white-collar crime dad

[Portia]

Wow, I thought that Anne C. was way-off base with her treatment of the tax evader dad. My great-uncle busted these dudes for nearly forty years as part of the FBI's white-collar crime division. (And solely "provided" for seven children, let it be known.) The actions of embezzlers and their ilk are just as gross as any other criminal. Where do you think the services that tax dollars come from, magical money fairies?

The whole thing just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. He's stolen the equivalent of two SUVs from the American people, and it's like "squeeze out a tear for him." Ugh, you would never hear this forgiveness song and dance for a common criminal (think what Valjean went through for stealing a loaf of bread. But he's illiterate, so he had it coming).

In a world where the black and Hispanic youth I ride the bus with are a thousand times more likely to land in jail than Lucille Bluth's husband here, it just makes me see red.

YES IT'S AGAINST THE LAWS OF THE LAND. NO, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS JERK. WHY WOULD HIS TEMPLE RECOMMEND EVEN BE THE FIRST THING YOU THINK ABOUT?

[UffishThought]

I thought she did a pretty good job. She did say it was against the law of the land pretty clearly, kind of brushed off the recommend question by saying she wasn't qualified to judge, and forgiveness is something that's recommended in every circumstance. I know LDS families that have kept up family relationships in much more personal circumstances because they felt that it was important. (And it's not that I'm saying I agree you have to keep in close contact, but that I'm saying it's fairly culturally standard.)

And I'd say embezzlers are just as gross as thieves, but not "any other criminal." I'd much rather be stolen from than be raped or murdered, and I think most people would agree.

[vorpal blade]

I'd like to hear both sides of the story. As far as I can see all Krisis really knows is that the IRS thinks it is owed some money. The IRS can be mistaken in this. It is possible that it is just a misunderstanding. Perhaps Krisis's father really thought he was in the right and has had an ongoing disagreement with the IRS for five years. I would think that if the IRS has known about this all along he would be in jail right now if it was a clear-cut case of criminal activity. And if the IRS had just found out about it the letter would not have been just for the last year, but the whole five years.

The comment that dad has lied to his wife, family and government is a loaded comment. Perhaps he didn't want to worry his wife over something he honestly felt could be dealt with in a reasonable manner. Perhaps his wife is as emotional and flys off the handle as much as Krisis. The fact that Krisis admits that Krisis has never been close to the dad suggests to me that Krisis may not be objective and unbiased in evaluating the actions of the dad.

On the other hand as far as we know it might be as bad as Krisis says. In that case I still think Anne Certainly did an excellent job of answering the question.

[NerdGirl]

I tend to agree with Portia on this one. From what the questioner wrote, it sounded like the dad's side of the story had been told and he had in fact been breaking the law.