From: Paul Sharpe [mailto:Paul@EndAbuseLB.org]
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 4:03 PM
To: 'DennisPrager@DennisPrager.com'
Subject: Your position on removing kids from their moms in YFZ Ranch - you guys are so wrong
Dennis,
I am devoted listener of yours for years. I enjoyed your 12/4/05 lecture at the Long Beach JCC. I am the webmaster for Abba Perelmuter’s www.ShulByTheShore.org.
My domestic violence credentials - I volunteer for 6 Domestic Violence organizations in Long Beach, among them:
You and Mike Gallagher today dealt a blow to efforts organizations like mine are trying to achieve. It comes from experience in dealing with Domestic Violence that both of you lack. There are so many issues that go into why the Child Protective Services (CPS) removed the kids that your simplistic views of any of it being wrong is out of touch with reality.
I don’t know how to describe how depressed and are upset by your ill-informed views on the subject today. I am totally frustrated by you Dennis for the first time in years.
If you got the time, I got the short version of where you missed the mark. This subject is way complex, but I will give the short of it.
You implied the government has no moral or legal right to take the kids from their mothers.
I really wish you and Mike would cease undermining efforts to help kids by talking like you did on your show today. Educate yourselves on domestic violence before you do more harm. My cousin, 1 year older than me, was physically, sexually, and emotionally abused by her father from the time she was 5 until she was able to move out at 18. She didn’t tell anyone about her father’s abuse. Someone like you guys may say she should have told someone – it is her fault for staying in an abusive situation for so long. What you don’t understand is that when you are trained from birth that the world around you is abusive and that is all you know, you don’t tell anyone. My cousin’s father said “If you tell your mom that I am doing sexual things to you, not only will I beat you up more, I will beat your mom up”. That kept her quiet.
Or how about the case our Child Abuse Response Team (CART) was on last year. A 6-year-old girl was at her friend’s house. She asked if she could have a soda. Her friend’s dad was there, and he said “sure”. When he gave it to her, she asked “what would you like?” After a few more questions and answers, it came out that the 6-year old expected to give the guy (like required of her dad at home) some type of sexual pleasure. The CPS was called immediately. The girl was “groomed” early on to think it was “normal” to jack off her dad and do other sexual things for him when she wanted something. So be the kids at the YFZ ranch.
Did you see the interviews of the three YFZ women on Fox News? They were robots. Scared, trained, and prepped to give the party line about “there is not any abuse going on in the camp”. That is an obvious lie because of the pregnant girls. How can you trust anything any of them say after that?
Mike Gallagher – you really showed shallowness today when you said the ACLU is saying the CPS did some illegal things. Since when would you give credence to ANYTHING the ACLU says? I am very disappointed in you. And Dennis, you let it go by without comment.
Before you express opinions again concerning Domestic Violence, please do us a favor and get at least a little bit informed about it - including the laws covering domestic violence and the CPS.
Have a good day.