A local doctor stole babies from birth mothers, telling them that their children had died. And one case in particular… It took decades for DNA to reveal the story. That happened here in Northwest Arkansas. One of my ideas for a Netflix documentary would be to contact the families of every mother, especially single mothers, who gave birth during a specific time period to perform DNA tests and compare them nationally.

Handsome, charismatic men who portray themselves as humble Christian husbands. Yet engage in a cycle of highly sexual affairs. (A story so common it is literally copy and paste.) Another one with a conservative political career who used his position at his work to take advantage of women. There’s a reason so many sexual harassment complaints arise in the workplace. It has built-in inequality that largely negates people speaking up and setting things right.

More than one doctor who openly had mistresses but yet were considered pillars of the community. Who had children with those mistresses.

People I knew who experienced a wild array of trauma. Everything you can imagine. Even though I had my own mostly unknown traumas, some of these people went through much, much worse than I did.

A dentist who preyed on women. Money can lighten any stain or accusation. Rarely do people choose victims whom they consider their equals.

Cops took advantage of people monetarily or sexually. Some used their positions to ruin their victims instead of admitting what they had done.

Coaches who bullied young kids. Or worse.

Teachers who are inappropriate with their students.

Church leaders behaving inappropriately.

A multitude of lawyer stories. Except they are armed and knowledgeable regarding the process of eluding accountability. Mostly. I’ve told the story many times, but one of them went to prison for fixing cases. My parents were among those who benefited from the arrangement.

Last year I had a bad feeling about someone who owned a plumbing company. I used my skills and uncovered a trail of female victims. One leading me across the country.

I had a similar feeling about a neighbor. He turned out to be a previously convicted sexual predator, along with a nice jacket full of criminal offenses.

All of these things have shadows around them.

Most people are good people.

But one thing you have to understand is that your experience with a particular person does not mean they didn’t have a dark side.

Especially upon their passing, if you lionize them, you have to be willing to listen to anyone who has a contrary opinion or experience with them.

It is in darkness and secrecy that people can be duplicitous and lead secret lives out of sight from observers. At least observers who will speak up.

The above examples are stories I know from here in Northwest Arkansas.

When I got involved in learning about the doctor who was stealing babies, I was expecting a reasonable explanation. Instead, I had to sit in the knowledge that someone was capable of ruining a mother’s life in that way. There was no doubt that he had done it to multiple women.

It’s human nature to avoid accountability, just as it’s also our nature to get mad when someone tries to tarnish a family member or someone we admire. Even a cursory look at Mother Theresa and her charity reveals many detestable secrets.

People have different faces for each aspect of their life.

I don’t have a nice bow with which to tie this post up.

There are certainly false accusers.

But there are also victims or people who know the truth about someone.

Each of these people has the right to tell their truth and story.

History and familiarity with people have repeatedly and demonstrably proven that truth is stranger than fiction.

I have several examples from my life in which the truth didn’t come to light for decades. In one, I found the gift of a beautiful and intelligent sister concealed from me. In another, I found proof of the final crime that sent my dad to prison in Indiana in the 60s.

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