“Nearly 700,000 children are abused in the United States annually, and about four out of five abusers are the victims’ parents”. When a child is abused or neglected by a parent, they will most likely adopt these habits in some form. This is why, “14% of of all men, and 36% of women in prison in the U.S. were abused as a child. Abused children are also at more of a risk to misuse drugs, and nine times more likely to become involved with criminal activity” (Childline.com). Henceforth, when a child is abused or neglected, the child cannot be blamed for how they act. The actions these children make are not entirely their choice, but induced by the environment they live in. In the graphic novel, Yummy, the Last Days of a Southside Shorty, …show more content…
by G. Neri shows throughout the novel that Yummy is a victim of his circumstances, not a murderer. To start, one reason why Yummy was a victim was because, he suffered from childhood trauma. Yummy lives in Chicago, and doesn’t have the most ideal home life. His dad was in prison for drugs, and his mom had been arrested multiple times for drugs, and prostitution. Yummy, the Last Days of a Southside Shorty, by G. Neri says, “Ever since I knew him when he was like 3, Yummy had scars and burns all over himself. He used to show them off to us”. As Yummy points to his stomach, he says, “This one was from when I got whooped with a electrical cord” (Neri 22). This quote shows that he was abused by his parents, and it affected his life in an unfortunate way. Children always look up to their parents, because they are seen as a role model to the child.
But when a child is hurt by their parent, they think it is tolerable to do the same to others. This may be why some perceived Yummy as a bully. But, because he was wounded at such a young age, he wasn’t directed any other way to go about his life, than the way his parents taught him. Yummy should not be looked upon as a murderer because throughout his whole life, he was only taught to act in a negative way, and didn't have any positive role models in his life to affect it in a more valuable way. That is why it wasn’t his fault to act the way he did, it was caused by the situation he was in. Because he did live in these conditions, he should not be viewed a murderer, but a victim. Yummy’s mom didn’t care about her kids all that much. Besides Yummy’s mom abusing her kids, she also neglected them. Because of the lack of attention, and affection Yummy received, he went and looked for it. G. Neri writes in Yummy, the Last Days of a Southside Shorty, “There are so many kids, Yummy could disappear for days and nobody’d notice...Then he started hangin’ with the Black Disciples” (Neri 24 and 32). This quote explains that no one really paid attention to Yummy, because he was neglected. When a child is …show more content…
neglected, they will usually go looking for attention, and affection elsewhere. Because he was neglected, and no one paid attention to him, he got in trouble to bring attention upon himself. Then, when Yummy met the Black Disciples, he finally felt the attention, and affection, no one else had given him, and he finally felt like he belonged somewhere. Because he never had that kind of relationship with someone before, he was willing to go to any measure to keep that relationship intact, no matter how evil, or wrong the task was. If Yummy wasn’t neglected by his parents in the first place, he would have become a better person than developed into. Therefore, because of the situation Yummy was in, it caused him to act negatively throughout his life. For these reasons, because Yummy was put in these traumatic situations as a child, he is a victim, not a murderer. Secondly, there are many stories in the media about how kids in traumatic situations are victims of their actions, and their behaviors are negatively influenced by it.
On YouTube, there are many videos of people talking about abuse. On the channel Childline, there is a specific video about a boy named Adam, who suffered from abuse. Adam was abused by his dad, and it affected the way he lived his life, and treated others. Adam got in trouble at school often because of fighting his peers. These actions are most likely caused by how his dad treated him. Abuse is a serious problem that when left untreated, can cause emotional, and behavioral problems. When Adam was beaten by his dad, he didn’t learn any other way to handle his problems. So later, when he had his own issues, he was unkind, and and even physical towards others. This story connects to the situation Yummy was in. He was also abused by his parents, so like Adam, whenever he had a conflict, he was mean, and if he needed to, also physical. This was the only way Yummy was taught to settle a problem. But these actions Adam, and Yummy made, weren’t entirely their own, they were influenced by how they were treated by their parents, because of the situations they were in. This example proves that Yummy, like Adam, was a victim, not a murderer. There was a news story about a girl named Susan MIller. She was neglected by her parents, and was only taken care of by her school teacher. Susan Miller is sadly, one
of many children suffering from child neglect. Her parents don’t pay attention to her, and most of the time, don’t even feed her. Children like Susan, who suffer from neglect, can have a number of problems, including being more independent, and difficulty socializing. Susan had difficulty socializing because her parents didn't give her affection, or pay attention to her, which caused her to feel like she had no voice, or value to anyone. This caused Susan to look for attention from other people, like her teacher. Because of the situation Yummy was in at home, he also didn’t develop the correct skills of socializing. This may also be why he came off as a bully to others, because he didn't know how to talk out problems with them. Yummy also went looking for attention, and affection because he wasn’t getting it at home. This is when he met the Black Disciples, and received attention, and affection from them. These examples prove that Yummy was a victim of his circumstances, because it shows how people in similar situations have similar behaviors, because it was motivated by the trauma, not the child. As I have explained, there are many examples in the media of how kids in traumatic situations are victims of their circumstances, because it affects their actions, and behaviors negatively. Finally, G. Neri shows throughout the graphic novel, Yummy, the Last Days of a Southside Shorty, that Yummy is a victim of his circumstances. Yummy’s parents neglected, and abused him. This caused Yummy to lack the skills in correctly socializing, which is why he may have came off as a bully. He also gained behavior problems from the abuse he received. There are many other kids just like Yummy, who are abused and neglected. These children's lives, and how they operate around others, are similar to Yummys life because, they were in the same circumstances as him. In conclusion, the choices, and behavior abused or neglected children make, are not particularly their own, but promoted by the abuser. Therefore, we cannot blame the children who are in these positions for the actions they make, because they were not taught any other way to live their life.
Especially in the book Miss America by Day, it mentioned about one of the maltreatments called incest (Maltreatment is intentional harm to or endangerment of a child, Incest is a sexual relations between persons closely related.). Like in the situation of Marilyn, author of the Miss America, she went through incest with her father at the age of five to eighteen, so until she became an adult it was very hard for her to tell her own story to anybody because she was afraid nobody would believe in her. Like the Child, Family, School, Community says, “the closer the victim and offender are emotionally, the greater trauma the victim experiences.” I agree with this statement, it is true that the closer the offender to the victim which the greater the trauma victim experiences. Some of the maltreatments are temperament of the child, marital distress, unemployment, lack of community support, and cultural values such as tolerance of violence can be considered as maltreatment. Other symptoms are poor social skills with peers of their own age(s), unable to trust other people, feel depression, commit suicide, have self-destructive, and confusion about their sexuality. It also said that high percentage of drug abusers, juvenile runaways, and prostitutes have been sexually abused when they were children. But for Marilyn Van Derbur felt very depressed and had temperament, but she coped with her pain by socializing and acting out as if nothing happened to her because she has to keep it as secret from everybody else ( Child, Family, School,
McCoy, M. L., & Keen, S. M., (2009). Child abuse and neglect. New York: Psychology Press.
David suffered physical, mental, and emotional abuse from the age of four to 12-years-old. As his teachers and principal, neighbors, and even his maternal grandmother and father stand by and let the abuse happen, it makes me wonder what they could have done differently. For example, David’s father saw the abuse firsthand and he would try to intervene to help him out initially. David’s father was caught by the madness of his wife in calling him, ‘the boy’ and ‘It’. As much as his father tried to comfort David, he did not have the will to stand up against his wife. Another example, the maternal grandmother commented on bruises visible on David’s body and she did not take action to report her daughter for abusing her grandchild, David. Instead, David’s grandmother stated that she should stay out of it and let David’s mother raise her children as she saw fit. I believed the unreported instances observed by the public to be just as substantial a crime as the child abusers themselves. Also, the Department of Children and Social Services were contacted because of the alleged child abuse events that occurred previously; however, he was not taken from the home because the social worker of the agency sided with David’s mother. The social worker did not complete a thoroughly
Abuse and neglect can lead to psychological effects that can hinder a child into adulthood such as anxiety, depression and flashbacks. Research states, that if a child was presented with a positive and stable life in their younger stages of life, they are less likely to develop emotional sensors that allow them to repeat the same negative behavior against their own children when they are adults (Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect). In David’s case he remember his mother being an immaculate woman who spent time with her family making sure they knew they could count on her. Children who are abused physically tend to have bruises, fractures and abrasions where they are not common. Catherine abused and neglected David emotionally which was undetected since he never said anything to anyone, and the scars inflicted on him could be concealed by his clothing. The nurse only saw the stab womb on David’s stomach when she conducted her routine exam. I agree, with the article when it implies that every child that was abused does not mean that they are going to be an abuser too. In my opinion, we all can take the right track to our destiny, by being our own person, we can see the demise in someone else and choose to accept walk that same path or choose our own path because we saw the destruction that they went through in the process of being so
“We aren’t the weeds in the crack of life. We’re the strong, amazing flowers that found a way to grow in the challenging conditions.” (McElvaney, 1057) The book entitled “Spirit Unbroken: Abby’s Story,” offers a perspective on child abuse providing a positive outlook on a tragic situation. Even in the best of circumstances, however, victims of abuse can see the effects of the trauma for the rest of their life. For each individual person affected by this form of trauma, the reactions can vary. The same type of abuse in two different people can have very different outcomes – one could be that of coping, and the other a life of brokenness. Especially at impressionable ages, any form of abuse can be a hindrance in living a normal life. Children
As we recount this story, we may be wondering to ourselves, “What causes someone to become a child abuser?” It is not known as of today, and might not ever be known because child abuse happens to people across the board, and there is no clear p...
Psychological maltreatment, like many other forms of abuse can also be passed down through intergenerational transmission. It is not unlikely for parents to psychologically mistreat their children due to their own past or childhood experiences with psychologically abuse. For example, it is not uncommon during the course of an investigation of physiological maltreatment that it is discovered that the perpetrator had their own form of abuse history in the past. Often time’s people look at psychological maltreatment as a consequence resulting from some other form of abuse, mainly physical and sexual, but tend to overlook the fact that it may also occur as an individual form. Psychological maltreatment can take more than one form. During the course of researching for this paper I learned that there are three typical forms of behavior in which people follow when displaying this type of abuse against children. The three types are acting in an aggressive, rejecting, and lessening
When neglect happens to children it can be life altering. Each case of neglect is different depending on the person. For the Walls’ children neglect happened every day. Online at dictionary.com, neglect means to pay no attention or too little; disregard or slight. In her memoir The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls’ and her siblings were neglected by Rosemary and Rex Walls emotionally, medically and physically. No matter what kind of abuse one may be experiencing they all have lasting effects and have affected people of many different backgrounds.
In the article "Greg Ousley is Sorry For Killing His Parents. Is That Enough" by Scott Anderson in the New York Times states how "all [Greg] ever thought about was murder and suicide"(5). This shows how the children that grow up in abusive homes end up potentially feeling. Most juveniles that committed heinous crimes toward their families is because there was emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in the household; like Jacob Ind, Greg Ousley, Nate Ybanez, and much more. For example Nate Ybanez household was full of fear and sexual abuse by both parents, such things lead kids that can not find to help with no solution but to either kill themselves or their abusive
Child abuse can come in many shapes in forms. There are four different kinds of abuse that I will be encountering in my research paper; they are physical, mental, emotional, and neglect. Most abuse is from neglect and net from physical. The category under physical also brings in the sexual abuse. (Do Something) Drug addicted babies also can qualify under the category of emotional and mental category. Two of the main questions in this paper are what is child abuse and what are drug addicted babies lives like. It turns out that babies lives do get affected majorly after the age of four, we’ll learn more about that later though. (Kronstadt, 2013)
Magnuson, Ed. “Child Abuse: The Ultimate Betrayal.” TIME for Kids. 05 Sep. 1983:7. 6 May 2011. Web.
The child of neglect or abuse in their own home from a parent is a child’s worst nightmare. Their parent is the person they are supposed to go for love, protection, and support against the world. To have a parent beat them, or not feed them or to have their parent mentally degrade them is something that happens. Unfortunately, sometimes this is a result of the parent having a drug problem, or they were abused themselves, or they are depressed (Healy, 2013). These parental adults don’t know how to take care of child because they are not mentally capable themselves.
Child abuse encompasses far more than merely beating or hitting a child. Other, more silent—and even more widespread—forms of abuse exist. Emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and child endangerment are all other forms of abuse that are much more difficult to detect because they seldom lead to visible imprints on a child the way physical abuse can. And the problem is far more pervasive than one might imaging: the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that about five children die as a result of abuse every day. The impact child abuse can have on victims is both extensive and profound. Effects can vary from health issues to developmental and emotional impairments. With heightened awareness of the nature, the implications, and
Abuse can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time. This is repetitive acts of behavior of wanting to maintain power and have control over someone whether it be through childhood, adolescents, or adulthood. This subject is sensitive as it impacts so many different people around the world. The topic of abuse is not just a family matter, it comes in all forms, such as sexual, emotional, and physical. Abuse is accompanied by the long term emotional tolls, especially on children because their brains are still developing and can take abuse harder than others. One question to ask, is how does one overcome abuse? As children and adolescents develop, how do they function emotionally and physically? These traumatic experiences that happen through
Introduction During the early 90s film producers begin to shed more light on the harsh reality of child abuse and neglect. Old movies such as Radio Flyer, and In a Child’s, Name depicted the horrible reality of children being abused while in their care of their parents. Yes, parents, the individuals responsible for protecting their children from such harm; but instead have been found to be the chief perpetrators. In fact, according to Barnett, Perrin & Perrin (2011), 90% of perpetrators to the abused child is Biological Parents, 4.4% are Stepparents, and 0.7% are Adoptive parents. As witnessed in the Movie Radio Flyer, Bobby experienced psychical and emotional abuse while in the care of his stepfather.