Domain

Explanation

Dave Pelzer

• The story of Dave Pelzer is quite horrible as a child abused by his originally loving mother who turned monster
• The family consisted of his father, his mother, his two brothers as well as the other two born during the years of toture

The beginning

• From age 0-4, his family is a loving one in the 1960’s
• His father a fireman, his mother then was a most loving mother and a caring wife
• Dave was happy, hopeful and loved as any child would wish for

Torture started

• For reasons that are slowly but surely revealed in Dave’s novels about himself, his mother gradually turned from a loving, caring mother to a sadistic, freakish tormentor of the lowest caste
• From the age 4-12, Dave was increasingly tortured methodologically, physically, mentally and emotionally by the mother who played unpredictable games, deprived him of love, food and medicine as well as took him as the target and outlet of her vented emotions, frustrations and mindless, unrestricted anger

Some of the games "played"

• The mother invented, copied, refined and implemented so many "games" that Dave had to will all his strength & determination in order to just stay alive
• He was described at that time as a "thin, sad boy"
• Some the "games" played are listed below as an illustration of the depth of mindlessness that the mother has dropped to:

1. Cold Bath: fill the bathtub with cold water, strip Dave of all clothes, force him into the water, stay there for long, long time & sometimes force his head below water to test his breath
2. Household chores with timing: time Dave’s speed with cleaning, washing, drying and completing all dishes and chores with time restrictions over which he would have no dinner, sometimes dinner is purposely deprived, & Dave had to eat from the rubbish bin or the dog plates; once the mother deliberately threw a rotten meat (2 weeks) into the rubbish bin which Dave ate and suffered from stomachache and severe diarrhea
3. The Stab: in an isolated incident, while Dave was rushing his washing in order to eat (& within "the eat all you can within 2 minutes" game) when the mother threw a fruit knife at his stomach and he fainted immediately; he was not allowed into hospital, neither healthcare; the mother only tied a cloth around the stomach; Dave suffered the pain and bleeding the next few days, but he managed to clean his wound, squeeze out the toxic pus and change the bandage that saved his life at that time
4. The Lawn-mowing: Dave was to mow lawn around the neighbourhood in order to earn enough to meet the quota set by the mother to get his leftover meal; the quota kept increasingly, Dave instead begged for food; the neighbours who hear the screams but do not react
5. The Skates: during winter, Dave was forced to skate in the cold, while all children were forced indoors; Dave had to skate faster and harder in order to stay warm & literally survive
6. The Run to school: School is away from home & the mother; but Dave was only allowed to go by foot & with time limits; he had to run and run faster he had to beg or steal for food along the way or from the schoolmates or the grocery store nearby
7. The Starving: In a period of ten days, he was not allowed dinner even all rubbish were personally cleared by the mother so that Dave had no chance
8. The Beating: Dave was smashed, punched, kicked and wrestled helplessly in every conceivable manner by the alcoholic mother who vented every & any kind of frustrations on him, and not his siblings; Dave was the "chosen" one, singled out to bear the mother’s fangs
9. The Gas Chamber: a bucket of ammonia & washing detergent was left inside the toilet and Dave was locked for an hour inside; the toilet had no windows and it was sealed completely; the chemical mixture produces intoxicating fumes and literally chokes Dave of his breath; after which he vomited blood without severe headache & breathing difficulty
10. The Faeces wash: Dave’s baby brother was borne; the mother took the soiled diaper and smacked it fully into Dave ‘s face, forced him to eat faeces and literally washed his face in it
11. The Burning stove: while washing dishes hurriedly, the mother lighted the stove & forced Dave’s arm into the fire; he was about to be burned alive when someone came in and the mother was stunned & Dave took the chance & rushed off scalded
12. The POW position: Dave was deprived of sleep, forced to sleep in the basement army cot, starved of food, fresh air & the sun; & always sit on his fingers at the basement stairs to await the mother’s next "game"
13. The Vomit game: every day, after school, he was forced to vomit his stomach’s contents for the mother to inspect what he had eaten, so as to make sure he only ate what the mother had given; Dave had to eat early and forced down the leftovers the mother gave him before the vomit

The situation

• The mother had gone uncontrolled, the father was helpless, he avoided the family
• The siblings were brainwashed into thinking Dave was a "bad boy" & had to be punished severely; they were saving their own skins
• Dave did not understand & feel threatened for food, security & life
• Neighbours who hear the screams but do not react
• Teachers who see the bruises & must deal with a child too distracted to learn; the child might become aggressive, unpredictable and generally sad & unhappy
• Relatives who want to intervene but do not want to risk relationships

The child abuse reality

• Dave was the third-worst case of child abuse in California’s history
• Everyday, millions of children are abused physically, mentally and emotionally by unstable parents
• Even though, the reverse can happen & do, they are less threatening to the victims and the society at large
• Abused children become stuck-up adults that are literally time-bombs of the society and the family – once the conditions converge to release those pent-up emotions, the consequences are unfortunately child abuse re-enacted & the cycle goes on
• Children being relatively helpless, reliant on adult guidance and defenceless are the most vulnerable of targets – alive yet defenceless
• An object is defenceless, but not alive
• An animal is alive, but not defenceless
• The situation of child abuse is precarious and worsening due to societal changes, high risk mentality, a culture of emphasizing "right" behaviour rather than freedom with wisdom

The novels

• Dave Pelzer has come forward with a trilogy of novels to reveal his life:
• "A Child Called ‘It’": age 4-12, torture years
• "The Lost Boy": adolescence
• "A Man Named Dave": adulthood