Andrew Vachss, Horror Online, May 1999.

If you look at Burke closely, you'll see the prototypical abused child: hypervigilant, distrustful. He's so committed to his family of choice—not his DNA-biological family, which tortured him, or the state which raised him, but the family that he chose—that homicide is a natural consequence of injuring any of that family.

— Andrew Vachss on Abuse

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "If you look at Burke closely, you'll see the prototypical abused child: hypervigilant, distrustful. He's so committed to his family of choice—not his DNA-biological family, which tortured him, or the state which raised him, but the family that he chose—that homicide is a natural consequence of injuring any of that family." in the context of "Andrew Vachss, Horror Online, May 1999." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Abuse" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Andrew Vachss

About Andrew Vachss

Andrew Henry Vachss (October 19, 1942 – December 27, 2021) was an American crime fiction author, child protection consultant, and attorney exclusively representing children and youths.