Okay - so I sit around wondering why no-one ever reads my diaries and then continue to post on topics irrelevant to the hot topics of the day... go figure... but again I have a bug up my ass about something...
I just don't get why so many parents have problems understanding the concept of informed consent. Parents continue to make decisions with long-lasting consequences for their children, which their children have no possibility to give informed consent for. Their children cannot give informed consent to be put into pageants that treat young girls in a highly inappropriate sexualized way, or to have non-essential elective cosmetic surgery like circumcision (hot topic round these parts so I am not going to go over that battle again here), or - and this is the point of the diary - on YouTube for the entertainment of other adults.
It's getting a bit troubling to me.
The other night we had a friend round. She's clearly a bit broody, recently married and trying for a baby with hubby (who is even broodier). So all things baby are fair game as we sit around the table playing uno (yeah I know - woohoo - all coming round to my place cos we know how to party, right?).
But then it got to switching on our AppleTV and digging out YouTube clips they thought funny, with children and babies doing comical things. I am sure many of you have seen many of these clips. But I have to say they just kinda creep me out.
Charlie Bit Me - the title of one where, sure enough, Charlie does bite him. Kinda funny in that kids-do-cute things way. Then out comes some video with a baby that does "evil eyes". Slightly more disturbing - parents telling baby - go on do the evil eyes and he turns to the camera for a really hollywood-evil-possession sort of look as all laugh. It went on for a while...
...but I just don't find myself able to get out of my mind that the children involved have no ability to provide informed consent to be placed front and center in the entertainment of people all over the world. And given that some of these videos aren't exactly flattering it's got to pose questions of long term harm, surely - do you want to grow up being the "evil eyes kid"?
I mean, I have put the odd YouTube or Facebook video up of the kids so that I can share them with friends and family - a bit like sharing a home movie at Christmas. There's a couple of them bottle feeding lambs, the odd one at the beach. Not entertaining unless you're part of the family - and they don't ridicule or poke fun at the kids involved. (Though this all has me even questioning that.)
But... is there a line? somewhere? something that sets a boundary that says to parents, can I be absolutely sure that I am exercising my override of informed consent that my child is not in a position to give, in a responsible manner without potential for long term negative repercussions. Personally I think one can take a long hard look at how we treat children in this society in so many ways and in so many arenas of life and if one is honest, take a pause and realise that perhaps this isn't in the long term interests of the children themselves or the society as a whole.
As we learn more and more the long term negative impacts of things like the constant exposure to advertising, the neglect of nutrition and exercise, the lack of attention to schooling beyond outdated testing regimes we have to wonder what is happening generation by generation to the future of the country. Does a lot of this start with just the simple recognition that children cannot give informed consent and the first responsibility of parents is the care of children in their custody - of which a non-trivial part is judicious use of the consent empowered to them as the guardian of the child's interests.
I don't know... just rambling again... but it's a creepy trend if you ask me.
...oh yeah and torture is bad; cheney is a corrupt incompetent war criminal; i don't think we're out of the woods with the economy; and peak oil is coming for us - i know those things are probably more pressing for most readers - sorry about that :-)