Joan Ball is a business professor at St. John’s University in New York and the author of Flirting with Faith: My Spiritual Journey from Atheism to a Faith-Filled Life.
One pictures the kidnapping of young Jaycee Lee Dugard, pictures the little girl snatched from her family, and the mind simply goes blank with horror. Worse–unimaginable even–is the 18 years of slavery and sexual torture she must have endured in that suburban backyard compound.
Police are now admitting they could have done more–indeed, in 2006 they missed an opportunity to rescue her from her captor, Phillip Garrido. According to the article:
“On November 30 2006 we missed an opportunity to bring earlier closure to this situation. A caller to our 911 dispatch offered that there were tents in the neighbors back yard, that people were living in them, and there were young children.
“The caller also said that Mr Garrido was psychotic and had a sexual addiction.
“We made contact with Mr Garrido in the front yard of his home.
“The responding deputy determined there was no misbehavior, and warned him there were restrictions to living outside in a residential neighborhood.
“He did not enter or request to enter the backyard.”
Let’s leave aside the failings of the police. I’d like to congratulate this unknown neighbor for calling 911, and also pose a question: Why don’t more of us stick our noses in?
As I think I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, I’m one of those who are reluctant to step over unwritten privacy boundaries. Yet as this case shows, there are times when civic duty requires that we overcome our discomfort with confrontation. Had more people questioned what that whackjob Garrido was doing in his backyard compound; had more people kicked up a fuss…
Well, who knows if it would have helped in this instance–and in Skip Gates’ case neighborly concern certainly backfired!–but I think as a general policy, “If you see something, say something” isn’t such a bad motto to adopt. Perhaps victims of domestic abuse, for instance, wouldn’t feel so alone if they knew their neighbors had a kindly concern.
Would it be so hard to stretch out a friendly hand, or, when appropriate, pick up the phone and call in the authorities? Are we afraid of being shamed? Attacked? Starting a feud on our home turf? What’s the right thing to do and how do we handle such matters delicately? I don’t know the answers. (As that prior post proves, I’m kind of chicken-livered when it comes to dealing with my neighbors.) I just wonder, is it our fractured, self-serving society that allows heinous crimes like Jaycee’s kidnapping to go on right in our backyards? Couldn’t we make a bigger effort to concern ourselves with those living in our immediate vicinity?
Tell us: Do you have a nosy neighbor story to share? How’d it work out, good or bad?
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posted August 30, 2009 at 12:10 pm
It’s not being nosy neighbors, its being natural neighbors.
I am embarrassed to be a human. We are such a stupid race. The fact that these f nieghbors didnt have any idea is terrible. The guy Mike Rogers, who said he saw a line of ten mexicans , going into a tent, where Garrido probabaly had poor Jaycee tied up, as a sex slave, this guy Rogers should have done something, told someone. Patrick McQiuaide, the brain-dead nieghbor who has lived there 27 years, has rice pudding between his ears for not knwoing. he was probabaly in on it. As for the deputy and the parole officer, well, they both deserve the electric cahir for being so dumb. It is so painful tothink how dumb these people are.
posted August 30, 2009 at 1:50 pm
This is a difficult situation. Law enforcement was lax to say the least and the man had prior convictions. The neighbors had to have some clues but people don’t want to get involved. I know you are
way to young to remember the case of Kitty Genovese who was murdered
in Queens many years ago. People heard this young woman screaming for
help and didn’t do a thing.
I was in KMART on Friday waiting on a checkout line. I saw what I thought was a little girl being enticed by a much older man to hold his hand. Well, about 3 seconds before I opened my mouth- no one else
was paying attention, a young man came over to the girl to tell her
to behave. It was her father and the older man was her grandfather.
So, if you think something is wrong, it’s better to err on the side of
caution and tell the authorities. That’s my opinion.
posted August 30, 2009 at 4:09 pm
When you look at the pictures of the ‘compound’ one side is visable to the neighbours…didn’t these people question what was going on? Didn’t they dispise the mess and contact municipal authorities to check into it? Or, is it common place to have so many structures allowed within municipalities? As for nosy neighbours, my husband and I make a point to get to know all of our neighbours and question anything unusual. I suppose it helps that we both work in a profession that requires us to question suspicious behaviours, but I think if people are unsure of something they should follow their gut and call someone to check it out. Aside from the neighbours not being nosy enough, what about the parole officiers that were to make routine checks? I don’t know, it’s easy to place blame I suppose, but it’s a shame that someone didn’t do enough to in the eighteen years that Jaycee had to endure her living situation. Hopefully, this will encourage people to be more diligent. Lastly, I believe it is better to err on behalf of protecting children then it is not to act on a hunch because you are afraid of making a mistake…I know if it were my daughter I would want someone, anyone to help…
posted August 31, 2009 at 1:18 am
Would it be so hard to stretch out a friendly hand, or, when appropriate, pick up the phone and call in the authorities?
Frankly, yes it is hard. And Hillary I can see why you, like me, are so chicken-livered. My wife and I went through a really hard time a few years ago when she was as a staff member at a local school. Her duty of care guidlines placed an obligation on her to report an abuse situation taking place in a family we were good friends with. Needless to say, our friendship did not survive the ordeal.
In the end my hesitation to intrude boils down to me caring more about myself that I do about the other person. It’s usually more important to me that I stay safe and comfortable that it is to help a victim “next door”. I’m glad the Bible reminds me to exercise love – not the mushy warm fuzzy kind, but the kind that makes tough decisions for the other person’s benifit or welfare. If I didn’t get those reminders, I would never think to do it.
posted August 31, 2009 at 8:59 am
Steve A: Thank you for this thoughtful and touching comment. Your perspective and the story you’ve sketched are very helpful!
posted September 4, 2009 at 11:17 am
The analogy to the Gates case is interesting. In that case, the problem wasn’t the neighbor who complained or even the initial action of the cop who treated Gates as a suspect. The problem was that the cop lacked the composure to calm an agitated homeowner who was mistakenly treated as a criminal in his own home. The cop should have explained that he was merely doing his job and he understands why the homeowner would be angry. Gates may have been a jerk, but he has a right to be a jerk in his own home.
Anyway, what I don’t understand is why this creep was released on parole so early. It is interesting that that area is a hotbed of sexual predators.
I hate to sound judgemental. I have a hard time understanding how Jaycee was so brainwashed. I don’t doubt it because it has happened to other abducted kids in the same age group. Still, I picture myself at that age and I was pretty wise to this kind of stuff and I would have been planning my escape every single day. This pervert needs to be taught a lesson by the other inmates in prison for destroying a girl’s life and giving two kids the embarrassment of being his kids. And may his wife rot in hell.