CNN: Lowering the Bar

Shaker ASharpie1 passes along this update on the "incest father" story at CNN, charmingly headlined "Incest dungeon teen wants to see ocean."

Incest dungeon teen. Wow. It wasn't bad enough that her grand/father, who held 19-year-old Kerstin, her mother, and her siblings captive in his custom-built dungeon, was deemed "incest dad" and her mother deemed "dungeon daughter"—now she's the incest dungeon teen. Fuck's sake.

And despite the fact that her mother, Elisabeth, had been repeatedly raped by her father during the 24 years he held her against her will in an elaborate underground dungeon concealed by a series of locks and trapdoors, while he created fake letters from her to give the impression she was part of a cult, and fathering seven children she bore—one of whom died, three of whom never saw daylight until April, and three of whom he and his wife raised after he claimed his "missing" daughter left them on their doorstep with notes she couldn't care for them, CNN nonetheless says:

Kerstin is the oldest daughter of an incestuous relationship between her mother, Elisabeth, 43, and Elisabeth's father, Josef Fritzl, 73, according to police.

Hmm, yes, well, I suppose it was a relationship, in the technical sense that a butcher has a relationship with a pig, too.

In good news, Kerstin, who had to be put into a medically-induced coma after being brought to the hospital in April for multiple organ failure, is physically recovering well and is spending her time being amazed by things like pop music and watching clouds move across the sky.

Of course there will lots of long-term recovery issues for the whole family, but they are in counseling and, according to a family attorney, "There is incredible joy among them" that they are moving forward together. And once again I stand in awe at the strength and resilience of my fellow humans.