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Saturday, May 29, 2010
Readers' Perspectives Welcome
By Diane Dimond
These columns are designed to get readers to think outside the box on issues of crime and justice, to ponder new possibilities for dealing with crime and to meet new people you might otherwise never come in contact with.
Some of my columns elicit kind words, some spark angry comments and still others introduce me to people who amaze me.
On my column about Tiger Woods being in a cage of his own making, reader Karen Kennemer wrote, "Its time there was some outrage over the behavior of our "celebrities"... it's time to stop worshipping the ground they walk on. We have to stop idolizing the people who entertain us."
Reader Margaret Bird agrees in responding to the column about my visit to the Aspen, Colo., courtroom where actor Charlie Sheen faced charges that he held a knife to his wife's neck and threatened to kill her. Bird marveled at "the lack of outrage from the Hollywood community and the public in general." Margaret concludes she won't watch Sheen's top-rated sit-com "Two and a Half Men" ever again.
The topic of children who suffer from Reactive Attachment Disorder — those who never bonded with their mothers — made for an informative column, I thought. Especially in light of how many of these children wind up in our criminal justice system. Diana Lamb wrote she was "dismayed that you ignored an entire segment of the RAD population: those kids that have been adopted." She is the proud mother of two children, one diagnosed with RAD.
Professor Emeritus Dr. Paul Gilon reacted quite differently.
"I was touched by your column because I spent my childhood in hiding from the Nazis during WWII and missed the tender motherly care and security you describe. In growing up I was lucky that I was able to channel my anger on intellectual endeavors rather than on (criminal) revenge. So many members of our society seem to be more concerned with life-before-birth than after; your column suggests that we need to pay more attention to the latter or pay the consequences."
Like I say, I hear from such amazing people.
Whenever I write about immigration reform my e-mail box fills up.
After the latest column, David Henricks declared, "Give this country a break!" He took exception to the suggestion that some sort of amnesty program is appropriate. "We don't owe the whole world. This is our country. I, for one, am sick and tired of nanny-liberals caving in to others at our expense. You want criminal invaders. Let them live in your yard. You take care of them. But, stop trying to force me to do it!"
Silvio Dell'Angela responded, "All of us need to write our elected officials and weigh in on this very critical problem — but, do those in Washington, D.C., even listen to us anymore?"
Sandra Bednarski wrote, "We all need to see all sides, respect each other's dignity and still follow the law."
I couldn't agree with you more, Silvio and Sandra.
On last week's column about the mother of a teenage murder victim who found the strength to forgive her daughter's killer during her impact statement to a San Diego Court, a reader named Kip took great exception.
"Victim Impact Statements are stupid. They only help victims' families to vent their pain and frustration, but the more psychotic criminals would just laugh during such statements."
But, then there was this unforgettable communication from a man in Kansas.
"Two weeks ago today I had the opportunity to address the man who brutally sexually assaulted my wife, strangled her to death, and set her body on fire such that other than her legs the only part recognizable was her wedding ring on her almost skeletal finger. At the time of her death, our children were 11, 8, and 6."
Doug Mould, a Ph.D. psychologist told me he'd waited five and a half long years to deliver his statement to the man who took his beloved wife, Carol.
Her bizarre murder in September 2004 went unsolved until 55-year-old William Moore, a man with no police record, suddenly confessed about a year ago.
Mould wrote me about the day he faced Moore for his final say, "Three of Carol's siblings went first. Remarkably we were all on the same page. We each in our own way confronted him with the evilness of what he had done; what the loss meant personally, and ... that we forgave him."
Forgiveness granted in the face of indescribable pain. And, like that brave California mother, Doug Mould wants to have a private one-on-one conversation with the killer.
"I will likely go visit Mr. Moore — if he will see me in prison in six months or so — because I still have a question as to "why."
There are some amazing and astonishing readers of this column. I'm very grateful.
www.DianeDimond.net — e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.net
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