Most of the time, when you do news, you can distance yourself emotionally from the things that you are talking about. Most of the time. Man's inhumanity to man...and beast, is, unfortunately, a daily occurrence.
Neo-Nazi's, murder, rape and mayhem you can somewhat, keep at arms-length. For the most part. These things affect you, but you can generally keep your horror at bay long enough to get through the story.
Today was not that day.
The story of a 5 year old boy, taken from his Murietta home on a stretcher, with his father and father's girlfriend accused of torture, was nearly impossible to get through.
Ted and I both cringed outwardly as we read the story live...and I am pretty sure this will be one of those days when you go home, put your head under a pillow and try to wish it away. Ted looked at me, and said, "I don't know how to keep from crying." I could only say, "I know."
We found the parent's Facebook pages. We saw pictures of a painfully thin, sweet-faced little boy.
In one, he has a large abrasion on his head.
Taken by themselves, those photos could be of a small boy who simply fell down and took a header to the sidewalk.
*When I was a kid, I decided to teach myself to walk on my hands. On a sidewalk. I nearly broke my jaw, and had an amazing black and blue Jay Leno chin, covered in scabs, for weeks. People looked askance at my poor mother for a while there. You probably have a similar story...
Police, however, believe this was far more than just a childhood boo boo.
As a matter of fact, they believe this wee fella was tortured. I can barely type it.
People have been going to the parent's Facebook pages and expressing a fair amount of outrage and sadness. Sometimes, pure rage.
Ted and I are sick about it.
It's not the only story that has affected us in a very visceral way. It's the one that did it today, and had both of us wishing that we were doing almost anything other than the news...
...and then terrorists hit Barcelona. My God.
Photo Credit: Murietta Police Department