Peyton Wilson: Boys school bodies found
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/31/us/florida-boys-graves/index.html?hpt=us_c2
Story: Some of
those who were once sent to Dozier School for Boys in Marianna Florida, west of
Tallahassee -- now senior citizens -- have come forward with stories of abuse
at the school, including alleged beatings, torture, sexual abuse, killings and
the disappearance of students, during the 1940s, '50s and '60s. On the
school grounds buried deep in the woods lies a small unkept patch of land with
31 white crosses. Rusting away with time, they mark the final resting place for
the unknown students that the state has confirmed were buried there. Nearly
100 children died while at the school, according to state and school records,
many as a result of a tragic dormitory fire in 1914 and a deadly flu epidemic
in 1918. The
poorly-kept state records cannot account for what happened to 22 children who
died at the school. And, no one knows who is buried where.
Response:
School should always be a safe place. Period. Whether it is this year or the '40s, no child should ever have to worry about being beaten, tortured, sexually abused, or killed. Yes, the school was in a fairly desolate location ("on the school grounds buried deep in the woods") and some teachers might have grown mentally unstable if they couldn't handle some isolation, for lack of a better word, but to go so far as to kill a child and/or student is absolutely absurd. How do you handle that as a parent? "Oh I'm sorry. Mr. Asdfghjkl killed your child. Here is the second half of his tuition back because HE WASN'T ALIVE FOR IT." And the school was only close down in 2011. Really, Florida. 31 white crosses on Doziers School property isn't suspicious? You haven't wanted to go check that out in 70 years? Okay.
I am in total agreement with your analysis. School is supposed to be somewhere you can go to get away form the craziness in your life and not suppose to lead to it. It's crazy that after all these years they just now found these graves and just closed down the school. I wonder if the abuse was still happening in the later years.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this article. This is completely appalling, I can't even imagine how someone could go as far as to actually take another's life. We have all heard similar stories growing up, and it is such a tragic situation. I find it shocking that after all those years, they have just now stepped forward and talked about what happened at Dozier School for Boys so long ago. I agree with your analysis and hope that everything will be sorted out and this will not happen again.
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