RE: Political kidnapping of 6-year-old Cuban Elian Gonzalez

That this thread should even have started is, IMHO, revealing of the
deep-seated prejudices that exist even within intellectual
communities in the United States.

It is a non-issue, isn't it?

If a mother and child from, say, the Sudan or even Suharto Indonesia
had stowed away on a ship bound for New York, the mother had died en
route, and the child picked up by the INS, what do you think would
have happened?

Pace American "rule of law" on the international arena, it's pretty
much a variant of what the Wizard of Id once said of the golden rule
-- "whoever has the gold makes the rules"; for "gold" one could
substitute "power". So what's new?

This is not about democracy or dictatorship, nor is it even about the
competence of the father to care for the child. It is about a
community with their own axe(s) to grind with a particular regime,
presidential candidates trying to score points, etc. and a child as a
political chip.

If there is a point, and if it is believed that a seven-year old can
decide for himself, then let the child decide. Would any parent on
this list who has or has had a seven-year old agree? If so, then
speak up for the child's right of choice -- for that is the only
issue.

KJ Khoo