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

A seven-year-old exposed to near-drowning, his mother's death, a wealth of
toys, Disney visits, parades, and press in the US - not to mention
coaching by his Miami relatives - is capable of contributing to but not
making the final decision.
He should be interviewed by competent, sensitive, non-Miami child
psychologists.

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"A man who works with his hands is a laborer;
a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman;
but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart
is an artist" Louis Nizer (1902-1994)

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Judi A. Kessler
Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0510
La Jolla, CA 92093-0510 USA
(858) 534-4147 or (858) 534-4503
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On Mon, 17 Jan 2000 kjkhoo@pop.jaring.my wrote:

> 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
>