“Sometimes we want to believe something so badly that we allow ourselves to be taken advantage of.”
― Aaron B. Powell, Doomsday Diaries III: Luke the Protector
Mary wanted to buy an expensive diamond necklace. Mary had two choices. She could go to the new store that had only been opened for a few weeks, or she could go to the store that Mr. Adams has owned and operated for the past 15 years.
Knowing that she doesn’t know much about diamonds, Mary felt more comfortable going to the store of Mr. Adams. After all, there is good reason why he has been running his shop as long as he has.
Mary found something she liked and she paid $15,000 for her gorgeous new diamond necklace.
After a few weeks, Mary decided that she should probably get this necklace insured. The insurance agent told Mary that she needed to get this piece appraised. Mary was shocked when she was told that not a single diamond on this necklace was real! They were all cubic zirconia!
Not wanting to believe this shocking news. Mary found another appraiser, one not affiliated with her insurance, who told her the same thing.
Filled with a combination of disappointment and anger, Mary went back to the jewelry store where she bought the necklace.
Mr. Adams denied that he sold her anything other that pure diamonds. When she showed him the appraisal and the necklace, he accused her of giving a different necklace to the appraiser.
Mary then started telling people that Mr. Adams conned her.
Mr. Adams sued Mary for slander.
Previous clients of Mr. Adams had their jewelry appraised and when the report came back that they had diamonds, they admonished Mary for trying to destroy Mr. Adams’ life.
Mary couldn’t prove that the necklace she had was the exact one that was sold to her by Mr. Adams and Mr. Adams’ 15 years of honest business was being used as proof that Mary was a liar.
Had this happened at the other store, the new store, Mary would be believed. However, this was an accusation against the store that has such a sterling reputation, thus it was ignored.
Why am I talking about a jewelry store?
Because the script is identical for those who sexually abuse a child.
If someone really wants to swindle someone and get away with it, they will spend time and years making sure that they develop a solid reputation. A reputation that cannot be destroyed by a single accusation.
Just like all those sales of real diamonds doesn’t prove that Mary is lying when she says she was sold a fake, other children saying that they weren’t abused by the accused doesn’t mean that the victim was not abused by the accused.
Just like victims get groomed, family and communities also get groomed.
Some abusers spend YEARS grooming not only their victims, but their families and the entire community as well.
Sadly, the only way that Mary will be believed is if other people accuse the jeweler of similar tactics.
Sadly, in the current state of our community, victims will only be believed once more victims step forward.
Yisroel Picker is a Social Worker who lives in Jerusalem. He has a private practice which specializes in working with people of all ages helping them understand their own thought processes, enabling them to improve their level of functioning, awareness, social skills and more.
To contact Yisroel about speaking at a child safety event or to discuss a personal case, email him at yisroel@ympicker.com
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