Shaken Baby Tale Sweeps MySpace
June 13, 2007 7:47 PM Subscribe
The most popular blog on Myspace isn't about sex, drugs, or white girl gang signs. It is the tale of 5-month old Kaleb Schwabe, who suffered serious injuries believed to be caused by abuse at the hands of a caregiver. 21-year-old mom Kristy details Kaleb's recovery with doses of faith, sadness, and hope, and MySpace users have rallied in a big way.
I actually saw this story first on Facebook- a friend joined a group that was formed in support of Baby Kaleb. Never fails to amaze me how things like this can grow and spread.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:51 PM on June 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:51 PM on June 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
That white chicks and gang signs is popular though ThePinkSuperhero. I've seen at least 3 post about it in the blue ;)
posted by nola at 7:55 PM on June 13, 2007
posted by nola at 7:55 PM on June 13, 2007
Erm.... so who was the caretaker who shook the baby? I don't find that anywhere, after a quick read through and watching that clip from Fox News (admittedly garbled). Was it one of the parents? It doesn't seem to say anywhere.
posted by jokeefe at 8:04 PM on June 13, 2007
posted by jokeefe at 8:04 PM on June 13, 2007
Info on the caregiver from the SPTimes article:
Rebecca Saunders, 35, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated child abuse. A prosecutor is reviewing the case, and Saunders, declared indigent, was assigned a public defender.
The Sheriff's Office alleges that Kaleb's parents delivered him to Saunders' day care on May 9, only to return that afternoon and find him asleep and breathing unusually. On examination, he was diagnosed with bilateral hemorrhaging and subdural hematoma - bleeding on the brain.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:06 PM on June 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
Rebecca Saunders, 35, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated child abuse. A prosecutor is reviewing the case, and Saunders, declared indigent, was assigned a public defender.
The Sheriff's Office alleges that Kaleb's parents delivered him to Saunders' day care on May 9, only to return that afternoon and find him asleep and breathing unusually. On examination, he was diagnosed with bilateral hemorrhaging and subdural hematoma - bleeding on the brain.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:06 PM on June 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
Ah, okay, it was a babysitter... ugh. Who is currently out on $5,000 bond. How horrific.
posted by jokeefe at 8:07 PM on June 13, 2007
posted by jokeefe at 8:07 PM on June 13, 2007
After interviewing about 20 daycare providers when we were looking last summer, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often. About 3/4 of those people we interviewed were so completely and totally messed up that I can't believe other people leave their children in their care. They ignore the kids, point them at a huge TV, and try and get older kids to care for younger ones.
For any parent, it's worth spending literally at least a month or two interviewing and visiting (and be sure to do surprise revisits to see how the place is really run) providers and getting as many references as possible and actually calling the references and past clients up to see how things went. It's too much of a risk not to.
posted by mathowie at 8:11 PM on June 13, 2007
For any parent, it's worth spending literally at least a month or two interviewing and visiting (and be sure to do surprise revisits to see how the place is really run) providers and getting as many references as possible and actually calling the references and past clients up to see how things went. It's too much of a risk not to.
posted by mathowie at 8:11 PM on June 13, 2007
Have they proven it was the babysitter? How do they know that it didn't happen in the morning before he was dropped off?
Not saying it wasn't the babysitter, but you know, innocent until proven guilty and all that...
posted by Liosliath at 8:19 PM on June 13, 2007
Not saying it wasn't the babysitter, but you know, innocent until proven guilty and all that...
posted by Liosliath at 8:19 PM on June 13, 2007
It seemed kinda weird to me that they took so many pictures with the baby in the hospital to post.
I shook a baby once.
posted by Roman Graves at 8:19 PM on June 13, 2007
I shook a baby once.
posted by Roman Graves at 8:19 PM on June 13, 2007
Who put myspace in my metafilter?
(it's a better presentation though. on myspace it's "HOW CULD ANYONE HURT A BABY!!!1)
posted by justgary at 8:32 PM on June 13, 2007
(it's a better presentation though. on myspace it's "HOW CULD ANYONE HURT A BABY!!!1)
posted by justgary at 8:32 PM on June 13, 2007
A post on Mefi about how people love being outraged and rallying behind a cause.
posted by Saydur at 8:44 PM on June 13, 2007
posted by Saydur at 8:44 PM on June 13, 2007
and try and get older kids to care for younger ones
Only parents get to do that ;)
posted by IronLizard at 8:54 PM on June 13, 2007
Only parents get to do that ;)
posted by IronLizard at 8:54 PM on June 13, 2007
You know what, I spelled the family's last name wrong- it is Schwade, not Schwabe.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:47 PM on June 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:47 PM on June 13, 2007 [1 favorite]
These sick-baby things attract such a weird crowd.
Mostly women, and mostly the sort who get pretty high on themselves for joining a 'Save Cutebabyofthemoment' group -- I am a GOOD person! -- and who have no qualms about sending you all-caps e-mails with misspelled obscenities if you suggest that Cutebaby's story didn't need to be posted to X a dozen times. (See, for example, viral Kaleb on Yahoo! Answers.)
The juxtaposition of "I'm a very caring person" and "SO U DIDN'T LIKE MY POST #$*! YOU YOU STUPID WORE UR A #$&(!!!" has given me a surprising amount of pause for thought.
Wait, wait -- I'm not suggesting for a moment that ThePinkSuperhero is one of those flakes. The MySpace popularity alone makes this an interesting story.
These 'Save Whoever' things depress me, too. The death of a local toddler here got piles of attention recently, and all I could think of was how the more publicity-adverse parents of dying children must've felt.
posted by kmennie at 12:16 AM on June 14, 2007
Mostly women, and mostly the sort who get pretty high on themselves for joining a 'Save Cutebabyofthemoment' group -- I am a GOOD person! -- and who have no qualms about sending you all-caps e-mails with misspelled obscenities if you suggest that Cutebaby's story didn't need to be posted to X a dozen times. (See, for example, viral Kaleb on Yahoo! Answers.)
The juxtaposition of "I'm a very caring person" and "SO U DIDN'T LIKE MY POST #$*! YOU YOU STUPID WORE UR A #$&(!!!" has given me a surprising amount of pause for thought.
Wait, wait -- I'm not suggesting for a moment that ThePinkSuperhero is one of those flakes. The MySpace popularity alone makes this an interesting story.
These 'Save Whoever' things depress me, too. The death of a local toddler here got piles of attention recently, and all I could think of was how the more publicity-adverse parents of dying children must've felt.
posted by kmennie at 12:16 AM on June 14, 2007
The "OMG JUST TAKE TWO SECONDS TO FORWARD THIS OR YOU ARE A TOTALLY HEARTLESS PERSON" hysterical bulletins and chain emails drive me straight up a tree. In the vanishingly unlikely event that they are true, like this one, what am I supposed to do about it? Is forwarding a bulletin really going to help this child? How am I somehow complicit child abusers if I don't forward a bulletin, which does absolutely nothing but lend a false sense of accomplishment to the person who takes the two seconds to pass it on? What if I use those two seconds to conrtibute to, say, an organization that rehabilitates injured children instead? Am I still "A TERRIBLE PERSON WHO SHOULD GO TO HELL!!!"
I am? Well, shit.
posted by louche mustachio at 1:57 AM on June 14, 2007
I am? Well, shit.
posted by louche mustachio at 1:57 AM on June 14, 2007
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:48 PM on June 13, 2007 [1 favorite]