Sophie's Choice comes to Africa

We used to make them walk from the dock

In the William Styron novel, Sophie's Choice, a woman is asked to choose which of her twins lives in a German concentration camp. It's meant to show the horrible kind of Hobson's choice which people can face.

Sophie, meet Madonna.

Malawi Child Heads to Madonna's Home

LONDON, Oct 17, 2006 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Police officers escorted the African child being adopted by Madonna off a British Airways flight Tuesday, whisking him past photographers hoping to get a glimpse of the boy as he made his way to the pop star's home.

One-year-old David Banda was carried off the Boeing 747 and into the arms of a woman who covered his head with a light gray coat.

Three armed police officers together with airline and airport officials escorted the party through Heathrow's Terminal 1 to the baggage hall. From there they were taken out of a back door and put into a silver Mercedes minivan.

The pop star and her husband, Guy Ritchie, were not seen at the airport with the child, who wore denim shorts, a white T-shirt and a baseball cap.

The boy left his native Malawi as human rights and child protection groups said they would go to court Tuesday to challenge the speedy court decision awarding Madonna temporary custody of the child.

Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's publicist in New York, said the child was issued a passport and a visa Monday.

"This interim adoption grants David's new parents temporary custody for 18 months, during which time they will be evaluated by the courts of Malawi per the tribal customs of the country," she said. "It is expected that the family will be reunited in the next few days."

The poor father is faced with the cruelest of choices, giving his child an incredible future, or raising him. A human who didn't buy other humans as chattle might have considered that before splitting a father from his child. Now, he has to defend the agreement he doesn't understand, because he's basically illiterate, because if he doesn't his child is screwed. He had planned to get him from the orphanage when he got money or a wife, but now......Madonna has his son as her new negro baby. In the past, they would at least leave some salt, a few trinkets and a musket or two.

So Madonna buys a negro baby with a father. Wow, where have I heard this story before? The Peculiar Institution, the classic historical text on chattle slavery in the US?

She could have adopted an orphan, but why do that when you have money?

This is wrong on so many levels, but she's Madonna, so child buying is ok.

posted by Steve @ 1:52:00 AM