Okay, so you know what\u2019s interesting here? Farris portrays the foster family very positively. He says that \u201cthe transfer of Casey was tearful, but without hysterics,\u201d and explains that \u201cthe foster parents, Tom and Brenda MacArthur, were kind\u00a0people\u00a0who seemed to understand the trauma of all concerned.\u201d This seems to run a bit against the whole \u201cfoster care is horrific and scars children\u201d narrative so common in anti-CPS circles. In fact, Farris tells us that:<\/p>\n
They also arranged a time for Gwen to call each day to talk with Casey. CPS hadn\u2019t told them to do that; the MacArthurs simply took the initiative out of compassion for both Casey and her mom.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Wait a minute. Is that actually allowed?\u00a0Foster parents arranging for contact between\u00a0a\u00a0foster child and her biological parent without CPS permission seems kind of iffy to me. Actually, more than \u201ckind of.\u201d I mean, what is going on here? Are the MacArthurs so taken in by sweet mom Gwen that they\u2019ve decided to assume she\u2019s innocent and throw the rules? Are they unaware that courts only order a child into foster care when they think\u00a0something is wrong?<\/em>\u00a0This is just\u00a0confusing<\/em>.<\/p>\nFarris tells us that after the MacArthurs leave with Casey, Gwen has a cry in Stan\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n
When she had calmed down a good deal, Stan said, \u201cGwen, she\u2019ll be alright.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right, honey,\u201d June added. \u201cThey seem like real nice people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
She speaks! June Mansfield speaks! It simply\u00a0took her until *checks page number* page 66 to do so! (For anyone confused at this point, June has played so little role in this book that I operated under the assumption that Gwen\u2019s mother was out of the picture until page 25. Since then, June has done a lot of silently existing in the room as things transpire and dialogue takes place.)<\/p>\n
\u201cGwen, I\u2019m dying to know what happened with Walinski and all about\u00a0this\u00a0new guy. What in the world has been going on for the last couple of hours?\u201d her dad asked.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Because right after Gwen has lost her daughter and immediately following \u201cher most violent cry of the day\u201d is a great time to ask her about something you know is sensitive.<\/p>\n
And so, once again, Gwen rehashes \u201cWalinski\u2019s indecent proposal,\u201d as Farris terms it. Stan gets angry\u2014really angry. So angry he\u2019s glad Bill is not present in the courthouse, in fact, because if he was he might just go kill him and then end up being \u201cthe next one in trouble\u2014for murder.\u201d This whole protective dad thing is a well worn trope, but okay. I feel fiercely protect of my children as well.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s perhaps because of that that what happens next feels slightly odd.<\/p>\n
Gwen explains how she ran into Peter, and all about Peter\u2019s plans to \u201cblow the case wide open.\u201d Stan is impressed, but June is concerned.<\/p>\n
Her mother spoke. \u201cWell, he seems like a wonderful young man and a very competent lawyer. But who can tell these days? Are you sure that he is on the level? He\u2019s very handsome. Maybe he\u2019s on the make as well, but just more subtle.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Yes! June weighs in with an opinion! Go June!<\/p>\n
\u201cI said something to him that brought up the same issue you\u2019re asking about. He went into this long explanation that he\u2019s a born-again Christian and an\u2019t marry divorced women\u2014or something like that. But he said he was only telling me all this so that I would know he is safe after the incident with\u00a0Walinski. I didn\u2019t understand all his Bible talk, but he seems totally sincere, very aggressive as a lawyer, and just very, very nice. And what other choice do I have?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This is where Stan ought to burst in with something like \u201cWhat? He said he\u2019s too\u00a0good<\/em>\u00a0for you? How dare he say that! As though you\u2019re damaged goods!\u00a0No one<\/em>\u00a0says that about my daughter!\u201d Or, maybe, something like \u201cWho said anything about marriage?! What, did he think you were proposing to him? The cad!\u201d Or even, \u201cDoes he take you for a fool? It doesn\u2019t take intentions of marriage to prey on a vulnerable young woman who feels she has no other choice!\u201d<\/p>\nBut no, protective-father Stan says none of this. Instead he asks how she\u2019s going to pay him, and Gwen explains about\u00a0Peter\u2019s\u00a0payment plan, and then we get this:<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that\u2019s pretty generous really,\u201d Stan said, seeming convinced.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Stan\u2019s protectiveness seems to be highly selective.<\/p>\n
And then June, determined not to be outdone, speaks for a\u00a0third<\/em>\u00a0time:<\/p>\n\u201cWhat are we supposed to do next?\u201d her mom asked.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Gwen says she\u2019s to write down every detail of what happened each time \u201cthose CPS witches\u201d visited her and Casey, and that Peter is going to start gathering reports and issuing subpoenas.<\/p>\n
Oh wait!\u00a0June\u00a0speaks again! Gwen explains that in one meeting Peter has more plans than Walisnki had the whole time, and then this exchange takes place:<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he spent his time plotting something else,\u201d Stan said with jaws clenched. \u201cThat bird is going to pay for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, Stan,\u201d his wife said, \u201clet\u2019s not\u00a0do anything in anger that will only cause us all more trouble with Casey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHumph,\u201d Stan replied. It was the standard answer he had developed in over forty years of marriage when he was giving in to his wife\u2019s position in an argument, but still wanted to cling to another minute to his own view.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Healthy, that.<\/p>\n
Still, Gwen\u00a0brings up \u201cPeter\u2019s idea of pursuing a complaint with the bar association,\u201d so I think that\u2019s actually going to happen.<\/p>\n
I know I promised this section would be about meeting the foster family and I\u2019ve made it mostly about Gwen\u2019s conversation with Stan and June afterward, but honestly, that\u2019s because so very little is said about the foster family, except that they are a good, loving, well-meaning couple sympathetic to Gwen\u2019s plight. Perhaps the import is similar to that with the Judge, who is also portrayed as kind\u2014perhaps, like him, they are meant to be good people stuck in a bad system that unbeknownst to them corrupts their desires to help people.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Okay, so you know what’s interesting here? Farris portrays the foster family very positively. He says that “the transfer of Casey was tearful, but without hysterics,” and explains that “the foster parents, Tom and Brenda MacArthur, were kind people who seemed to understand the trauma of all concerned.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[469],"class_list":["post-25446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anonymous-tip"],"yoast_head":"\n
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