As a first generation immigrant to the US, the parent story struck a deep (dis) chord. Your comment brought back memories of growing up in India. The idea of

As a first generation immigrant to the US, the parent story struck a deep (dis) chord. Your comment brought back memories of growing up in India. The idea of a "Panchayat" was taught in schools as both an ancient form of local/self governance and a modern answer to effective governance in post partition India. Even Gandhi promoted it as a pillar of India's self-rule. Basically, village "elders" land up passing judgement on disputes. Most of these people were "respected" but uneducated. Their world views were very narrow. As can be expected, it wasn't uncommon for their biases to result in "justice" that would be totally unacceptable when viewed through a broader lens. After decades in the US, to discover that something like this can happen in 21st century USA is really unsettling. I'm having trouble explaining (even to myself) the anguish I feel. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchayati_raj https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchayati_raj