update on kidnapped student

[fictional]

The department apparently takes this all Very Seriously. They have called, are reporting the incident, are concerned about suicide, etc. etc.

They have also discovered that said student's contact number is in fact, her boyfriend's (the alleged kidnapper).

Student is still MIA and has not responded.

Possibility 1: I am a cynical, horrible excuse for a compassionate human being, and this person is actually in phenomenal amounts of trouble and/or dead.

Possibility 2: I am a cynical, horrible excuse for a compassionate human being, and this person has seriously unleashed a can of worms upon themselves that I don't think they were intending to.

I feel kind of bad over the whole thing.

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

Possibility 2: I am a cynical, horrible excuse for a compassionate human being, and this person has seriously unleashed a can of worms upon themselves that I don't think they were intending to.

But oh will they deserve it.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I'd be really fine with Possibility 2. What are the odds it's #1 though???

[rm.livejournal.com]

With your student population, higher than you'd like. That said, I suspect that if it's some iteration of one it's more a thing of the boyfriend doesn't want her going to school, maybe hit or threatened her, so she's not going, but if any legal moves are made she may deny it all and say it was case #2.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

yergh. Even more nauseating.

God, I hate this place.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Either way, you may have to talk to the cops if you haven't already.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

Nothing's been mentioned. We'll see what develops!

It's all fodder for the Tell-All book, right?

[haplily.livejournal.com]

or at least if you posted it in rants and raves for craigslist, it could be selected as a "best of"

[lllvis.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't feel like a cynical, horrible excuse for a human being in case #2. It is of their own doing in that case, and relies upon not only your but others' compassion as well that they're trying to take advantage of.

Should it turn out to be case #1...yeah ok, might feel bad for having not believed them, but if you offered help or assistance there's not much more you could do. Don't beat yourself up.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

You're totally right.

I am, however, really grateful that I didn't go with my first response of "How stupid do you think I am?" and instead went with the reporting it to the department, and counseling services.

That said though, I remember coming up with some pretty outlandish excuses for things when I was young - although none quite so offensive or egregious - because I was smarter. If it's all just lies, it's about to explode in their face, big time - and part of me (the delinquent) can't help but sympathize slightly. Very, very slightly.

[lllvis.livejournal.com]

I encountered the same thing at my last employer, where we were going to yet again have to stay late and an employee claimed an injury to get out of it. That led to most of an hour going to paperwork, them having to make an evening run to a clinic to get checked out AND come back with paperwork, all of which went much later into the night than the extra 30 minutes we were asking for!

Ok, so very, very slight sympathy, but that's about it!!

[magnetgirl.livejournal.com]

Eh. Don't feel bad. If someone was so horribly kidnapped, how did they find the time to e-mail you and not the authorities? Or, if it's an abuse situation-mom/friend/anyone?

I can't believe for a second that this person has the time to write to you about a kidnapping, but can't contact anyone else? Um? "I'm in denial of my abuse situation to everyone but my english comp teacher...!"

...yeah. OK.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

They've come up again on the radar - apparently there's been more death in the family...and they're going to the Dean of Students.

Either it's more bullshit, or they are the unluckiest person ever.

In any event, whatever's happened, it's on a Grand Scale.


...but yeah, still finding it all v. hard to believe.

[framefolly.livejournal.com]

You are not a cynical, horrible excuse for a compassionate human being. You are paid to teach, you are not paid to be a social worker or crisis interventionist, and you did exactly the right thing by passing the info on.

Whatever you may believe is true personally, your professional action was, in my opinion, exactly right and reasonable. And hey -- we've all concocted/encountered fabulous fibs. People in trouble often deserve a certain amount of true sympathy -- and a certain amount of true disdain, too, I feel...

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I sometimes worry that this job is making me a) less empathic b) more establishment-y!

This weekend I had that school-anxiety dream...you know the one, where you show up for a test that you haven't studied for, or something like that? Except this time - I was the teacher!! (oddly, it was at HCHS!)

I couldn't find my class, and when I did, I didn't know what to teach, and it was horrible.

Have I switched sides? I don't want to switch sides...