Thursday, May 02, 2013

I GET OFFENDED

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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:

Anonymous said...

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

Anonymous said...

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

Laura ESL Teacher said...

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.