- Joined
- Jan 5, 2020
Based on a post I made in the Greer thread, somebody asked me to give my take on Melinda's parenting. I don't claim to be an expert on early childhood development, but I probably know more about kids than most Kiwis. Also, like Melinda, IANAL and any advice in that area is pure layman.
Personal Opinion:
Melinda seems to be a unfit parent and should probably have her kids taken away. The biggest obstacle to this is whether or not the men she dates are legally "dangerous to children". Yeah, based on Melinda's description of Marshall's behavior, it seems obvious, but unless Marshall has actual offenses against children (I don't follow thread enough to know if that was proven), then in most states, it would be hard to prove "dangerous to children" even if they commit violent assaults against adults. And it's logical, "Likes to Fight Guy" may also be "Kind to Children and Animals Guy". But if Marshall has actual felonies against children on his record, then the law just isn't being enforced in this case for whatever reason.
I know little about Virginia child law specifically, but given how bad most foster/adoption systems are in the US, there is great leeway to parents as long as their kids are a) eating b) have a roof over their head and sufficient clothing a c) have a safe place to sleep d) meeting some low bar in terms of educating them e) have no evidence of physical or sexual abuse f) and no evidence of illegal drug use. It's a low bar on the whole and very unevenly enforced in most places. Lots of good discussion of these topics in the Cecily Kellogg thread, FYI. If Melinda is meeting those standards and isn't harboring an offender with specific convictions related to CHILDREN, then it is hard to take them away. I have no idea of their living conditions, but I do wonder about the possibility of physical abuse, given Melinda's attitudes towards spousal rape. Also, Marshall seems like someone who is a fan of the sticky icky? Unless he has a medical card, I would bet that a custody judge in rural VA probably wouldn't be thrilled by that. I don't agree with weed laws myself, but hey, if it is a loophole to get them out of there, I won't complain.
However, I also know very little about her previous baby daddies? Are they all like Marshall or is even one of them a competent, decent adult? Do they contribute anything? How many are there? Seems to be lots of inconsistency about this. If one of them decided to fight for custody of their kids, that would probably be the best way to save them (at least the few they parented) from the situation. But considering Melinda's apparent low self-esteem and bad dating choices, I feel doubtful that there is some amazing dad just waiting in the wings to save the day in the courtroom. However, I'm sure Melinda knows this: VA does NOT give preference to mothers in custody cases. Uh oh. Also, I forget who said it in the past few pages, but it is correct that Marhall is the legal dad simply by being married to her. He can rant about "wrong tassle in the courtroom" and "muh rights" all he wants, but he is the baby daddy from a VA legal perspective. And I think they were legally married, right? (yeah, I know, "read the thread"... sorry, I can't take 500 pages of these idiots).
I humbly await my first color splash of an autistic rating from Melinda. It is a great honor.
My ratings have been disabled by an Admin.
You put your conclusion before your data in that one.
"Melinda should have her children taken away", followed by "I can't state a valid legal reason why"
Which you do. You claim we are jealous of you. As for feelings of grandiosity and shallowness, Melinda, plank and speck
I've called several here "uneducated', due to the lack of solidly built arguments, "pagan" and "Goy", due to the lack of spiritual maturity, and "haters", due to the incessant need to criticize everything Marshall and I do that doesn't look "perfect". I've also called many here "sexist", due to the way they speak toward a woman who engaged in serial Monogamy and who has matriarchal elements in her blended family.
I've only called about two people "jealous" (covetous) due to criticism that had no constructive or purposeful element behind it, other than to verbally jab.
I simply, as a creature of Adamkind, cannot feel jealousy (covetousness). I didn't even know what jealousy (covetous) was until I was about 23/24 years old and someone had to explain it to me. I never have felt jealous (covetous) toward anyone, I didn't know what it was or to explain why certain people behaved certain ways. Then again when I was 27 someone else explained more about it.
Not all humans can manufacture jealousy (covetousness) in their heart. Just as not all humans can feel pride in their heart. Not everyone is wired the same way. This is why empaths and righteous people are easily abused by Narcissists. They don't even see what's coming. They can't imagine in their head what others could do to them. They have to study evil people to become wise.
At 35 I'm doing a lot better. I know their games.