go on our way.