- Joined
- Apr 8, 2013
I'm don't mean to criticize someone for trying to help. That's a good thing. But there's a problem here. If you sit down and think about it and make a list of the things Chris *really* needs in the way of help, none of us are willing to do any of that. Chris needs in person full time attention. He needs someone who can put structure in his life and give him productive things to do. He needs to be pulled away from the internet and give him some real world social interaction. All of that takes a level of commitment none of us has the willingness or ability to provide.
So instead maybe we do the things to help that we want to do.... the question is, is that really helping him? Trolls like Hirtes don't go away by being attacked. They go away by being shut out or ignored. Chris should be off the internet, or at least have his interactions monitored closely by someone responsible for taking care of him. It isn't a good thing for Chris to go to conventions when he ends up in a fetal position on the ground because he's incapable of being a part of a normal social event without bothering people. He needs a wrangler, not a free ticket.
The problem here is similar to the dilemma faced by people who keep chimpanzees as a pet. It's great when they are babies and you can give them all your attention. But then they grow up and become aggressive and they aren't cute any more. But by raising them as a human baby, they can never be a regular chimp. Zoos won't take a humanized chimp. Nobody wants their neighbors to have their faces eaten. It doesn't end well for the chimp.
Chris was raised wrong. There's no changing that. The people who raised him are incapable of taking care of him any more. No one else in the family is willing to take over. None of us will commit to that. Half helping Chris only gets him in more trouble. Chris is unable to live a normal life. Bob and Barb should have realized that decades ago and put together plans for his future. They should have focused their energy on giving Chris some life skills so he could be semi self sufficient. They didn't do that. They pretended that he was fine and just kept a lid on him. There's no one willing to do that for him any more.
I think Chris is heading for the rocks. And sending him on outings to conventions won't help. Fighting his trolls won't help either. Chris may not get real help until Barb is gone and the whole thing has turned into one gigantic car crash. Then maybe the state will step in and give Chris what he really needs. I sure hope so, but it doesn't look terribly promising at this point.
So instead maybe we do the things to help that we want to do.... the question is, is that really helping him? Trolls like Hirtes don't go away by being attacked. They go away by being shut out or ignored. Chris should be off the internet, or at least have his interactions monitored closely by someone responsible for taking care of him. It isn't a good thing for Chris to go to conventions when he ends up in a fetal position on the ground because he's incapable of being a part of a normal social event without bothering people. He needs a wrangler, not a free ticket.
The problem here is similar to the dilemma faced by people who keep chimpanzees as a pet. It's great when they are babies and you can give them all your attention. But then they grow up and become aggressive and they aren't cute any more. But by raising them as a human baby, they can never be a regular chimp. Zoos won't take a humanized chimp. Nobody wants their neighbors to have their faces eaten. It doesn't end well for the chimp.
Chris was raised wrong. There's no changing that. The people who raised him are incapable of taking care of him any more. No one else in the family is willing to take over. None of us will commit to that. Half helping Chris only gets him in more trouble. Chris is unable to live a normal life. Bob and Barb should have realized that decades ago and put together plans for his future. They should have focused their energy on giving Chris some life skills so he could be semi self sufficient. They didn't do that. They pretended that he was fine and just kept a lid on him. There's no one willing to do that for him any more.
I think Chris is heading for the rocks. And sending him on outings to conventions won't help. Fighting his trolls won't help either. Chris may not get real help until Barb is gone and the whole thing has turned into one gigantic car crash. Then maybe the state will step in and give Chris what he really needs. I sure hope so, but it doesn't look terribly promising at this point.