gamester58's Blog

My take on this.

The idea that Shawn wants to be out in the open about his ordeal right away is good therapy for him as well. What do you think therapy is all about? Do you think the therapist has some magic wand to wave over Shawn that will instantly normalize his emotional and psychological state? Not hardly. Part of the therapy for sexual abuse victims is group therapy in addition to individual and family therapy. The more he can be accepted by people the better it will be for his recovery, rather than staying alone with himself and his family, and thinking about how different he is after this ordeal. It does not appear to me that his parents are forcing him to do anything. I expect that he will help his family to run the foundation so that he can help others with education and tips on how to be a survivor if abducted. I am going to watch how all of this unfolds and be supportive of anything Shawn chooses to do. There are lots of questions unanswered and I think there will be more surprises before this becomes “old news.”

Bill S.
Bossier City, Louisiana

I don’t compare Ben with Shawn as Ben was only in captivity a short time.

I recently read an article Published in Youth Today, a DC based Newspaper on Youth, that highlighted the exagerrated statistics that have been used over the years to justify the millions of federal dollars that have be pumped into NCMEC(National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)which was founded in 1984, by former Sen. Paula Hawkins (FL) and Staffer Jay Howell. It won an initial following by claiming there were 50,000 child abductions by strangers per year which was grossly overstated. Actually, the FBI’s high-end estimate of the number of true stranger abduction cases is 110 per year, and 75% of these are murdered within three hours of their abduction. (Youth Today, Vol.15 No. 10m page 16, November 2006 www.youthtoday.org)

I point this out to show how unique that Shawn is. He is a TRUE Survivor who has beat all the odds. I expect that with the help of his family and the media, he will be able to help millions of families and kids through educaiton and awareness. He appears to be willing and able to do this, and he is a blessing. I don’t know of another case in the past that has the dynamic we have with Shawn’s case.

Comments??