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Politics : About that Cuban boy, Elian -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jon Tara who wrote (5258)	5/14/2000 1:19:00 PM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9127

I come from a crisis back ground myself. Probably worse than yours. There is a good reason why most states give much greater weight to the opinion of a child over 11 or 12 than to a younger child's opinion. 6 year olds are not really designed to be so empowered. If you are familiar with Piaget "children's logic and modes of thinking are initially entirely different from those of adults." They are not capable of really evaluating what is in their long term best interest- they are simply not logically equipped. Of course many parents aren't either- but there is MORE chance that a parent will be able to logically and rationally guard his or her child's best interest than a very young child.

To: Jon Tara who wrote (5258)	5/14/2000 1:36:00 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9127

Jon, assuming for the moment that it was desirable to let the child decide the course of his life or even to provide input to the decision, there are still practical problems in getting that input--all the same problems that are part of this matter. Who would ask him and in what venue? Would it be done in the pressure cooker of open court with all the interested parties looking on? Or would his father ask him? The relatives would certainly fight that. Is there anyone in the world all the parties would trust to speak with Elian? Mother Theresa is dead. I don't know that Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Carter, or Bill Cosby speaks Spanish. Can't do this through an interpreter. Whoops, Jimmy Carter probably wouldn't pass muster with the relatives anyway. I could go on and on. I'd like to hear what the kid has to say. And I agree that it's empowering for the child to be asked. But going down that path would lead to more of the same. Karen

To: Jon Tara who wrote (5258)	5/14/2000 3:00:00 PM
From: jhild	Respond to of 9127

Oh you can let the child have input. But what value is it? Does he understand the difference between democracy and dictatorship? What weight can you give it? Have you been around a six year old? How often do they change their mind about things? What snapshot in time will you give the greatest weight to? Will they ask him if he wants asylum in the US and not to live with his father? For ultimately the question is not about being raised free in the US vs. raised under Communist Castro. It is about taking the little boy away from his father. For even if he is granted asylum, taking Elian away from his only living parent is the only way that you can enforce that asylum. Interesting isn't it that we would have a concept that asylum is to be enforced? That asylum once granted restricts the asylum seeker from ever returning to the place that he fled from. The only way that you can ever hope to restrict his father from returning with him if asylum is granted is to remove custody from him. This is not a question about who has the right to seek asylum on behalf of another person. This is about taking custody away from his only parent. Taking him away at a very young age. And taking him away for very shaky and disturbing reasons in the face of there being no evidence to suggest that his life, his development and well being are in imminent jeopardy. There is only the thousand mile away view that life in Cuba just must be physically abusive, emotionally abusive, and developmentally oppressive because Castro is a dictator. All the first hand accounts I have seen of life there do not support this conclusion. But even granting that at some level you can argue that it is for some people, will it be so for Elian and his father? Is this a high enough threshold to set for shattering a father and son relationship? Will the consequences of applying such a low threshold have repercussions far worse than the problem it seeks to solve? I think those that would strip this father of his child are toying with the law of unintended consequences.