S'Morton Alan Smith charged with incest, rape, child molestation

[MamaB]

@Newtothis same here. Been reading for years but just joined.

[fundiefan]

Since we are very obviously not the only people who know of the SMortons and their friends, and it's also obvious they have those friends, there will be Google searches for them - and those associated with them to even a slight degree - given the latest news. And a lot of those searches will land here. This is pretty big news in those circles and most likely has a lot of people shaken up. So, I'm betting we will end up with a lot of newbies. It's kind of a natural consequence of using the Internet.

I don't think anyone should panic over what newbies are or aren't doing. I'm not handslapping, I swear. I just think that it's almost a given we're going to end up with a bunch of new posters, who will be here for varying amounts of time...it could cause whiplash to worry about / watch what each of them does, ya' know?

 

 

[Queen Of Hearts]

I'm pleased to see that the Morton's seem to be supporting Katie.  More importantly, based on what has been written in the GoFundMe, that they are NOT supporting Alan.  This is a terrible situation for any family to go through, but especially one with so many family member's lives intertwined.  I've never followed the Smith's, but I used to enjoy reading about the Morton's (seemed like a nice family, even if I didn't agree with all their beliefs) and sort of find myself breathing a sigh of relieve that they appear to be on the side of the victim's.  

[Newtothis]

10 minutes ago, MamaB said:

Okay. Just didn't like everything in that post.

I met the family once and they were nothing like the S'morton clan

That's neat. Glad to hear that they were nothing like them.  Was this back in the Smith home church days?  I remember blog posts from the Smith's blog way back then and it seemed like the Lanes weren't totally "in to it" like the S'Mortons. 

11 minutes ago, Feministe9000 said:

I was in the exact same boat!!

Also why are people getting their panties in a bunch about a couple of up or down votes??

lol ooooh our website might be infiltrated by the Morton/Smith families!!! oh noezzzz!!!!

chill out guys..........LOL

 

Haha, well, I'm definitely not a S'Morton. So don't worry about me. Just a long time reader 

[fundiefan]

I

2 minutes ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

I'm pleased to see that the Morton's seem to be supporting Katie.  More importantly, based on what has been written in the GoFundMe, that they are NOT supporting Alan.  This is a terrible situation for any family to go through, but especially one with so many family member's lives intertwined.  I've never followed the Smith's, but I used to enjoy reading about the Morton's (seemed like a nice family, even if I didn't agree with all their beliefs) and sort of find myself breathing a sigh of relieve that they appear to be on the side of the victim's.  

Whenever the marriages between the Smiths & Mortons were discussed on comparison to those of the Mortons who did not marry Smiths - - like the relative 'normalness' of Andrew & Sam's weddings - I always said I thought the craziest of the crazy came from the Smiths. Not to say the Morton's weren't/aren't in their own realm of crazy; they've shown more than their share of non Smith crazy (Noah & Dorothy). But, overall, I think the Smiths are the conductors of the crazy train and managed to get a bunch of families to fill the passenger cars - - for a while. The Mortons lost a lot of crazy in the past few years.

I mean to say - - I too am glad to see that they are supporting Katie and not justifying/godsplaining anything away. I am glad to see they are behaving like normal families behave in times of crisis, regardless of the weird number of familial connections to the Smiths. There has got to be a huge amount of conflict in such circumstances, but the Mortons appear to have chosen blood over doctrine. I'm surprised and happy.

I still don't like them, no matter how pretty they make their lives to be. But, at least they are not still on the Smith train and hopefully have learned something.

[Black Aliss]

I have to say, that GoFundMe appeal is quite the testimony to  SOTDRT standards.

[Grimalkin]

39 minutes ago, Feministe9000 said:

I was in the exact same boat!!

Also why are people getting their panties in a bunch about a couple of up or down votes??

lol ooooh our website might be infiltrated by the Morton/Smith families!!! oh noezzzz!!!!

chill out guys..........LOL

 

         Her question was reasonable and nobody 'had their panties in a bunch'.

If you think we are worried about a S'Morton infiltration you should read here more. We welcome the people we discuss to come here and say whatever they have to say. 

[Nikedagain?]

53 minutes ago, Fascinated said:

Oh, no, you are certainly allowed to. However, it is extremely rare for a new member to come in and do so.  Many members have never downvoted anyone, ever. But, sure, go for it. 

I just down voted for the first time last night in the drunken Naugler thread.....

It felt SO WEIRD!

[fundiefan]

OK, I have been posting here forever. What the hell is down voting a post?

Just call me Ms. Clueless.

[Feministe9000]

11 minutes ago, Grimalkin said:

         Her question was reasonable and nobody 'had their panties in a bunch'.

If you think we are worried about a S'Morton infiltration you should read here more. We welcome the people we discuss to come here and say whatever they have to say. 

Okay......the meaning-to-text translation was obviously misconstrued.....just joking!!!!

Not trying to upset anybody or accuse anyone of anything.....i didn't relay my humor correctly!

[samurai_sarah]

1 minute ago, fundiefan said:

OK, I have been posting here forever. What the hell is down voting a post?

Just call me Ms. Clueless.

When you're reading posts, to the far right hand corner, at the bottom, you usually get to see a green and a red arrow. Green pointing up, red pointing down.

On FJ, you get an unlimited number of upvotes (green) per day, to distribute, and five (red).

Hope this helps.

[Jana814]

I'm glad her family seem to be supporting her. She is going to need it. 

[fundiefan]

11 minutes ago, samurai_sarah said:

When you're reading posts, to the far right hand corner, at the bottom, you usually get to see a green and a red arrow. Green pointing up, red pointing down.

On FJ, you get an unlimited number of upvotes (green) per day, to distribute, and five (red).

Hope this helps.

Well, damn. I know I've hit the up/red arrow when I particularly like something (thinking of it like a 'like' on FB), but I apparently never even thought about the green one or its purpose. I must have noticed it was there, but it never even registered.

I clearly do not ever need to ask how people can 'not see what is in front of their faces'. And if I have, I have my answer.

[SpoonfulOSugar]

1 hour ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

More importantly, based on what has been written in the GoFundMe, that they are NOT supporting Alan.

I wouldn't assume that there's a guaranteed correlation there.  IIRC, GoFundMe has specific policies about fundraising for criminal defense (I think they disallow it.)  Source:  The Bundy Ranch fiasco.  I can look it up if someone is really curious.

Also, someone commented about the low threshold being requested ($5000).  They can actually raise it mid-campaign, and my understanding is that *whatever* amount raised (whether it reaches the goal or not) is given to the recipient.

43 minutes ago, Black Aliss said:

I have to say, that GoFundMe appeal is quite the testimony to  SOTDRT standards.

Isn't it though?  Just makes me want to use a red pen and edit, edit, edit.

24 minutes ago, Nikedagain? said:

I just down voted for the first time last night in the drunken Naugler thread.....

It felt SO WEIRD!

It's fascinating the different philosophies people have about those . . . .

[withaj]

1 hour ago, JMO said:

Did anyone else notice that Jeannie Morton made her instagram private?

Surprised she hadn't sooner. It was still public over the weekend.

Am I imagining that Jeannie and co were/are just recently back on a jaunt to the US? If so, I wonder if it was for the birth or whether this has been in the works.

[Black Aliss]

I thought the red down arrow had two uses--the other one being to cancel an accidental up-vote. Not true? In which case, my apologies to posters who have received one of my down-votes.

[SpoonfulOSugar]

6 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

Well, damn. I know I've hit the up/red arrow when I particularly like something (thinking of it like a 'like' on FB), but I apparently never even thought about the green one or its purpose. I must have noticed it was there, but it never even registered.

I clearly do not ever need to ask how people can 'not see what is in front of their faces'. And if I have, I have my answer.

I *hope* you got the colors reversed in this response.

If you click on the heart icon next to it, you can see who has liked/disliked a vote.

1 minute ago, Black Aliss said:

I thought the red down arrow had two uses--the other one being to cancel an accidental up-vote. Not true? In which case, my apologies to posters who have received one of my down-votes.

You can reverse all votes - pretty much all the time.  One down red/then use up green, etc.

People may feel free to test on my posts.  I won't kvetch or kvell.  *grins*

[Destiny]

5 minutes ago, Black Aliss said:

I thought the red down arrow had two uses--the other one being to cancel an accidental up-vote. Not true? In which case, my apologies to posters who have received one of my down-votes.

That is correct. If you have just a red downvote button, it will serve to reverse an accidental upvote. If you have both a green upvote and a red downvote button, then the buttons perform the listed function.

Does that make sense? I'm not sure it does. Let me know if I need to further clarify cos I'm not sure I just made sense.

Edit: or what @SpoonfulOSugar said with better words.

[fundiefan]

Ha. See, that in front of your face thing...I don't haz it.

Yes, I had the colors reversed in my comment.

[SpoonfulOSugar]

4 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

Ha. See, that in front of your face thing...I don't haz it.

Yes, I had the colors reversed in my comment.

I have upvoted your comment.

(Which is one of the phrases that make this mod cringe . . . but in this case - I wanted to point out that you can see the heart 1 and if you click on it, it tells you that.)

*grins*

[ViolaSebastian]

On the contrary, I rather imagine many of us have a great many things to say to the S'Mortons, me included.

[withaj]

22 minutes ago, withaj said:

Surprised she hadn't sooner. It was still public over the weekend.

Am I imagining that Jeannie and co were/are just recently back on a jaunt to the US? If so, I wonder if it was for the birth or whether this has been in the works.

Just kidding. I checked and it's still public... not sure what you're seeing, @JMO.

[Mudgie]

I haven't posted in a really long time. This story is beyond heartbreaking. 

I can't even imagine what it would be like to be Katie right now. To learn all of this about your husband, however she learned it, and then to be giving birth  and dealing with all of this in the postpartum period. Her entire world has imploded. Everything about her and her 8 children's lives is now irrevocably changed. The trajectory of their very existence is forever drastically altered. There are so many victims in this tragedy. The child/ren he assaulted, the children of the combined families, the families themselves. The heartbreak and devastation is unfathomable.  

All because of one vile, sick and disturbed man. I hope he's not allowed a plea bargain. If these allegations are true then I hope he's prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. You do not victimize children. What kind of a tortured mind does something like this? 

I hope Katie is being surrounded with love, support and compassion. I hope she is receiving actual viable help. I hope she is being allowed to physically recover from childbirth and is allowed to emotionally process all of this. I hope all of the children are getting viable, professional help. I hope they are all as safe as possible and that, most importantly,  that they know they are safe. This process, this nightmare, will take years to even begin to find resolution to. I hope that the she has support and inner strength for the long haul. 

I don't care what belief or religion you hold yourself to, no one, nobody deserves this. Everything about this is tragic. Everything. It's heartbreaking.

[Four is Enough]

4 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

I'm related by marriage to a family court judge who deals with exactly these kinds of terrible cases. When her chambers came up for renovation on the county's lists, she had them redone so as to provide an atmosphere of comfort & peace for the victims whose cases she hears. IIRC, in her jurisdiction, she can hold certain hearings or interviews in chambers as opposed to open court. Not familiar enough with the law there to know how, why & when.

 

When my child had his hearings for his transgressions, it was in an extremely crowded juvenile docket. One thing the Master and the attorneys did was to agree that the charges and the testimony would be read in silence, not aloud, paper submitted into the record, before the entire courtroom.  It was not only better for the victims and families, it was also better for us. (Say what you will, Mr. Four and I were having an extremely hard time dealing with it all, and not having to hear our shame in public was a good thing.) Looking back on the veil of time, I submit this petty observation: and the neighborhood gossip and know it all, who'd come to court for the spectacle, heard nothing.  I applaud all those who work with abused children. They have a difficult job.  If they can make it easier for the victims and their families, it should happen.

[Grimalkin]

1 hour ago, Mudgie said:

I haven't posted in a really long time. This story is beyond heartbreaking. 

I can't even imagine what it would be like to be Katie right now. To learn all of this about your husband, however she learned it, and then to be giving birth  and dealing with all of this in the postpartum period. Her entire world has imploded. Everything about her and her 8 children's lives is now irrevocably changed. 

 

 I hope she is being allowed to physically recover from childbirth and is allowed to emotionally process all of this. 

 

         8 kids in nine- ten years......she has been in a constant state of postpartum/ pregnant for nearly 10 years. 10, a whole decade. I have four kids and they are spread out. I cannot imagine what it takes to get everyone together just to go to the park or a play date. I cannot imagine watching 8 kids at the park, even with other moms on a play date. Going to the park and talking to moms is a nice distraction and a good way to just have interaction with other people.  That seems nearly impossible with 8 little ones. Pushing a couple in a swing, a baby sleeping in a stroller, making sure nobody makes a run for it, being ready to catch a toddler climbing something, meltdowns, someone has to go potty, another is thirsty.......it's exhausting. Feeling guilty for not taking them out, to exhausted to take them. 

       Has she had time to process anything? I just cannot imagine everyday life right now. I hope she has some good friends to lean on. I hope I'm wrong, sometimes we can be so busy taking care of little ones we don't have time to socialize and maintain friendships.

 

ETA: let's not forget the fundie idea that being angry is wrong, and keep sweet. God knows what she has pushed down over the years. Thinking about and imagining how she must be feeling or purposely not feeling stresses me out and makes me phisicaly uncomfortable. I don't even know her. My heart goes out to her.