Damn[deleted] t1_ixm47rc wrote
Yup, and what you’ve described is more typical rather than horrific.
My meaning
The levels of child abuse among the native Maine population actually skew so high, that scenarios like parents on drugs or simply around violent criminals etc isn’t enough to actually warrant the DHHS to actually be able to intervene or do anything. What are you gonna do? Take them all away? Put them where? How do you tell a group of people that culturally what they are doing to their children and their baseline model for family interaction is actually highly abusive. There isn’t enough workers, resources or education to really start addressing this issue.
Maine has changed some with the expansion of the world in recent years and has gotten better since the 90s when I grew up, but still has a long way to go.
Frirish11 t1_ixm60hb wrote
Yeah, I was pretty sheltered growing up, but I went to grade school with kids whose parents were so poor, they lived in a cement basement with a makeshift roof on top, until they could afford to build the rest of the house. On my school bus route in the 1970’s in the Winthrop area. One girl who was poor was bullied for wearing a used winter jacket. I was so mad, I made it a point to be friends with her. I really had no idea how poor some of my classmates were, because I never had to worry about a roof over my head, or having enough food to eat, and I now realize that I had a rather idyllic childhood, compared to other people. Then I lived in a large Midwestern city, where drugs and crime were ubiquitous. I’m actually more comfortable in a city like that than I am in the Maine woods, where you never know what or who you’re going to run into. I’m wondering if the mill towns closing down have contributed to this atmosphere, though the pollution came with its own price to pay. Adequate housing, access to broadband internet, and education, etc. I’m proud of my fellow Mainers who are taking on what seems like an impossible task, and I myself have struggled at times, but at least I had a solid upbringing. I could very easily be one of those folks, but for my random birth into a nice family.
[deleted] t1_ixm7m8p wrote
Mmm you are bringing back fond memories of children picking on me for my clothes being too small, never having new shoes, winterjacket dirty and a hand me down. It really wasn’t my fault my mother was a developmentally disabled drug addict who viewed her children as a catalyst for her failure & shortcomings rather than small humans to take care of. Or when a teacher had a talk with the class to be extra nice to me because our family had moved into a homeless shelter :)
It’s nice you are able to see the disparity though, it’s lost on a lot of people with good backgrounds, family, upbringings etc, they cant begin to imagine the misfortune some people are being subjected too, I’m glad I was able to take my life in its young adulthood to an opposite direction and not continue the cycle of poverty & pain.
Frirish11 t1_ixmhxzl wrote
I’m glad too! My Mom suffered from a very bad bout of mental illness when I turned 13, and I became the “Mother” of the family at a young age. Cooking, cleaning, and taking care of my Mom, basically. She was in and out of mental hospitals for years, until they finally got her on a decent combination of meds. I lost one brother to alcoholism 6 years ago, and I struggled with self-medicating myself for years, but after that, I began to take my health seriously. Still not perfect, but I’m not drinking myself blind and crawling into bed anymore. Legal mj helps, just need a little each night, and I don’t feel like drinking or get anxiety attacks. Good for you!
[deleted] t1_ixmnsa1 wrote
Sorry for your loss and happy to hear you’re on a better path now, great to hear you’re not hurting yourself anymore, wishing you well :)
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