Partially, the abuse had certain consequences not directly attributed to the actual abuse...the lack of parental authority, the absence of a moral guideline and the need for escape and family led me into a life where I replaced my absent family with the group of friends I fell in with...I am still friends with many of them now, those that are still with us...despite our inherent differences, we are and will remain brothers, it is hard to define, but it is what it is I suppose, the ties that bind us.
I can very much see how that would occur, we form bonds during hard times - it's natural.
Our experiences shape is in ways we can't even begin to appreciate most of the time - as you say, without parental authority & moral guidance many are lost.
Good god, yes!
Proactive treatment and care is essential...however we should only mitigate responsibility for actions rather than excuse them...like I said I knew what I was doing, however to some extent I was not fully enabled to have the ability to control them...so yes, treatment and rehabilitation is far better than punishment in these cases.
Indeed, it may just be a difference in terms - most likely in part due to not taking on board free-will as a philosophical concept (it's hard to discuss some of these terms - as blame/responsibility/choices are all void concepts to me in the traditional sense) - but causal versions (such as simply mitigation & reason behind, without excusing or permitting are valid for both viewpoints).
I am extremely empathic..I had to be to survive, I understand people and their intentions from the smallest of indicators, even today I still retain that survival trait. However that is something different from being able to relate to people as I said previously, although I am far better now, I did find it difficult to trust and even today I am still cynical when it comes to people, especially those I don't know. Again, something directly attributable to my childhood.
Exactly, those experiences will always make some difference - but hopefully not to the extent it can cause any detriment when possible.
In my own experience it was growing up with a parent who was only a danger to herself (mentally & physically), nobody else - resulting in having to be a empathic 'caretaker type' from a very young age, ignoring many of my own needs in an attempt to assist somebody who needed help more than me.
I think where you talk about causal links and not assigning blame, I am talking about mitigation...we are broadly saying similar things, just our emphasis is a little different in how we disseminate the responsibility from the mitigation.
Exactly, my focus being ensuring the next generation is equipped to take that responsibility - to reduce the need for mitigation. Free will or not, we need to arm children with the mental skills required to handle life - the existence of blame in most isn't really that important (as it doesn't change the above as you stated).
I've always seen humanity akin to the metaphor of building a house on sand then shouting at it for falling down, not everybody had foundations built in life.
I know what it is like also, my mother was diagnosed with severe mental illness, although I know it mitigates some of her actions..it still doesn't absolve her actions. Perhaps our differing experiences influence our slightly different approach.
As above, our experiences are of the same parental figure, but different in experience & illness (or how it was expressed) - it most certainly would impact on how we approach these issues.
Of course and what I posted was in no way any kind of mitigation of child abuse or should be taken in any way as suggesting victims should just get over it.
I was merely trying to show that whilst the abuse of a child is undoubtedly a heinous crime, it cannot be taken as granted that it's effects always trump the effects of being a victim of other heinous crimes (backing up your implication that there are many crimes which can leave a devastating effect on someone's well being that need not necessarily involve sexual abuse yet carry lesser sentences are aren't deemed as despicable by society).
Absolutely, can't disagree with anything there.
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