Moms Talk: How Could Something Like This Happen?

Mom's talk question: How does something like this happen without anyone doing something to stop it?

The world doesn't make sense to me. When I read the story of Christian Choate, a 13-year-old boy who was abused, neglected and left to die in a dog cage, I wondered who could do that to an innocent child who just wanted to be liked?

But there were people along the way who could have done something. Spoken up. Something. And didn't.

According to this Chicago Tribune article, a pediatrician had in his notes that the boy was being locked up at night, was hit in the head with a door and said he felt angry all the time, but never reported abuse to authorities. School officials lost track of him after being told he was being homeschooled.

Was what happened to Christian an unfortunate case of a child slipping through the cracks or does it say something about today's society? If he'd gotten a different doctor, had nosier neighbors or a teacher who pursued his withdrawal from school, his life could have been much different.

Nowadays, how many people stand up when they see a wrong being committed? How many people take a few minutes out of their day to help someone else? What has your experience been? Tell us what you think.