Westridge & Other Schools(Formerly LDS Perceptions thread)

[_Jersey Girl]

As for the "glorified babysitter" remark. That speaks volumes to how Eric fails to value young children and how little he knows about those who teach them, support their families, mentor student teachers in the field and assist them in accessing services.

That you should bring that criticism of you up, speaks volumes for your inflated fragile ego which apparently can't any jabs to it. And yet you expect Eric to take yours.

marg, as soon as you drag out the ad hom's you've already lost the argument. That was an observation of Eric's hypocrisy. You see, a person who positions himself as a child advocate doesn't fail to value children and/or the people who work with them and positively influence their lives.

[_marg]

That you should bring that criticism of you up, speaks volumes for your inflated fragile ego which apparently can't any jabs to it. And yet you expect Eric to take yours.

I think that Jersey Girl has every right to defend herself against an inaccurate statement regarding her profession. That's not ego. That's simply clarifying something that is an innate part of who she is.

I have done the same thing. So has Eric, for that matter.

I've read J.G. 's postings on message boards for over 9 years. And I have seen countless times how discussions are turned into revolving around her. This issue isn 't about her. She's given jabs to Eric, he's returned a jab or two. I appreciate the context of his jab, you women can bitch and moan about his criticism all you want..get over it. Quit thinking of yourselves and your egos.

[_Jersey Girl]

Why do you assume he had to spend money, why do you assume there should be some legal complaint at this point, why do you assume to know the law or even some gov't employee to know the laws so thoroughly?

Because the government employees at Department of Human Services WORK with and ACT on the laws every day.

A legal complaint is needed in order to report and document alleged abuse and/or neglect. It creates a file.
The file is the basis for the case.

Without the report, the file doesn't exist.
Without the file, the case doesn't exist.
Without the case, the facility remains in operation.

And without all of the above, the legislation that you continue to bring up on the thread, remains unimpacted.

How many times do you plan to go in circles on this, marg? You've thrown your critical thinking skills clear out the window on this one.

[_marg]

As for the "glorified babysitter" remark. That speaks volumes to how Eric fails to value young children and how little he knows about those who teach them, support their families, mentor student teachers in the field and assist them in accessing services.

That you should bring that criticism of you up, speaks volumes for your inflated fragile ego which apparently can't any jabs to it. And yet you expect Eric to take yours.

marg, as soon as you drag out the ad hom's you've already lost the argument. That was an observation of Eric's hypocrisy. You see, a person who positions himself as a child advocate doesn't fail to value children and/or the people who work with them and positively influence their lives.

Here we go again. And how long are you going to bitch about this J.G.? He called you a "glorified babysitter" get over it. Suck it up and be the mature one.

by the way I thought you weren't interested in this thread, but you are certainly interested in bitching about someone criticizing you.

[_marg]

Did you ever answer my question J.G. ..what abuse that he has described do you suggest he should report. Just answer that if you are interested in offering constructive suggestions. I'll look back at this later.

[_Yoda]

I appreciate the context of his jab, you women can bitch and moan about his criticism all you want..get over it. Quit thinking of yourselves and your egos.

That's an unfair, comment, Marg.

If I was being selfish, I wouldn't have bothered to post this thread to begin with. My original intent with this thread, if you go back to the initial OP, was to drive home the point that Eric's initial post involving his stepdad and his ill sister was not intended to publicly humiliate his family, and that the ridicule against him was unjustified.

I have had both private and public conversations with Eric regarding Westridge, and he knows that I am a supporter of his efforts.

Nonetheless, I don't believe that Jersey Girl should have been disparaged in the way she was, and I don't "appreciate the context of his jab". In my book, it was uncalled for.

That doesn't mean I don't like Eric. That doesn't mean I don't believe that Eric was abused. All I have tried to do is help.

That's all any of us here have tried to do.

As much as we have disagreed on different points, it's obvious that ALL of us think that child abuse is abhorrent, and are passionate about doing everything we can to stop it.

[_Jersey Girl]

Not true Harmony..as Jersey Girl wrote, "That is why harmony and Liz, (and myself previously) keep harping on his reporting to social services and/or law enforcement. Even crock's questions and skepticism are signs to him that he's unprepared for any of this."

I've understood all along that it would be a waste of his time contacting gov't bodies. When Liz suggested that in this thread I pointed that out, yet both you and J.G. have been telling him to speak with social services and critical that he hasn't.

marg, a day ago you didn't understand how exemption status is used. I've supplied you (and Eric) with an explanation of exemption status, given you links to Utah DHS to answer your questions as to what constitutes abuse in Utah. I've connected the dots for you in my recent previous postings between the fact that Eric implies current abuse, a desire to see West Ridge "shut down", the importance of abuse reporting, and how all of this ties to your claims about the need for improved legislation, essentially, how each issue is dependent on the other.

Of course, I'm critical of his failure to report current abuse. He claims to have left messages with a "licensing supervisor" that haven't been answered.

If a person has information regarding current abuse, needs clarification on current abuse, would they sit and wait for returned messages from the very agency who has the answers, while current abuse is taking place?

Does that make sense to you, marg?

No, it doesn't. If one person doesn't return your messages, you go to the next, there's a licensing board listed on the Utah DHS website. You go there. And if you can't get your questions answered or your reports made through DHS channels, you call law enforcement.

But you don't position yourself as a champion of children's rights and remain content to wait for unreturned calls when you suspect that current abuse is taking place.

Why? Because children are potentially being harmed while you wait.

[_Yoda]

Did you ever answer my question J.G. ..what abuse that he has described do you suggest he should report. Just answer that if you are interested in offering constructive suggestions. I'll look back at this later.

I think he should report the fact that he was hit, thrown up against a wall, choked, etc. I also think that he should report in detail the way he was kidnapped from his home.

Again, even if these things are supposedly legal, it starts a paper trail.

Also, an investigation can be conducted on who is currently there, as far as staff is concerned and if things have been re-vamped since. Eric had names of staff members who were key abusers. If their names appear in a file, then Social Services can investigate as to whether or not those people still work at Westridge.

The MOST important thing, in my opinion, is for any CURRENT abuse to be STOPPED. That, I assume from talking to Eric, was a huge concern of his as well. That's why I've been harping on this.

I know you asked Jersey Girl the question, but I thought I would throw in my two cents as well.

[_Jersey Girl]

Did you ever answer my question J.G. ..what abuse that he has described do you suggest he should report. Just answer that if you are interested in offering constructive suggestions. I'll look back at this later.

I provided a direct link to Utah state statutes that includes a lengthy list of definitions and conditions regarding child abuse and neglect, and highlighted the section on the withdrawal of privileges. Whatever other answers you need are listed there.

[_Jersey Girl]

Was this in response to the baby sitter remark? I'll assume that it was.

I appreciate the context of his jab, you women can bitch and moan about his criticism all you want..get over it. Quit thinking of yourselves and your egos.

marg, do you see the post where I pointed out that it's an observation of hypocrisy on the part of a person who positions himself as a child advocate to devalue children and the people who work with them, impact their lives?

Whether you like it or not, that's useful feedback to him as to how he will be viewed if he plans to continue his quest. My calling his credibility into question is nothing compared to what he will encounter should he bring this to court or to the media at large.

If he has a viable case and does follow through with a suit of some kind, he needs to learn to be aware of the image he presents to the public, especially in relation to his views on children.

Do you see me or have you ever seen me on any message board devaluing children? It's not in my nature to do so and that's why I've worked so long in the field. I respect children, and anyone who knows me (even message board buddies) knows that valuing children is in my DNA.

While you are here attempting to play to his ego, I and others have been consistently feeding him information on this and other threads since the day he brought up West Ridge.

I'm not here to soothe his ego, marg. Soothing his ego is counterproductive to seeing through a successful claim. I and others are here to inform him and point out the inconsistencies in his presentation.

You can dig out all the comparative links you want to on this, marg. There is no subsitute for education and experience and if you were more interested in him seeing through that successful claim or contributing to impacting legislation for youth than you were in appealing to his ego, you would be thanking those who have provided the information, provided the challenges and asked the hard questions. No one who wishes to succeed or to see another succeed, especially on behalf of minor children, overlooks the value of reliable resources.

I'm not in this for ego, for Eric or for you. I'm in it for children.

Unfortunately, you haven't had much opportunity to see me post on these types of issues. What with topics such as Mormonism, evolution and all of those from all those years. Like it or not, this is a thread related to the area of my expertise and I won't miss a chance to inform.

This is me, marg.