Cold Spaghetti

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1. Plastic Mile | 27-Oct-06 at 12:01 am | Permalink

   Man … you know, I had to think this one over for a few days. On the one hand, there is no question in my mind that it’s 100% attention grab. She may have some altruistic goals in the back of her head, but the picture on the CNN story you referenced says it all: “Look at me. I’m a 21st Century Josephine Baker. I’m an Earth mother. A protector. An alpha female.” Great, and your history also suggests that you’re a shameless self-promoter. It reminds me of when Southern politicians pose in pictures with black people, to prove how “diverse” they are.

   Jesus talked about people who bring attention to themselves for their good deeds, in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 6:

   “Therefore when thou doest alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

   But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

   That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”

   And as much as I respect Oprah for what she has accomplished from humble backgrounds, can we stop looking to her as the Validator of Good Morals? She’s a billionaire media mogul who interviews her celeb friends and contacts for ratings — this hardly makes her a neutral arbiter of ethics. Just because she puts her stamp of approval on something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right.

   No Oprah, it wasn’t “a brave thing” for Madonna to do. “Brave” would’ve been spending weeks and months in Malawi, implementing improvements to infrastructure and social institutions in Malawi, in coordination with other NGOs and international groups. That would take both money and time, and you wouldn’t get a lot of print and time on American airwaves for it. No, but waving cash and having lawyers strong-arm a government is what she was about. That’s not brave. That’s despicable.

2. Holly | 27-Oct-06 at 6:24 am | Permalink

   So the boy grows up and begins to learn about his heritage. And he discovers that his adopted family broke national laws to cart him out of his country (or rather, their nanny cart him out of country) and leave his father and extended family to die in poverty.

   I’m also bent out of shape over the media manipulation of his father. What’s the guy going to say? A short life of hardship versus a life of luxury and opportunity? What father would deny his child that?

   But what have we left him with? How has the loss of his child, the public “giving away” of his living son, impacted him? Their family?

   Poverty and hardship are not changed by plucking sick children out of their families. The developing world shouldn’t exist to be a baby factory for American families who, regardless of how much they want a child, have the means to afford one. Children are not a commodity.

3. Plastic Mile | 27-Oct-06 at 7:48 am | Permalink

   But that’s the Western tradition. There is a history of wealthy whites “fixing things” by snatching kids out of African countries, no? It’s assumed that whatever life can be given in the West must by default be better than leaving him in Africa. Maybe that’s why it perhaps didn’t even occur as an option to Madonna to leave him in Malawi and help him prosper there. No wonder African countries are constantly stagnating — we do a poor job of helping them develop. First we destroy their heritage and family traditions, then we invade, colonize and plunder them, and then we industralize them for our benefit, and then we abandon them.

   Even if her goal is purely altruistic — a questionable premise — she went about it completely the wrong way. I think there should be a moritorium on Hollywood stars “saving African children,” in favor of helping directly to develop Africa. That doesn’t mean “supporting African economies” by buying lionskin rugs or visiting South Africa either. It means getting your hands dirty directly participating in efforts to modernize and develop and support infrastructure and institutions.

4. Plastic Mile | 29-Oct-06 at 7:59 pm | Permalink

   The plot thickens … the adopted boy’s father says his wife did not die of AIDS, as Madonna is saying. In a country where AIDS patients are ostracized from society, a misrepresentation like this is no small thing. He also blames the Malawi government for spreading false information, saying that he did not abandon his son, but rather, visited him regularly. Also while the Malawi government told him that his son was going to a “nice Christian lady,” one of the first things Madonna did, of course, is introduce the boy to Kabbalah.

   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=413228&in_page_id=1770

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