Everyday Erinyes

One issue this week, represented by multiple persons in one article with its comments, seems to me to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with. Just as a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as "unceasing," "grudging," and "vengeful destruction."

You ladies weren't interested a couple of weeks ago when I brought up the spoiled brats in Oregon (not FROM Oregon, just invading it) who think they ought to be in charge of public lands.  But as the story takes more and more turns, let me call your attention to this:

Arizona rancher LaVoy Finicum told Oregon Public Broadcasting that his four current foster children have been removed while he's in Oregon:

Robert “LaVoy” Finicum and his wife Jeanette were foster care parents for troubled boys. Finicum estimates that over the past decade, more than 50 boys came through their ranch near Chino Valley, Arizona. The boys often landed there from mental hospitals, drug rehabs and group homes for emotionally distressed youth.

“My ranch has been a great tool for these boys,” Finicum said. “It has done a lot of good.”

Finicum runs a cattle ranch in Arizona where he says he barely breaks even on the cattle and the loss of 50 extra foster ranch hands children is going to make it financially difficult on the Finicums…

How much money is involved here?  Well a 2010 tax filing shows that in 2009, Catholic Charities paid the family $115, 343 to foster children.

User "a2nite" comments – "Wow, another welfare queen gets exposed. He's stupid & I'm glad."

"CyberMindGrrl" – "Yes this guy just openly admitted to scamming the foster care system. But will he get investigated? I highly doubt it unless he continues to open his stupid mouth…. Remember, you can screw the government and it’s ok if you’re white and Republican."

But "Fordmandalay" elaborates:  "My expectation of the kids typical day; up at 4:00AM for a hearty breakfast of lightly buttered toast and grits with coffee, then out to the fields. Work until noon, then a 15 minute lunch break of a baloney sandwich and a (generic) coca-cola. Back to work until the sun goes down, 15 minute swim in the cattle pond as the nightly bath; dinner of canned spaghetti-os and bottom-shelf cookies, then locked into their bunkhouse for the night with a single 1972 5th-grade textbook to fulfill their ‘education’ requirement, along with a few David Koresh books and a 13” b/w tv that's able to pull in the single station receivable in the area. Electricity turned off at 9:00PM. Repeat daily until adult, then kicked out into the world."

So I assume you may now have an interest in at least one of these individuals, namely "La Voy" Finicum (the one under the blue tarp).  It sounds to me a very grudging way to handles one's personal finances, so Megaera, that would seem to be up your street, but Alecto, he hasn't stopped doing this in God knows how long, and appears to have no intention of stopping – once he gets all the candy he's committing treason for and goes back home.

But wait – there's more!  User "AntonBursch" commented multiple times with information from his own experience as a former foster child.  Warning – hanky alert – as you read just a few of the things he has to say about his childhood.

"i was adopted by foster parents who saw foster children as a source of income.  and they always got special needs kids to get the max money and then neglected the hell out of them and spend all the money on themselves.  and when anyone noticed the poor shape the kids were in, they would say it was due to the problems the kids had.  then they would get patted on the back for being so wonderful for taking care of such troubled kids.  makes me angry just thinking about it.  even when they adopted my brother and I, the adoption was held up until they had a signed agreement that they would get money to take care of us until we were 18.  it was just as that kind of payment was being ended in WA state, so, they wouldn’t pull the trigger adopting us unless they had an absolute legal guarantee of payment over the years.  i found the documentation of all of that in my foster records when i got them a few years ago.  i don’t know how you get more horrible than using children who are already suffering to get money.  and they knew just how to max out the money by claiming they had to provide special care…"

"i was 13 months old.  i never knew a different life until my mid 20s.  i watched Good Will Hunting and the scene where Robin tells Will that it wasn’t his fault hit me like a ton of bricks through my chest.  i told friends of mine what it had been like growing up and they were horrified.  i still remember the moment listening to them when i realized that not all parents treated their kids that way.  it was a revelation to me.  i didn’t believe it at first.  i asked them and told me it was true, but i didn’t believe them, because it was too good to be true.  i had always thought it wasn’t right to hurt your children and suddenly i found out that i wasn’t alone believing that.  i felt like i had crawled out of a dark cave into the light for the first time in my life.  thinking back now, i think that’s exactly what happened to me."

Even the fact that he has grown up and learned to cope, even to be a wounded healer, is tough to read about:

i have to try not to cry thinking about how you [user srluke] shared your lunch money with them [fostered kids who went to school with srluke].  what can i say to you, but thank you.  it’s things like that that make the difference between someone giving up hope for their lives.  especially at that age.

i have a pretty great life now.  but sometimes, you know, life is stressful, you’re being whiny about something, you’re just mad and you can’t shake it off.  then you see someone you can tell is hurting.  a child.  a teen.  an elderly person.  a single mom surrounded by kids in the supermarket looking through her cart before going to the line to make sure she can get everything.  you can see the pain in her face as she’s looking back and forth to her kids and having to put something back.  and all of your stupid bullshit doesn’t matter anymore.

i won’t lie and say i don’t still hurt from shit.  i do.  man, i can’t hold it together watching a tv show about someone without their parents.  and sometimes i wish i could just get passed it.  but not in those moments.  in those moments, as cheesy as it sounds, i am grateful that i know those looks.  cause sometimes, when it’s possible, i can help.  and even when i can’t help, it makes me appreciate what a wonderful life i have now.  that’s a gift right there.

I respectfully request that at least one of you ladies look up these – persons – who fostered "AntonBursch" – and – counsel them.  Please.  And there are many other shorter stories in these comments, some first hand, others from witnesses, which you might also want to look into.  Oh, and I have an unrelated request- I am passing it on from others but I am also 100% behind it   Your colleague, Charon?  Fella with the boat?  We realize it's his job, and somebody has to do it, but we kind of feel he's been overdoing it lately – taking too many people who are too good and doing it too fast.  Could you maybe talk with him nicely about giving it just a little rest?  Thank you.  From all of us.

We'll be back next time.