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The murder of JonBenet Ramsey is one of the great: unsolved mysteries
of my time. At the time of the murder, the media described her as
"a painted baby, a sexualized toddler beauty queen."
I recall the sense of disgust I had watching the case unfold
and the horror that struck me as I watch the biography that was played back in
film of her competing with other children in the beauty pageants that were
conducted.
Recently in Albany, I attended a meeting at the Marriot on
Wolf’s Road, and there gathering and prepping for a competition was a bunch of
little girls, all being groomed for this competition.
As I walked through the halls near the banquet and dining
rooms, I noticed the sense of quiet tension that pervaded the atmosphere,
something I imagine we haven’t witnessed since Check Point Charlie in Berlin
back in the 1960’s with the Soviet Union! Parents and I mean husbands as well
as wives, eyed their children as works of art, as special projects as maybe
show-horses, being readied for a rodeo.
The determination, that the mothers in particular showed
was: “Don’t look at the other children, don’t recognize them and ignore their
good looks.” There seemed to be a daze in their eyes as they stared ahead at
their child, combing and painting them for the big show.
The children all seemed caught in a vacuum of obedience to
their parent, the need to be a child first and the consequences if they didn’t
do and perform as a slave on the block for sale.
Maybe I’m being harsh, maybe I have no appreciation for this
type of competition, but one thing I did notice, was the unhappiness of the
child, and the sick, grotesque look the child had, a freakish almost
mannequin-like look that make them look so unnatural. Little girls about 5
dressed with fancy hairdo’s and high heels and stockings or pantyhose, and tons
of makeup on their faces, being made to parade as that show horse I spoke
about.
What is the message being sent to you and me by these
parents? What is it they are trying to say and what is it they think they are
doing. To me this is exploitation; this is child abuse in its most subtle and insidious
form! These poor little unhappy children, all being made to be tools in the disrespect
the world shows toward women already. The message these little children will
learn is: You are not good looking enough nor are you worthy to go about this
world in your natural state, you will have to hide your natural God-given
beauty for acceptance by the rest of the world!
If I was a father of a child being set up for life like
those fathers, I would be filing for divorce and custody of my child.
As for the murder: is it possible that the murderer has a
child who competed in a beauty contest with JonBenet Ramsey?
3 comments:
You are not being too harsh at all. Having worked with kids in the TV business, there are way too many of them who are essentially "forced" into the business by their parents -- and these parents are exploiting their children for fame and financial gain. Not every parent is like this -- some are just legitimately supportive of their child who really wants to be there -- but I've seen the other kind far too often. The beauty pageants, however, are a whole different level of sickness in my eyes. These parents are basically turning their children into grotesque little objects that are supposed to be beautiful, but wind up just looking creepy and robotic. I'm sure there are some children who legitimately want to be there - but this type of thing seems like it does more harm than good in the long term.
_#1 Son
Oh, one other thing: I'm no prude, but the way they "sexualize" these kids is disgusting and borderline criminal. In 2001, HBO did a documentary called, "Living Dolls" that really exposed the sad truths behind these contests. Here's a link...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Dolls:_The_Making_of_a_Child_Beauty_Queen
-#1 Son
I can't imagine in my wildest dreams why anyone would do this to a child. I hope their parents put all their prize money away (haha)because the therapy they are going to need down the road will cost plenty.
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