Was Danny abused as a child?

I wonder how Mac would handle it...I kind of think he'd tell Daddy Messer to get the hell out.
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I hope, and think, he'd do just a little bit more than that. Just had 'Supply and Demand' here and at the end, when Mac was talking to the drug dealer, I think you could almost say Mac was vindictive. He seemed pleased that it was likely the man was going to get beat up in prison. I was a bit surprised by his attitude because he didn't do a Grissom and rant how he hated people who dealt drugs to kids during the investigation.

you know I am also intrigued to see how Mac will react to Danny and his situation. Mac appears to be fairly level headed, and I know that how he will react to Danny will be appropriate, but intriguing.
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I don't know if it's just me but I think Mac is getting more aggressive. It's like he started the season all numb still from the loss of his wife and now is coming out of that but is swinging to far the other way for a bit until he finds his equilibrium. We might be in for a shock, or a treat ;), if he finds out about the abuse when he's having a bad day and just goes for the person who hurt Danny.
 
^Mac's definitely getting more aggressive with Danny, that's for sure. I noticed when he scolded him in "A Man, A Mile," it was relatively minor compared to how he's barking at Danny in "Crime and Misdemeanor" or "On the Job." I'm sure he's just trying to get through to Danny, but I wonder if they aren't building to something like Mac getting angry and making a movement that Danny interprets as a threat, and Danny flinching away. Then it would kind of click for Mac and he'd realize what was going on. Maybe, maybe not.

I do think Mac's getting more aggressive in general as well--remember how he totally pressed on the guy's shoulder wound in "What You See..."? Go Mac! :D

But yeah, EasetheMoment, I'd definitely be interested in hearing more of your dad's take on Danny's behavior.
 
i'll try to muster something up later for y'all... we were just talking last night about a case... i'm kinda the person that he tells a lot of his work to... it's really interesting... besides Forensic work itself, it's my favored profession...
 
I'd be curious to hear which kinds of abuse he suspects. Psychological? Physical? Sexual? Some combination?
 
it's looking a lot like physical because of the physical reactions, but beside that it could be emotional/phycological (they have similar traits) ...maaaybe sexual...
 
Yeah, physical seems the most likely at this point IMO. Not sure about the sexual, though I wonder if that could be related to his trust issues. That's pretty much the worst betrayal ever.
 
EasetheMoment, could you also ask your dad how the team could go about gaining Danny's trust and make him realise they are there for him. Would it actually be good for Danny to see Mac have a go at his abuser? If he was in a situation where he had to trust them would he necessarily carry on trusting them after that situation was resolved?
 
alright... i'll ask...

...but trust is an earned thing -- especially for a person who was previously abused.

...i don't know if Mac "having a go" at the abuser would solve anythin...

...and when you say "trust them" who is the subject?
 
By 'trust them' I mean the team, Mac, Stella, Aiden, Don and maybe even Sheldon. Though Danny doesn't really work much with Dr Hawkes they're always quite jokey together.
 
yeah.. thanks for clearing that up (Danny and Hawkes do seem to get along together quite well.)

...naturally, i think if he, was forced to trust them in some way, i think that if they held up their end, he would continue to trust them.
 
it's the least suspected one out of the 3/4
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Yeah, I agree with that, if just because I don't think the writers would want to go there. I can only think of one instance where serious sexual abuse of a main character was an issue, in Homicide: Life on the Street. It turned out Bayliss had been molested/raped by his uncle when he was a child. But that's heavy stuff, and I don't know that the writers want to go there.

Not that the physical abuse wouldn't be heavy enough. I do wonder Mac et. al could get Danny to trust them if he's been through that.
 
Hi. This is my first post in this thread, although I've been following it with fascintation. I apologise if I say anthing here that's already been said - it's a mighty long thread!

Though anything to do with Danny would be. :lol:

I can definately agree that something is up with Danny. (Big understatement here). I've been rewatching a lot of episodes recently and the one theme that keeps coming back, what Dannys seems to keep focusing on, is crime and family. I'm positive someone/people had already talked about this, so I apologise if this is old discussion, but I was just watching Re-cycling again and noticed when Danny was talking to the newspaper guy at the end and said something like 'what take an innocent life?' when the guy said all he did was do what everyone on the street wanted to do (paraphrasing). It struck me that this is what Danny keeps coming back to. Last night I was watching Hush (love Danny and Aiden in that ep) and again at the end, when talking to Jennifer Stupane <sp> he said 'two little kids at home, with no mother and no father and for what?'

In The Dove Commission he says to the perp at the end 'He has a kid at home and you go taking an innocent life.' I'm sure there are other instances of him using the word innocent when talking about kids and crime - just can't think of them at this precise moment. *gazes at the stack of tapes sat next to her and the bedside clock and sighs*

Basically it's got me convinced that whatever is going on with Danny has got something to do with this. Kids and crime.

I agree the abuse theory is very plausible. I've been reading up in the library (I work there so it's very convenient when I'm doing fic research!) for a story idea I got inspired for and then lost and pretty much everything that has been discussed here and all of Danny's behaviours etc. would definately explain a lot. The discussion over Danny's stunted emotional growth (Top41 I believe) and he's reaction and behaviour with Mac. One minute he's misbehaving and pushing the boundaries and the next he's looking for ressurance or conformation that everything's okay (sorry it was worded so much better in the original posts!)

My theory is that something happened to Danny when he was younger. A crime that either took his mother or father. Or his father was involved in crime and was arrested and put in jail (thus a lack of a fatherly figure and why he might look to Mac for that?) and which caused him to look to the Tanglewood's for a 'family' - maybe his mother had already died (crime or disease)? Maybe because of that he was susceptable to the abuse - another family member who was brought in to look after him?

I love the suggestion of Mac - and/or whoever - finding out about it by Mac being loud and raising his hand and Danny flinching away instinctively. I just really love that image/idea. I think it would work perfectly for this show. Subtle but 'loud' if you know what I mean. Dramatic but not over the top or distracting. In the manner of the CSI shows it's not going to be something that is going to be a big focus but something that I hope they tackle subtly and slowly.

Oh dear - I just noticed the length of this post.

Um.

Sorry.
 
i think that physical is about as deep or heavy as the writers could go... verbal abuse could be tied in there, but i would be suprised to see anything more intense than that.
 
Great post, elamae! Good examples from the eps and good points. Danny focuses a lot on innocence and youth...maybe because he was hurt himself when he was young and innocent?

My theory is that something happened to Danny when he was younger. A crime that either took his mother or father. Or his father was involved in crime and was arrested and put in jail (thus a lack of a fatherly figure and why he might look to Mac for that?) and which caused him to look to the Tanglewood's for a 'family' - maybe his mother had already died (crime or disease)? Maybe because of that he was susceptable to the abuse - another family member who was brought in to look after him?
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That's what I'm wondering, too. If it wasn't Daddy Messer who abused him, what if it was another relative? And if Danny was put in the care of a relative who abused him because Daddy Messer was put away for a crime, then it would make total sense for Danny to look at crime through the eyes of a child. He knows how crime ruins children's lives. If Daddy Messer went away for a crime and that put Danny in the care of someone who abused him, then yeah, he'd definitely associate the two things. It's only natural.

I love the suggestion of Mac - and/or whoever - finding out about it by Mac being loud and raising his hand and Danny flinching away instinctively. I just really love that image/idea. I think it would work perfectly for this show. Subtle but 'loud' if you know what I mean. Dramatic but not over the top or distracting. In the manner of the CSI shows it's not going to be something that is going to be a big focus but something that I hope they tackle subtly and slowly.
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It would make for a powerful visual, wouldn't it? And much of it would be non-verbal. Mac would make a move that Danny interprets as threatening, Danny flinches away from him, and Mac realizes what Danny's reaction means. It would be a great moment. And Gary and Carmine could really pull it off.
 
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