Another Mistaken Judge

What is "family?"

It has been argued successfully in a number of court rooms over the years that a "family" is not necessarily consanguineous - blood related.

A family might be an assembly of like-minded idealists, people dedicated to some common vision or goal.

Why then do we have this social mantra that above all and at all other costs, "the family must be kept together."

I cannot tell you how many sensible, if heart-broken, children I know have prayed for their fractious, dysfunctional "families" to call it a day. The shrinks go on about the destructive force of divorce. But not often enough do they talk about the positive and healthy values of dissolving toxic and dangerous relationships.

All of which is to say how appalling it is to see yet another wrong-headed judge make another horrifying judgment in a local court.

A man beats up his wife and is given a conditional discharge.

The judge, quoting the accepted - and ignorant and blind - common wisdom, says, "Canadian society has an interest in promoting and keeping the family unit together."

Question for the good judge:

Does Canadian society have an interest in keeping family units together in which the father is an out-of-control brutalizing pig?

Next question:

Does the good judge read the papers? Does she have any idea about the rash of domestic violence against women in local "Indo-Canadian" families?

Has she heard of Paul Cheema?

The judge said that the man to whom she gave a conditional discharge after he attacked his wife has "suffered the embarrassment of having to discuss this matter..." in public.

Poor baby.

Last question (same question I asked last week in a similar circumstance):

How can we remove judges from their duties when they demonstrate with chilling clarity their inability to perform those duties responsibly?