Was Danny Abused as a Child (Pt 2) *possible spoilers*

I think Louie's actions towards Danny have shown he didn't exactly help Danny (even though he tried to that one night, with the Tanglewood boys). But I still think the abuse happened when Danny was younger, and probably at the hands of an adult. I think what happened with Louie was more of a betrayal for Danny--the one person he trusted and thought would protect him turning on him.
 
Well then a question would be, is it the mother or the father? Which one did he trust more and which one did he turn to the most in times of need?
 
That's a good question. He seems closer to his mother (he called her mommy in RSRD) but don't some abuse victims have a tendency to cling (for lack of a better word) the abuser? :confused:

Maybe it's his father. I'm sure he's a hard-ass considering he's supposedly involved with the mob. Maybe his mother did all she could to protect Danny and Louie but she could have lived in fear of their father too.
 
i know it's a bit off topic, but i thought, that his mother would be dead, because in 'on the job' he swears on his mothers grave (!), that minhas didn't id himself.

that doesn't make sense. if you consider he called both of his parents to the hospital to be at louis side,
but for me it would be another theory for his father abusing him:
maybe his dad became an alcoholic when his mother died. could be, that he hit danny when he was drunk and tried to be a good dad when sober... i really don't know, but that would explain to me, why danny doesn't hate his dad, but searches for someone to look up to, like mac.

just my little crazy idea while rewatching season 1... :)
 
ya that wat i thought 2 about his mother being dead

i do think he was abused the way he acts he doesnt talk about his father much so it might have some to with that mayb he didnt want him to be a cop. the episode whth the salt wher he pushed the salt and the way he was talking to the man and the look on his face. you just no something happend to him.
 
I have thought about this quite a lot since I first read about it.

Since RSRD we know that both his parents are still alive. He tells Louie that 'mommy' and 'dad' were coming. He used those words to get through to his brother - it was most likely how they referred to their parents when they were younger. Their father was probably a very strict and demanding person and their mother a sweet woman.

The fact that he did call them indicates that both brothers have not broken completely with either of their parents.

In Obsession (S03E13) Danny invites Hawkes over to eat at his mom's and not his parents', so perhaps they are divorced and he somehow blames his father for that.

He clearly didn't have a lot of contact with his brother. But I think that was because Louie kept him at a distance to protect him from the people he was hanging out with. Danny's reaction when his brother was admitted to the hospital was one of regret - too many wasted years.

So for now I've come to the conclusion that he has not been the victim of abuse. But perhaps he (as a child) was the witness of abuse and wasn't able to do anything about it and he also noticed that nobody was helping the victim. That could be why he so often tries to protect people now.

from TV Guide: "Danny's challenged on a personal level because of his brother Louie (who may or may not be dead), and there's a deeper, darker problem. He just can't shake his previous life."
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I guess/hope these are two different stories:

A) Louie is still alive :) - he contacted Danny in Trapped because he needed help with something - now he's out of the hospital and still needs help with that.

B) The abuser or victim from his childhood has something to do with a new case - abuser still abusing? - victim became murderer?
 
I believe Danny was abused by his father, though statistically most child abusers are women since they spend more time involved in child rearing. The entertainment industry has led us to false beliefs where the notion of abuse is concerned, abuse that is not sexual that is. Anyway, back to Danny . . . He is drawn to those he feels would disapprove of him, those that reject him the way Louie seemingly did in RSRD. Louie's rejection was an attempt at protection, sadly a teenaged Danny didn't and couldn't comprehend the difference, s he internalized it and added it to the storehouse of abuse he experienced all his life. Louie's type of abuse was worlds apart from both Mac and Lindsay's Mac abuses Danny as a way to control his actions, a way to rein in his maverick tendencies, the difference is that unlike Lindsay Mac deeply cares for Danny. Lindsay's rejection is also an attempt to control Danny, she turns to him when she finds it convenient, and when she desires his company and Danny accustomed to such treatment laps it up repeatedly. There is an inherent cruelty in the way Lindsay treats Danny - she stands him up, brushes off an explanation, tosses out a it's me not you let's be friends, and then leaves him a little bone in the form of a pathetic card. There goes pathetic and pitiful Danny lapping it up once again at her disposal.

As far as Danny maintaining contact with an abusive parent, well children have been known to cling to an abusive parent, so that really does prove or for that matter disprove anything.
 
JDonne said:
Lindsay's rejection is also an attempt to control Danny, she turns to him when she finds it convenient, and when she desires his company and Danny accustomed to such treatment laps it up repeatedly. There is an inherent cruelty in the way Lindsay treats Danny - she stands him up, brushes off an explanation, tosses out a it's me not you let's be friends, and then leaves him a little bone in the form of a pathetic card. There goes pathetic and pitiful Danny lapping it up once again at her disposal.
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Not only does Lindsey abuse Danny, but watching her immature antics effects abuse on the viewer as well. I'd agree with that summary of her actions toward Danny and how it represents abuse. Also, I'd say only a man who has suffered a history of abuse would go chasing after a woman who treats him like that.
 
Danny's also of the generation that could have suffered abuse from the priest or maybe a baseball coach, causing his issue with authority figures. He has trouble placing faith in people, and went against Mac's orders not to speak with IA. He probably figured Mac would sell him out, as we later learned he thought Louie had.
 
I don't think he went against Mac's orders just because he has a problem with authority figures. He went to IAB because he wanted to tell them the truth..exactly what he did, saw, etc. He didn't just do it to go against Mac. Danny's impatient..he just couldn't sit around and wait for Mac to work things out. He felt he needed to do it himself.

Which comes back around to Danny not trusting anybody and not holding out any hope that anybody will be there for him. Who did he call in On The Job when he needed to talk to somebody? Flack. Why's that? Because Flack always has Danny's back. That's one thing that Danny can always count on, even though he wasn't exactly happy about what FLack had to say. He still knew Flack was there for him.

I'm not sure that Danny could have been abused by a priest or coach or something. With Daddy Messer's connections (and if he wasn't abusing him), no way would he let that happen. It seems more likely that the abuse came from family.

Of course we can't forget about the scene in Recycling with the pedophile. Danny was none too happy with that man. I didn't get that he had any personal issues with the guy (like he had been through something like that), he just was very pissed at the man (for good reason).

Louie may not have been the original source of abuse, but shutting Danny out didn't help things. The one person in his life when he was a teen (his brother) he thought he could trust and would be there for him turned on him. Now he knows the truth but it took 15 years to find out.
 
He went to IAB because he wanted to tell them the truth
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Danny's attitude in "On the Job" definitely didn't strike me as him trying to disobey Mac--it was just him trying to justify himself, to prove that he hadn't done anything wrong. He felt that he'd done everything right, but (in his mind, at least) everybody thought he was a dirty cop. He just wanted to tell his story. It makes me think that he was definitely in at least one situation where he felt like he couldn't tell his side of the story--or maybe at some point he was too scared to tell his side of the story, and has regretted it.

It seems more likely that the abuse came from family.
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I agree. Something about the way Danny acts just seems like his issues hit very close to home.

I don't necessarily think it was sexual abuse, if there was abuse at all. It seems to me that it's more likely emotional abuse, maybe a bit of physical abuse. However, I think sexual abuse is still a possibility...
 
1CSIMfan said:
I don't think he went against Mac's orders just because he has a problem with authority figures. He went to IAB because he wanted to tell them the truth..exactly what he did, saw, etc. He didn't just do it to go against Mac. Danny's impatient..he just couldn't sit around and wait for Mac to work things out. He felt he needed to do it himself.
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Agreed. Danny wanted Mac to believe in him, but he perceived Mac's behavior as showing him he didn't. So Danny took matters into his own hands. He acts on pure emotion.

Which comes back around to Danny not trusting anybody and not holding out any hope that anybody will be there for him. Who did he call in On The Job when he needed to talk to somebody? Flack. Why's that? Because Flack always has Danny's back. That's one thing that Danny can always count on, even though he wasn't exactly happy about what FLack had to say. He still knew Flack was there for him.
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He did, but he still didn't trust it. Danny seems to have a complete inability to trust other people, and on the flipside assumes no one else has any faith in him. Perhaps he believes Flack does, but it was pretty sad when he stormed out of the diner when all Flack was trying to do was show he was there for him.

I'm not sure that Danny could have been abused by a priest or coach or something. With Daddy Messer's connections (and if he wasn't abusing him), no way would he let that happen. It seems more likely that the abuse came from family.
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Well, anything is possible and it's unlikely if Danny was being abused by an authority figure that he would tell, at least not right away. I completely believe if that did happen and Papa Messer found out about it, there would be retribution, but it certainly could have happened at some point.

Of course we can't forget about the scene in Recycling with the pedophile. Danny was none too happy with that man. I didn't get that he had any personal issues with the guy (like he had been through something like that), he just was very pissed at the man (for good reason).
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I actually thought it could have been personal because of the way Danny put himself in front of the pedophile. He said something like, "What, am I too old for you?" or something along those lines, which was pretty provacative. I actually could see a case being made for Danny having been sexually abused.

Louie may not have been the original source of abuse, but shutting Danny out didn't help things. The one person in his life when he was a teen (his brother) he thought he could trust and would be there for him turned on him. Now he knows the truth but it took 15 years to find out.
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Yeah, and that probably didn't repair the damage it had done. I think Louie was a contributing factor and not the originating one, but it certainly didn't help matters.
 
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