Save the Children
No, seriously, please, someone call 911 and get the cops down here to save these kids.
Oh, wait, I guess the police are already there. I suppose that means this falls under the heading of freedom to raise your children to be pinheaded assholes. 99% of the time, I believe pretty strongly in that kind of freedom, because I'm sure there were a lot of people who felt the way my family raised me was a terrible mistake. People who thought I should have had the Devil beat out of me. So, when I think about that, I'm grateful that generally speaking, parents are free to raise their children however they see fit. Every once in a while, though, something tweaks me, makes me wonder how it can be legal for children to be the absolute property of their parents. How it can be okay for children to be held captive by their parents, denied exposure to the rest of the world? Isn't that one of the reasons we developed public school--to expose all kids to a basic level of culture and civilization. Because you know these poor little bastards are home schooled and otherwise protected from the rest of life.
I try to take solace in the fact that there are some lines drawn in that parental freedom. We do seem to hesitate when parents deny basic medical to their children and instead treat lethal ailments with prayer. The family in Wisconsin who tried to pray the diabetes out of their daughter has temporarily lost custody of their other children, at least.
The worst part seems to be how often stupidity masquerades as religious freedom. If your basic negligent parent doesn't take his/her very sick kid to the doctor, we call it negligence, if your basic religiously fruity parent doesn't take his/her very sick kid to the doctor, we call it a tragedy and a matter religious freedom. So, word to the wise, if you ever screw up and your kid dies from negligence, tell the cops you were busy praying.
As for saving some children, if you'd like to, consider sending a message to your senators in support of a bill that would deny US military aid to any country that uses child soldiers. Currently, our country continues to support the military infrastructure of countries where children as young as 7 are used as soldiers.
Comments
I have a deeply conservative cousin who is home-schooling her kids to protect them from kids like me with big ideas and big moufs. Those kids are going to be in for the shock of a lifetime when they hit the real world. Oh, I'd so love to get a hold of them for a weekend.
This almost makes me want to pop out a few kids to counteract these ones with godless and hopefully gay heathens.
*almost*
And I think in the wrong hands, home schooling probably is abuse. Like locking your kids in a closet.
More and more people are homeschooling, and with the internet...is everyone going to be completely isolated? that's another issue entirely but I know they have regulations and all that, I just wonder how strict it is and how regulated it is. again, another topic entirely.
There is actually a court case on the books regarding a married Christian Science couple in Massachussets. The son (?) got really sick, and they didn't take him (her?) to the doctor. The mother was convicted, and the father was aquitted. Why? Because, near the end. the mom's faith wavered, and she called a doctor. The dad's faith stayed strong. Really. True story.
I was outraged about the Mormon (I think) couple, the wife was giving birth, but needed a blood transfusion, but couldn't have it because of their beliefs.
Oh, wait, that may have been an episode of ER... but still...
Louis Theroux once interviewed two little girls who were white supremacists, and were being groomed to be the Spice Girls of the bigoted world... they honestly believed the mantras they were repeating!
Great post, and thanks for the links .....
I think home schooling to "shelter" or "protect" your kids is child abuse. You are depriving your children of the opportunity to learn, grown, and become intelligent, well adjusted members of society. Attempting to program children to be bigoted, fundamentalists is just evil. Unfortunately the law doesn't see this as the abuse it clearly is.
As for prayer in place of medical treatment, if you are so tragically deluded to think this will work for you, be my guest. However, if you see fit to inflict this delusion on innocent children, you deserve worse than any judge could ever do to you.
Hear, hear. That's the crux: if you're a wacko, and it works for you, great. However, if you endanger your child because you are a wacko, that's child abuse. By all means, pray for your child while you drive him/her to the hospital. If the kid lives, give God all the glory if you want. It seems like God would want you to do everything you can to keep your child safe.
I think home-schooling can be successful in the same way that public school can be successful: it depends on the quality of teachers. It's unlikely that a nest of home-schooling morons will turn out well balanced future Rhodes Scholars.
All I can do is hope the little loons in the picture run away with the circus.