[Excentrique]

Just found this on the internet, now feeling rather sick and sad.

Warning, the video is upsetting: Moved by Mod


From the cheeseburger website:
Viral Video of the Day: A Toddler Gets Tattooed
A video of a crying child being forced by his own mother to get tattooed has been making the rounds on YouTube and in the blogosphere, leading to an online hunt for the woman's identity. According to the Dominican news blog Enlaesquinard, the child was being branded with the number 666, the mark of Growing in Grace International Ministry cult led by the self-proclaimed Antichrist José Luis de Jesús Miranda.
Cheeseburger link: Removed by Mod

I see that some have likened it to being Jewish and getting a circumcision. Do you think this mother deserves to be convicted? The child removed from her care?

This post has been edited by Chelli: 30/01/2013, 08:52 PM

Reason for edit: Removal of links

[Red Cabbage]

That reminds me of my child, being held down for cancer treatments. Exact same response.

[MrsW87]

I won't watch the video because it would upset me too much but all I can say is, that is so wrong. I can't understand why anyone would do this to a child. There is so much going on in the world right now that is just so wrong.

[Copacetic]

I see that some have likened it to being Jewish and getting a circumcision. Do you think this mother deserves to be convicted? The child removed from her care?

Even though it is my firm belief that circumcision is cruel and completely unecessary, this is not even the same ballpark. Nowhere near it.

Yes she should have her child removed from her care. Yes she should be prosecuted. Yes the tatooist should also be prosecuted, and the Cheezeburger people should be ashamed of giving that video air time.

They have ZERO to gain from airing that for ANYTHING other than clicks and advertising revenue.

[Regular Show]

I know there was some discussion in the media about whether or not the video for real or faked ????

I hope its not real

ETA I just watched it. It sure looks real. I have no words

This post has been edited by Regular Show: 30/01/2013, 10:04 AM

[Tesseract]

Awful. Awful to watch.

Having said that, and I'll probably get flamed for this, but I'm a bit 'meh' to the whole thing. The Dominican Republic is a basket case of a country, rife with poverty, corruption, sex trafficking, superstition. To suggest that this child be "taken from his mother's care" is beyond farcical - I'm betting the Dominican Republic doesn't throw a hellova lot of money at child protection. The mother is young, probably poor, and in a cult - to seperate her actions from the wider context is ridiculous. These sorts of videos (as distressing as I found it to watch) going viral and having people in the West tut-tutting just makes me cringe. If you care about child abuse and child poverty then great, do something about that instead of demonising poor women who have very little agency when it comes to the 'choices' they make for their children.

[UpTheDuff78]

Maybe someone can articulate this better than me; I find these posts distasteful and never click on the links or like them. They fall into the same category as dead and bashed baby photos, inspiration porn and posts that are about people with disabilities.


IMO people post them wanting to appear to be caring but are actually getting something else out of seeing them, something like vouyerism or something a bit more twisted (this is where I need help being articulate).

I'm always sceptical about the motives of the poster of the original content, the reality of the content and the motivation behind it. Some people want a lot of likes, some want your information and I'm sure some people do it for the irony of somebody liking a post depicting abuse because they are against it.

[flushthetoilet]

I haven't, and won't watch it anymore than I'd watch a circumcision video of a child in a developing country. I'm sure it's probably brutal but it's also probably not the most awful thing that could happen to a child in a country where the most primitive superstition and poverty is rife. I'm not sure what people hope to gain by publicising this sort of thing.

[Rockabyebaby]

PP I get it. I've been flamed before calling it. It happens all the time in the News section, people endlessly seeking out detailed, distressing stories of child abuse (sex abuse seems to be the most favored post) or a dead child where everyone can rush in and say "fly free pretty angel - you were too good for this dirty dark world" or some other such rubbish.
I'm entirely inarticulate but I get what you're saying, completely.

[MakeLoveNotBacon]

Even though it is my firm belief that circumcision is cruel and completely unecessary, this is not even the same ballpark. Nowhere near it.

Both done for religious reasons though?

I haven't clicked on the link. I gather it would be too distressing and I have nothing to gain from watching it, nor has the child. I agree with Tesseract, the tut-tutting from the West over these things is insincere.