Friday, October 16, 2009
Being Parents
The "balloon boy" might have exposed the family's hoax. When asked by his father why he didn't come out when he heard his name being called on live TV he did what kids do, they tell the truth when asked by he dad why he didn't come out of hiding when he heard his name being called: "You guys said we did this for a show." There has been much speculation that the parents planned this scheme which included local and federal agencies. The parents seem to appreciate science and expose their children to the wonders of it. This is good. More parents I think should do this. But something else seems amiss here. While watching the clip of the interview on CNN yesterday, I was not paying much attention to what the parents were saying; I was looking at the reaction on the kids' faces. The older boys' faces seems to tell the story. They look quite scared of the family secret being revealed as they look up at their parents. What kind of parents would expose their children to such a hoax?
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14 comments:
Still missing out on all the drama. Today we were at Busch Gardens with the kids.
BTW, did you ever check out Mama on the Edge of Autism? She's a little meeker than your distant cousin Richard Pryor.
Enjoy, Corrie. I did check out Mama and she's funny. Richard Pryor is my mom's first cousin.
I saw this on the news today, Judith. The parents seem to be very gung ho on Science, which is good, but on a couple of clips they were chasing tornadoes and the kids were with them. (In my family we get under the bed when a tornado warning sounds!) I thought that was careless and dangerous for children to be doing. The weather balloon hoax was spoiled by the kids' honesty on Larry King. I guess the parents were after their "fifteen minutes" of fame. I think the parents need to get a slap on the hand for endangering the kids on those chases, but other than that, it seemed a typical Hollywood promo scam. Blessings!
Honestly I don't understand peoples motivation there either... well, alright I do understand it but I don't agree with the dishonesty. That they would involve their children in such an elaborate hoax is a sad statement on the morals standards prevalant in many homes today. It takes time, I suppose, for children to understand the concept of "white" lies... and thus they were caught.
I agree Marion but it seems like it needs a bit more than a slap on the hand. If this is a hoax, it is estimated to have cost some $28 thousand dollars of taxpayer money.
Strawberry Girl - I agree with you with regarding the issue of honesty. But from the way it seemed it was not a lie but it was make believe as the kid thought it was drama for the "show." How else can you get a rambunctious kid to hide out in the garage for 5 HOURS while his parents and authorities are calling his name?
When I saw the kid get sick and puke right on national TV yesterday, I felt so sorry for him. All of this is a bit too much for him. The look on his dad's face seemed to tell the story while the kid puked twice on two different shows.
The bright lights that used to be all about fame when they were on the "Wife Swap" reality show must make him sick now. He must have gotten ripped into something terribly for his honesty. The parents seemed less concerned with the kid puking and more concerned about getting another reality show. It was sad to watch on Anderson Cooper last night.
$28,000! Yikes!! Then they should have to repay every penny of that money!! If more people had to pay for these 'scams' then perhaps there would be less of them!!! Blessings!
I agree, Marion. But I don't think they will have to pay because the local authorities want parents to call when their children are missing. (Also, there has not been an investigation up to this point, I think.) I guess to some extent I can understand this, but still believe that something needs to be done, even as a deterrent as you suggest. Blessings also to you, friend.
There definitely should be some kind of financial restitution for this prank. I also worry about the pressure put on those kids. How can a parent place potential "celebrity" over the welfare of their child?
It's truly amazing, Kelly. But I am sad to say that I believe this probably happens all over the world every second of the day.
Officials ARE charging the "balloon boy" family. I think this is just. They will also now have to face child protective services, something I mentioned in my original post on the story the day it came out. Let this be a lesson to all other parents.
According to Dan Elliott of the AP:
"A Colorado sheriff says it was hoax when parents reported that their 6-year-old son was in a flying saucer-like helium balloon hurtling away from their home.
"Sheriff Jim Alderden says Richard and Mayumi Heene "put on a very good show for us, and we bought it."
"The sheriff says no charges have been filed yet, and the parents aren't under arrest. He says he expects to recommend charges of conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, making a false report to authorities and attempting to influence a public servant.
"Some of the most serious charges each carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
"He says all three children knew of the Thursday hoax, but likely won't face charges because of their ages. The oldest son is 10."
This is outrageous!
I bet they got the idea from this guy's blog.
http://www.tompeters.com/dispatches/011236.php?rss=1
Zorro - What is your point, exactly? I remember Tom Peters' post on stories and appreciated it. I think the point here is story as motivation, not story as deception. For me, there is no comparision to the balloon boy story. I'm afraid you may have missed the all-important point of intent. One was meant to motivate and the other was meant to lie. I do not think Tom is advocating deception. I think he's talking motivation. Clearly, the balloon boy story is one of deception from beginning to end. I also think that Tom Asacker's comment is very relevant too. The story that you mentioned I am not familiar with. Did you "manufacture" that one from the "whole cloth?" :-)
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