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America's Throw-Away Children
Like Reform Schools of Yesteryear, Today's "Boot Camps" Reflect a Culture Where "Anything Goes" in Dealing With Children Labeled "Incorrigible"
| Source: Richard Johnson
TAMPA, FL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- December 6, 2006 --They make the headlines when something goes
terribly wrong: A child dies at the hands of guards administering "tough
love." A child collapses from dehydration during an outing of "character
building." "For the most part, these are children -- predominantly boys --
who have not been convicted of crimes serious enough to warrant
imprisonment," says author Richard B. Johnson, who shares his personal
story in the new release "Abominable Firebug: A Memoir." Because no one
likes the idea of sending children to prison, there is a level of
"treatment" for children that fly in the face of what most people would
consider basic human rights. "These are America's throw-away children,
consigned by families or courts to facilities that purport to offer
alternatives to 'straighten out' children who seem to be in a downward
spiral, from
first-time offenders to incorrigible truants."
While this new breed of facilities for dealing with troubled children has
been making news, the underlying philosophy is an old one. Johnson is one
of the few who has come forward to share his story in hopes to shed light
on the crisis. Accused of arson as a child and imprisoned without trial at
the notorious Roslindale juvenile detention center in Massachusetts, he
subsequently spent years at the nation's first reform school, the Lyman
School for Boys, in the 1950s. While the institution became infamous for
hatching Albert DeSalvo, an adolescent inmate who "graduated" to become the
Boston Strangler, Johnson tells unflinchingly of not only the many
weaknesses of that institution, but also of the rare opportunities and
occasional mentors that allowed him to become, in later life, an
accomplished engineer, pilot and inventor.
Throughout the 20th century, there were various vogues for dealing with
"incorrigible" children, including forced labor camps and reform schools.
Over time, horror stories surfaced that attracted the attention of
reformers, creating a public outcry that shut them down. "What has never
been resolved, however, are the underlying issues: a willingness to ignore
the rights of the children in order to protect society from potential
miscreants," says Johnson.
"Abominable Firebug: A Memoir" is available at www.amazon.com,
www.borders.com, & www.bn.com. Learn more about Richard Johnson at
www.abominablefirebug.com.