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Friday, February 16, 2007

White Trash Child Abuse

It seems that I see child abuse everywhere lately. I wish it wasn't so. Yesterday I pulled up next to an old run-down blue car with 3 young children strapped into the back. Dad was literally swearing at the top of his lungs at one of the kids, and either backhanded the kid or hit something near her as he half-turned from the driver's seat.

Mom was merely nodding as she chainsmoked away in the front seat. Mom looked as if she'd had her share of beatings, too. There were cuts on her face, and shadows under her eyes. I ended up calling the police on them, but there's little chance that anything could be done. The kids will most likely grow up to emulate their behavior.

Anna Nicole Smith was White Trash With Money; a sad parody who trounced across our TV sets and on and off the covers of magazines, wearing spiked heels and little else. When I first heard of her death, I felt sorry for her daughter. However, as more details emerged and I learned what she really was, I have come to the conclusion that her daughter will still stand a better chance at a good life without her.

After all, Anna Nicole didn't even raise her own son, so it's doubtful that she truly knew what to do with her daughter. It would (most likely) have been the "puppy syndrome": She would've played with the baby a little while until the child grew up and grew more challenging. Then the child would've been passed off to a succession of nannies.

Even if Anna Nicole's daughter is raised by someone who only wants her for her inheritance, she will be treated well. Although her future may sound desolate, it will be infinitely better than the future those three children face.

This goes back to something I've always said: All parents should be forced to go through mandatory parenting classes. If they haven't completed them, their children should be taken away from them until they do. It's sad to see bad parents reproduce their mistakes in their children, when good people who want to be parents don't always get the opportunity to be.

13 comments:

Jenn said...

better yet, all sexually active singles should go through mandatory parenting classes. Think how many pregnancies could be avoided if singles really knew how challenging it is raising children, and how much more they will know when they are parents.

Jenn said...

seriously now, you don't always turn out like your parent.

Its a good idea in theory, but it doesn't mean the parents will know any different. I'm sure the father of those three know that it's wrong to scream and beat on his kids and he is still doing it.

M@ said...

Hmmm, sounds like the Soviet Union would have been a nice place for you, Sauer, what with state intervention in the family at multiple points of contact.

Better yet, Emma, why don't we sterilize people whose income falls beneath a certain threshold.

M@ said...

Three days ago, Sauer, I posted a photo I found called "Redneck Timeout." It seems to illustrate your post today, though in a humorous, good natured way.

Anonymous said...

All parents should be forced to go through mandatory parenting classes.

Sadly lots of parents are still young and growing up themselves and don't really know how they got with child! And their parents can't seem to tell them how either!

I know of some parents that can't raise children even after already raising a few. Never learn from their first mistakes.

Jenn said...

matt,
sterilize for being poor? nah, that might mean the rich people will have no children to adopt and we can't have that now, can we. ;O)

Dave said...

Saur,

Trash Blanca is the result of the integration of public schools. The liberal media forced integration on the Blancas and now we're left with a large population of Trash Blanca and Trash Negra. America is doomed, at least with your bad neck and my brain cysts we won't have to watch the Trash Blanca and Trash Negra too much longer.

Kristie said...

it is scary to see the certain kinds of people that are reproducing. and they do it at an alarming rate. some people really shouldnt have kids.

The Lazy Iguana said...

I was once driving to Tampa - of all the places one can drive to.

Anyway somewhere near Punta Gorda on I-75 I saw a station wagon. I was following it for a long time, as I neared Naples (leaving alligator alley) I came upon it.

Anyway - suddenly, and for no apparent reason, it started to swerve slightly, and it slowed down.

As I was passing it the woman was turned around in her seat, swinging away. The man driving had his left hand on the wheel, and his right arm was wilding and randomly swinging away in the back seat.

So putting it all together, here is what I figured out was going on.

1. Car leaves who knows where.
2. Kids in the back seat are OK for about 20 minutes.
3. Mommy! Johnny is touching me!
4. Johnny - stop touching Billy.
5. MOMMY! Billy is on my side of the seat!
6. NO I AM NOT JOHNNY YOU LIAR
7. Kid fight in the back seat
8. Don't make us stop this car you two! This is a big car and there is room for everyone!
9. The above repeated for about 200 miles.
10. OK THAT IS IT! Car starts to swerve slightly.

11. Things will be OK for about another 20 minutes, process starts over again.

michelle said...

Mandetory parenting classes. No

You know it irritates the crap out of me that some people are parents. It irritates me to see a child of divorce with one parent when clearly the other parent is a better parent.

Still you cannot mandate parenting classes. Who will pay? Only the parents that are good to begin with. Who will come? Only the parents that are good to begin with. I certainly don't want to pay for one more program with my tax dollar that is not helping the people that need it most, because those people are not willing to get to parenting class.

It is just a catch 22 I guess. You are damned if you do and damned if you don't. A lose lose situation. Call it what you want, but I do not see mandatory parenting classes as the answer at all.

Now at this point I don't know that I have an alternative. I do think that starting in Pre-school there should be parent teacher conferences that are madatory. Perhaps if you cannot take a child back to the preschool because you do not attend a conference then by time the child hits elementary school it will be a habit and parents will participate in their childs education at least to some degree. I say start with preschools because at this time there is nothing mandating a preschool keep children. Coordinated Child Care could start this with the parents they give money to for children to go to preschool. I believe they follow up on the children to some degree, but not nearly what it can and should.

I just think there are other ways to educate parents and families that mandating parenting classes at the time of birth or a childs certain age.

(not edited for typos and stuff)

Julio Rodriguez said...

you need a license to drive, fish, hunt etc. why not parenting?

Anonymous said...

lots of middle class and rich people beat their kids, we just don't know about it because the only kids that get taken away are from welfare families.

there are also lots of middle and upper class people who are the worlds shittiest parents. do you think they will have to take classes also? or just the poor people. does poor mean you're stupid? does rich mean you're smart?

maybe we should just sterilize all dumb people?

michelle said...

badoozie,
That is why I suggest preschool. It doesn't "catch" all parents because some children go straight to elementary school without going to preschool. I think that if we start out in the preschools then you catch all income levels.