Hard to read, but worth reading

[garote]

Sitting comfortably in our heads, sometimes we need a reminder that our mental furniture did not come free. Our parents took years installing it.

http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article750838.ece

Comments

[shinkagakusha.livejournal.com]

Damn.

[conflictdswitch.livejournal.com]

It took me a while to recover after reading the article. Though, now I'm wondering where in our evolution did we develop the need for nurturing.

[garote]

Um. Somewhere back when we were still hedgehogs living underground, probably.

[rudetuesday.livejournal.com]

I was obsessed with feral children when I was a child. The first 5 years are absolutely crucial in determining how we gain language, empathy, solicit sympathy, develop a sense of emotional attachment. All the small things that happen are so simple, but vital. That little girl got nothing. It takes real effort to neglect a child. Any of us who have spent any time with kids knows that.

I love that top picture. I don't know how far she's going to go, but her new family's amazing. I'm especially touched by her brother.

I don't know if interviewing Dani's birth mother helps me make any sense of this. I'm alternately angry and hit with a sense of the familiar. We had women like her in my neighborhood. None of the kids were as bad off as the girl in this story, but there was a variety of big problems.