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Ryan's Reviews > “Why, Gary, Why?”: The Jody Plauché Story
“Why, Gary, Why?”: The Jody Plauché Story
by
by
Ugh. I read this book because I'd seen the Gary Plauche video (famous on the Internet: the father who shot dead his son Jody's rapist in police custody at the airport) and wanted more information about the story. I don't know what I was expecting -- horrible things are, indeed, horrible, but this was a well-written book and piece of advocacy.
Jody goes into a bunch of information about child sexual abuse (from both the victim's perspective and what parents should do to prevent/detect/respond). Obviously very unpleasant to listen to, but informative. Also he seems surprisingly well adjusted as an adult (and the very mundane/practical details of his story before/during/after the abuse were shocking by how normal they were; things which seemed like they should be very significant weren't, and other things were.)
This is probably worth reading, particularly if you have children, but it's not going to be pleasant.
Useful takeaways:
1) "If someone touches my children, I'll kill the rapist" professions in advance can actually deter children from reporting abuse, since the abusers often groom/etc. the children. Jody, for instance, denied the abuse for days after the rapist was arrested, because he didn't want the rapist to become aware he'd betrayed him (!!!), only changing his story once physical evidence was presented.
2) (well known, but bears repeating) most offenders are known to the child/family, not stranger abduction
3) Victims are usually selected because of vulnerability (broken home, etc.)
4) even horrible things can be overcome (Jody, for instance, thinks abuse would be less damaging than losing a limb, years later). Lots of studies show people adjust to major objective setbacks far more successfully than they'd predict in advance
5) Children are often groomed by getting them to break the law/rules in some way first (sharing alcohol/drugs, etc.), so they're less likely to report any subsequent assault
6) Sexual assault, especially of boys, is particularly underreported
Jody goes into a bunch of information about child sexual abuse (from both the victim's perspective and what parents should do to prevent/detect/respond). Obviously very unpleasant to listen to, but informative. Also he seems surprisingly well adjusted as an adult (and the very mundane/practical details of his story before/during/after the abuse were shocking by how normal they were; things which seemed like they should be very significant weren't, and other things were.)
This is probably worth reading, particularly if you have children, but it's not going to be pleasant.
Useful takeaways:
1) "If someone touches my children, I'll kill the rapist" professions in advance can actually deter children from reporting abuse, since the abusers often groom/etc. the children. Jody, for instance, denied the abuse for days after the rapist was arrested, because he didn't want the rapist to become aware he'd betrayed him (!!!), only changing his story once physical evidence was presented.
2) (well known, but bears repeating) most offenders are known to the child/family, not stranger abduction
3) Victims are usually selected because of vulnerability (broken home, etc.)
4) even horrible things can be overcome (Jody, for instance, thinks abuse would be less damaging than losing a limb, years later). Lots of studies show people adjust to major objective setbacks far more successfully than they'd predict in advance
5) Children are often groomed by getting them to break the law/rules in some way first (sharing alcohol/drugs, etc.), so they're less likely to report any subsequent assault
6) Sexual assault, especially of boys, is particularly underreported
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Reading Progress
June 17, 2024
–
Started Reading
June 17, 2024
– Shelved
August 21, 2024
–
Finished Reading
