A phrase in one of CJ's posts dovetails with the content of this post. She mentioned something about "guilt feelings". They are a tricky thing. When I read her post, I had no idea what we were about to go through here.
We've taken in a woman and her two teenagers to stay with us for a few days. Her husband has beaten her and the children for 19 years. She tried to just stay around and take it, in order to save the "family". BUT, she's finally decided to leave him.
Do you know who's got guilt feelings now? Not him. Not his family, who, by the way, are still trying to protect him and ameliorate the consequences of what he has done. Not her or the teenagers.
I'M THE ONE! It's driving me crazy. I've done the right thing. I've done the compassionate thing. I've helped the victims. I'm being criticized as someone who got involved in a marital problem that should have stayed between two. I'm being criticized as someone who is making this out to be bigger than it is. I'm being criticized as someone who isn't handling the situation right. If it were up to me, he would be in jail right now, not sleeping the sweet, peaceful sleep of a tranquilizer IN THE COMFORT OF THE HOME IN WHICH HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN SHOULD BE!
There are promises from the family that they will take him to Guadalajara to a psychiatric clinic tomorrow. I highly doubt it. He'll wake up better and they'll change their minds.
He's been to our house at 6:30am on Friday. He backed up to our apartment and dumped out loads of her clothes in our front door and ripped up a handful of letters, letting the pieces fall where they may around noon that day. He showed up last night at 12 midnight and to top it all off, he showed up at church and marched unimpeded right up to the platform, past my wife who was leading singing and came for me. We got him outside and several men tried to calm him down. He got into his truck. Unfortunately, he left before the police got there. The children were scared to death, crying and hiding under the pews.
Unfortunately, even if I report him myself, she'll have to have the courage to follow through with the denunciation (or however you say that in English, I forget what the word is). I don't think she will. His mother had the nerve to ask her to go back to him, just so he would calm down. And his sister says the wife is at fault for provoking him verbally. Give me a break. A little common sense would be nice, but I'm finding it harder and harder to find these days.
Well, that's my long story. I might write more about this or I might delete this one. I wouldn't want anyone from here Googling my name and reading what I've written, although they would have to read it through one of those translating web sites and that would be truly hilarious.
If you believe in God at all, say a prayer for us. This is a violent man who needs to be restrained.