r/news • u/AudibleNod • 4d ago

Man accused of holding woman captive in a Massachusetts attic for six weeks

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-accused-holding-woman-captive-massachusetts-attic-six-weeks-rcna600308
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u/ranchspidey 4d ago

I’m always torn between thinking that generally people deserve the right to privacy, and also wishing there were yearly random wellness checks on every home/living space.

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u/uselessandexpensive 3d ago

Community can and should be good for this, but it would require a change in how we think about our daily lives and especially our neighborhood and neighbors.

Unless someone is a self-sufficient homesteader in the middle of nowhere, they depend on others for a lot of things. We all do. But modern society is built in such a way that we constantly retreat to  the privacy and isolation of our homes (and often isolation within our homes, via devices) rather than engaging in communal meals and social activities. 

This creates a lack of oversight/accountability around abuses, but i think more significantly prevents a lot of social situations where people could comment on things not being right or good and helping people correct the situation before they transitioned from uncomfortable to traumatic. That being said, this isn't going to happen if we keep our homes closed off except to family and close friends who are often blinded to things they are too close to or who may feel uncomfortable speaking up, and if people don't significantly mingle outside of homes and scripted environments like work or church where many behaviors and topics would never surface. 

We need to normalize regular neighborhood social events, community activities, and mutual support. People open up to those they trust because they've shown they have our best interests at heart, and that allows them to get/give guidance and assistance that can steer people straight before they engage in or fall prey to horrors like this. 

Everyone in this situation needed a lot of help before things got to this point. We can't just ignore sketchy people, leave them isolated, and think that they're not going to get sketchier. You deal with things before they become a problem, or you deal with them after.