fitter family

[pilvikki]

amazing how people seem to be so eager to judge - and also be judged. add being the proud parents of what you already think are your perfect kids and next thing you know, you're part of the circus:

who'd win, you or your cow?

is this a sign of poor self-image, or the opposite?

[Icey]

I think it was disgusting!

*Tacked onto the walls were posters declaring that within three generations, careful breeding could eliminate "unfit human traits" such as feeblemindedness, criminality, pauperism, and epilepsy.

Perhaps the organisers meant well, but it's similar to cultivating an Aryan race.

The thing is, in different forms, this continues. The old "Bonny Baby" competitions don't go ahead these days, because"bonny" alludes to being chubby, and chubby's seen as fat, but you get the "Beautiful Baby" contests now, plus the horrible beauty pageants for older kids.

Most parents see their children as totally amazing and beautiful. These competitions're unfair on the losers, because they're left feeling that their children haven't quite "made it". Kids aren't meant to be put on display and paraded in front of people who think they're experts on what looks cute or not. Anyway, beauty IS in the eye of the beholder, and "perfection" doesn't necessarily mean the best anyway.

[pilvikki]

omg, don't let us get started on the "tots in tiaras" and other forms of child abuse....

but yes indeed, this appears to be going on and having been going on for ever.

while over at the foreign legion today, it was an interesting people-watching occasion. the guys went from easily 6' 6" to 5' nothing. every shade, shape and colour present.

punkin pulled up to the gate, presented her p/p and the guy spoke in finnish to her. she was mortified. on the way back she asked a guard, in French, what ID her father needed to drive in with her. he replied "where's your father from?"



one thing about these guys, they are really polite, very helpful and ever so charming. which is interesting, considering most of them have very checkered backgrounds...

[Icey]

I agree with you, and this video demonstrates just what the pressure does to these little beauty queens. Five years old, going on 18. It's terrible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18wKcffcOJE

[pilvikki]

and here's the wee darling on stage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1DvtIiDjbE

these people are insane!

[Icey]

The poor child's been turned into a brat. The parents can't see beyond the next pageant.

[pilvikki]

do those look like kids? good grief, like plastic dolls.

[Icey]

The posts've got a little mixed up here! LOL. Anyway, the Legion stuff made me smile, but, did you know that it's now looked upon as a respectable fighting force? Gone are the days when murderers could run off and be accepted into the ranks without question. As one of the captains said: "Gone are the days of murderers, rapists and hardened criminals joining us." Their backgrounds're now checked, and those deemed to've carried out unacceptable offences aren't allowed in.

As for the little girls who get plastered in make-up, the dressing up might seem like fun. Most kids like to do it, and to put their mother's lipstick on, etc., but by making them pout, blow kisses, wiggle their hips and try to look provocative, it's throwing them into an adult world and sexualising them. The parents seem oblivious to how it makes their kids look.

I've just watched a series of vids taken of pageants in and around Kansas, and I rest my case. I was going to post it on here, but couldn't be bothered. Looking at a child of 22 months clasping a bunch of notes to her chest and squealing: "Money!", plus the disgusting disappointment on the faces of mothers whose children didn't win a crown, and the way they dragged their kids onto the stage when it was obvious that they didn't want to be there ... I found it cruel and unnecessary.

[pilvikki]

like I said, it's legalized child abuse.

as for the legionnaires, well, a lot of them are criminals, but no, they reject the nasty cases. can you imagine being rejected by the legion of rejects? LOL! well, ok, not fair, plenty join for other reasons.

[Icey]

Too right it's child abuse, and the poor kids grow up to be egotistical and to think that being popular's just about how they look. Shudder.

Yes, there might be a percentage of "bad lads" in the Legion, but not so bad that that others wouldn't want to work alongside them. It may also be that their good manners're drung into them via a harsh but fair regime. If you're made to gain respect, it can change how those people see others.