I Want to Believe.

In my heart, I want to be able to wholeheartedly support the Children's Aid Societies of Ontario, and the work that they do to protect children from harm.  What could possibly be wrong with saving children from neglect and abuse at the hands of those who are supposed to care for and protect them?  The problem lies in the face that not everyone has the same idea of what constitutes abuse and harm, and that these societies have Great Powers which they do not always use Responsibly.

The recent case involving the father in Kitchener, who was subjected to arrest, strip search, and cruelty at the hands of the police after his young daughter drew a picture of him holding a gun, with which "kill bad guys and monsters" while she was at school, brings to light exactly what the problem is with these professional "do-gooders".

There was an episode of Little House on the Prairie: A New Beginning, which I remember watching, as a child.  It was called The Wild Boy.  A young boy had been adopted by a Dr. McQueen, and subsequently beaten, abused, and forced to drink lye, to cause him to become mute, before being caged as a sort of freak show exhibit.  I was absolutely appalled that this could be allowed, and was quite happy that I was growing up in an enlightened age, where such things were not permitted.

Fast forward to the events in Kitchener, however, and we see the other side of the coin.  The social workers (if they are indeed licensed workers, as many in Ontario are not) employed there would not only arrest such villains as Dr. McQueen.  They would arrest the hero of the earlier seasons of Little House; Charles Ingalls would be suspect, in their eyes.  After all, he had a gun.  He was known for engaging in fisticuffs and more, in defense of his family or others, albeit, but still; a violent man, at times.  I cannot think of many better husbands or fathers portrayed on television, but in today's eyes, viewed through the lens of the Nanny State, he would be Suspect.

Surely, there must be a happy balance; one in which both children and their parents are protected.  When paranoid, overzealous social workers and police officers are allowed free reign to bring the inquisition down onto innocent families, the abuse is being perpetrated not by the investigated but by the investigators.