EE: Whitney and Tony

[Skylace]

There is no expression I can muster that quantifies how my skin crawls when I see them together. Or when I see Tony being lovey dovey with Bianca in front of Whitney or right after he's been with her.

It boggles the mind how the level-headed, street wise, character of Whitney can reconcile herself the the arrangement Tony has created. Today he said she looked like the "12 year old girl he feel in love with". So it's pretty clear he has been manipulating her a long time. It also seems to me the reason he has latched on to Bianca and kept her sweet is to keep his hands *shudder* on Whitney.

I can only imagine what is going to happen when this all comes out. Bianca's screams will wake the dead, Whitney will be shattered and I have a feeling Ricky is going to play a big role in it all as well.

[eefanincan]

I agree with you on all points Sky. It just makes my skin crawl and gives me the heebie jeebies when I see those two together. I think that Ricky will be the one to pick up the pieces when this falls apart and Bianca will realize that he's the one she can count on.

I am glad though that the show never really shows them "doing" anything --- just the mere suggestion that it's going on is more than enough. And running the adverts at the end with the help numbers may benefit some.

[faceless]

I epecially enjoyed the 'I like you in your school uniform' line. The writers have really gone to town to make him a painfully stereotypical abuser - the problem being that a proper paedophile wouldn't be interested in a girl her age (15?). This is, I guess, why they're giving him the lines about wanting to see her without makeup etc.

If it was the younger girl he'd make a believable abuser - but that would be too close to reality and at the moment he's just a construct to (once again) make all men out to be useless, wankers or just plain nasty. The only male character in the show who isn't any of these is probably Charlie, but he's ok because he's old.

[Skylace]

They are making him out to be an abuser, not just a pedophile.

He started grooming her at a young age, which is something many pedophiles do. If he was an actual pedophile (by the psychological terms, not law) there will come an age where he would loose interest and he would move on to a younger one to start grooming another. He's a perfectly believable abuser. I have met plenty in my life time. Some abusers preferred actual children while others preferred to stay with just pre-teens to teens. I have also worked with plenty of victims as well. I doubt the kids I worked with in their teens would not call it abuse because of the age. Not to mention most of them the abuse did start when they were younger and continued into the teenage years.

A girlfriend of mine in high school at the age of 17 became involved with one of the band teachers. He had been known as a bit of leetch with the younger girls. He was already in his 40s. They did marry and two years into the marriage when she was 20 he was caught and arrested at the window of a 16 year old who was at the school he was then teaching at. The girl may have been 16 but he was still and abuser and he also an abuser to his wife before (and I would dare say even after) to his wife. Basically at 20, when she was no longer a teen, he lost interest in her and moved on to another girl that fit in his sexual fantasies.

Just because a child isn't prepubescent doesn't mean it's not abuse. It just means it doesn't fit the psychological diagnosis of pedophilia.

[faceless]

I didn't say it wasn't abuse - my main problem is that it's just another device to paint men as 1 dimensional.

[Skylace]

I don't see it that way at all. If anything they are showing him as being kind and loving to the other kids and easy to get a long with. We have just seen the tragic flaw right away.
If anything it's another device to paint Bianca and girls like her as being one dimensional. After all, we constantly hear her talking about how terrible all the other guys before were and what she has had to put up with. Once again she's duped, even when a guy like Ricky is right there for her.

[SpursFan1902]

He makes my skin crawl. The comments and the glances at the pictures of her as a younger girl .....yuck.

[pirtybirdy]

The minute he went to jail should have been a big warning sign for her to stay clear, especially for the sake of the kids. Sure, people make mistakes, pay for their crimes, yada yada yada, I just don't see how Bianca found this man to be the light of her life and her children's life. Also, Pat made mention that she'd take the kids more often if Bianca would like so that she and Tony can have some time alone to get jiggy with it, but Bianca turned her down, as if to say her and Tony don't always have sex. Hmmm.....could be because he's doing your stepdaughter deary..... Did anyone notice that with Pat? Maybe I misunderstood it. I hope they don't drag the storyline too long. I'd hate to watch this abuse go on, though I know it happens in real life for years.

[SpursFan1902]

I did notice...Bianca's response to Pat's quizzical look was that sometimes he wasn't "up" for it and it was ok because he loves her and treats her right (apparently by abusing her step daughter) and to her that was more important to her. WTF??

It is getting harder and harder to watch the Whitney/Tony scenes. He just makes my skin crawl. The only thing that gets me thru is knowing that in real life he is a nice guy and is just as uncomfortable doing the scenes as we are watching. I read his interview on the EE site and he is used to playing nice guys. This one is a real stretch for him.

[eefanincan]

[SpursFan1902]

I really feel bad for Bianca. She thinks she has finally found someone to take care of her, so that she doesn't have to do it all on her own, and all she has is one more scumbag who is going to hurt her. She is brash and mouthy, but she (like all of us) deserves someone to love and take care of her. You can see by the way she treats the kids that alot of the mouth is front. She seems to be the "tart with a heart" so to speak....now mind you, I wasn't able to see EE during the time she was on the first time, so there may be alot of history I don't know about.

[eefanincan]

[SpursFan1902]

[Kezza]

What I appreciate about this storyline is that it emphasizes that most children who are victims of abuse KNOW their abuser. The overwhelming percentage of molested children are abused by a family member or a trusted "family friend." Maybe that's why it's causing such a stir and getting people to register complaints -- sadly, it's often too close to home.

(US) National Center For Missing And Exploited Children

[eefanincan]