last week after one of those tiring trips to duncan, i found myself unable to sleep. that's what happens when i am too tired that i am physically unable to rest. good thing i brought along this dvd, as i have been meaning to watch it for years.
i don't know when or where i read about it, but i was immensely curious. the story is heartbreaking, watching a family disintegrate and go against each other under the huge pressure of (false?) accusation. this documentary is based on the real case of arnold and jesse friedman, in which father and son were accused of child pornography and sexual molestation of minors, allegedly had taken place during their weekly computer classes conducted for the neighbourhood children. the story explored many angles of the accusation - the uneasy bond inherent in the family between father, mother and the children; the police questionable investigation in obtaining testimony from the abused kids, the validity of using arnold friedman's interests in child pornography to convict him of sexual abuse despite obvious lack of physical evidence, the ease and speed of the public to judge and place blame without enough information.
this is a witch-hunt. by the end of the documentary, i am not convinced that arnold friedman had molested all those kids. while he has a lot of demons in his closet - child porn, two occasions of sex with underaged kids, his sexuality is questionable that perhaps makes him a poor husband - that is not a good enough reason to ruin him with charges of sexual abuse. it destroyed his life, and shattered his family into pieces.
it reminds me of something much closer to home, and perhaps something that we are all guilty of when the trial and emotions were running high, back in the years 1998 till 2000. remember the anwar trial? when we were all too quick to judge, and we know nothing much of what happened, till today.
i am just glad his family stood by him then, and right till this very moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment