Reply #33: too judgmental [View All]

[marions ghost]

but probably how most people who mentally convicted the parents felt about the case. That is, because the Ramseys displayed their daughter like that (abuse), then they must have gone further and killed her. Of course the police and the media promoted this idea, so it sold very well. Brainwashing.

Yes, the beauty pageants are appalling but look at our culture for a minute. Look at how we fetishize children in general. For young girls, appearances are everything. I have a teenage niece right now, very smart but completely bamboozled by the need to primp and shop for the right "look" all the time. It's to the level of sick obsession. Her parents have never promoted this. It's a cultural thing. C'mon parents, you know this is true. They hijack our daughters (sons too) and parents just go along with it.

Look at the ways in which children are fetishized BEYOND issues of fashion and display. Look at the adolescent sports scene, for example. Look at the competition for grades and academic achievement.
Or the competition for who owns what material object. It's everywhere, even in poor families.

Many children become the receptacle for all their parents' hopes and dreams in this country. Look at the levels of suffocation and helicoptering. Look at the level of obsession with a child's every waking move and thought. Talk to some teachers and counsellors about it if you don't believe me.

This is no place to be so lofty and judgmental of the misguided parents. Blame the culture. Blame the media. We all need to take some responsibility instead of blaming it entirely on the parents. There are many subtle forms of abuse of children in this country. This isn't the worst.