Baby, It’s Cold Outside
I’m so struck with sadness that I almost don’t want to write about how it’s been a bad week to be a baby.
Last week, four-month-old Gabriel Perri died of “shaken baby” syndrome after at least two incidents where Gabriel’s father Joseph Perri abused the child. The elder Perri was arrested and charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child. A week before, police say Joseph Perri dropped the baby, causing a head injury that was still visible to doctors examining the child for the most recent incident. The charges will now likely be upgraded to murder charges.
Yesterday, a man walking on Sunset Drive in Hempstead saw an infant’s dead body lying in the road that was so mutilated he first thought it was a dead animal. Nassau cops say the body had been lying there for a while and it had been run over by many vehicles. Pending a report from the Medical Examiner, the newborn’s gender and race cannot be determined.
Also yesterday, Harley Heyward (if that doesn’t sound like some racist prick, I don’t know what does) was arrested in Patchogue on charges that he entered a Laundromat, began shouting anti-Hispanic comments at the patrons, then kicked and shoved a two-year-old while shouting “shut up, you spic” and other expletives. Heyward was later arrested and charged with aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child as a hate incident.
It’s really sick. Nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody wants to think about it. I wish I could avoid it, but when press releases about these crimes are strewn across my desk, or flooding my inbox, I can only write about it. Maybe it’s just me, but I could never raise a hand against a baby. Aside from the fact that the infant cannot defend itself, those cherubic uncorrupted faces make me want to say “aww” and hug others.
Have you ever been in a waiting room where there were babies present and they look at you and smile? That kind of situation makes you feel great for an entire day. These horrible crimes just make me sad. The men and/or women who perpetrate these crimes are cold, soulless people.
Last week, four-month-old Gabriel Perri died of “shaken baby” syndrome after at least two incidents where Gabriel’s father Joseph Perri abused the child. The elder Perri was arrested and charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child. A week before, police say Joseph Perri dropped the baby, causing a head injury that was still visible to doctors examining the child for the most recent incident. The charges will now likely be upgraded to murder charges.
Yesterday, a man walking on Sunset Drive in Hempstead saw an infant’s dead body lying in the road that was so mutilated he first thought it was a dead animal. Nassau cops say the body had been lying there for a while and it had been run over by many vehicles. Pending a report from the Medical Examiner, the newborn’s gender and race cannot be determined.
Also yesterday, Harley Heyward (if that doesn’t sound like some racist prick, I don’t know what does) was arrested in Patchogue on charges that he entered a Laundromat, began shouting anti-Hispanic comments at the patrons, then kicked and shoved a two-year-old while shouting “shut up, you spic” and other expletives. Heyward was later arrested and charged with aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child as a hate incident.
It’s really sick. Nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody wants to think about it. I wish I could avoid it, but when press releases about these crimes are strewn across my desk, or flooding my inbox, I can only write about it. Maybe it’s just me, but I could never raise a hand against a baby. Aside from the fact that the infant cannot defend itself, those cherubic uncorrupted faces make me want to say “aww” and hug others.
Have you ever been in a waiting room where there were babies present and they look at you and smile? That kind of situation makes you feel great for an entire day. These horrible crimes just make me sad. The men and/or women who perpetrate these crimes are cold, soulless people.
posted by TomD1227 at 9:07 AM
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