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Richard Hoffman rchoffman@comcast.net
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In every struggle there is a moment that is afterward recognized as the point when the tide began to turn, when success became sure. Those who have struggled, over the past two decades especially, to bring the reality of children's widespread sexual exploitation to light, can only hope that the present attention to the assault on children by Catholic priests may serve as such a tipping point.
Recent articles in the press have discussed the case of an Air Force policeman, Paul Busa, who has come forward to bring charges against the Rev. Paul Shanley. After viewing TV coverage of other allegations against the notorious self-professed proponent of sex with children, Mr. Busa says he broke down and cried, recognizing his own story in the reports he heard. The articles suggested that Mr. Busa's accusation is the result of a "repressed" or "recovered" memory that may be difficult for prosecutors to corroborate
An Essay on Paula Vogel's "How I Learned to Drive"
Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, How I Learned to Drive, the latest American play to move from the stage to the classroom and canon, is a masterful depiction of the relentless wiles of a single-minded pedophile, an acknowledgment of the devastating impact of his assaults on a young girl, and an exploration of the role of alcoholism and gender stereotypes in the sexual abuse of children. It is also, ultimately, a betrayal of children, an affront to adults who have survived such abuse, and a dispiriting moral shrug
BACKTALK: NOTES TOWARD AN ESSAY ON MEMOIR
The act of remembering one's life and examining it for meaning is the elemental act of anyone on a spiritual quest. The subsequent shaping of that understanding into a work of art or literature is an act of faith in the possibility of communal meaning, the essential work of the artist, no matter what post-modern, atomized, mandarin critics claim. Memory was, is, and shall be mother of all the muses.
An Op-Ed piece on Curley Family/NAMBLA lawsuit
A jury's award of 328 million dollars to the Curley family in their wrongful death suit against their son Jeffrey's killers is a step, a large step, in the right direction. The most significant part of their search for justice, however, has yet to come. It will be their suit against NAMBLA, The North American Man-Boy Love Association.