Edna Gladney
Gladney went full Georgia Tann on Tuesday with their “superkids” Twitter-run profile of Kade, a 5- 1/2 year old they are preparing for the Taiwan-USA pipeline. I am pretty sure he is too young to give his consent to be marketed to American white saviors, but what’s a little bit of privacy-stripping when it comes to commercial forever-homing?
We learn:
- how he interacts with his foster mother, him performing tasks that capture his fine and gross motor abilities, him explaining his drawings, and much, much more!
- Kade is a very curious and bright child, who is able to play and look at books on his own.
- While we previously weren’t certain of his autism diagnosis, we are still led to believe that Kade’s tendencies are more reflective of his ADHD diagnosis and some sensory processing issues.
And he shares this toys.
Three pictures are included.
Why do I feel like I’m reading a Georgia Tann ad?
I don’t keep up on Gladney business practices as I should, but a little bit of surfing indicates that this show-and-tell prospectus has been going on for a while. God knows this type of shill is common enough with “lesser” agencies, especially when it comes to re-homers and waiting Rainbow children, but being busy with other adoptacrap I missed that the Grand Dame herself was into this kind of jongliering for the masses.
On August 11 at noon est, Kade will be featured in Gladney’s Superkids Facebook Q!&A. It’s unclear if he will be online himself, but he will be the subject of discussion with the Gladney crew and shoppers. I’m undecided. As a researcher, I feel that it’s my duty to subject myself to this kind of fuckery. Once on a research run I spent breakfast sitting next to Jerry Falwell and Ken Starr in a food court, so I know I can do it., But this time? Maybe? Maybe not? I may jump through my computer screen.
Why not put the kid up on a produce box at the train station, like they used to do in the Orphan Train days aka: being put up for adoption? I usually cringe when I see adoption compared to slavery, but hey…in this case, it sure shares the consumer aesthetic.
Of course, the upshot to this egregious violation of privacy is that Gladney is one of the chief opponents of adoptee rights and OBC access. Privacy. Confidentiality. Promises. It’s none of your business. Apparently, it is OK to spread Kade’s business all over the internet, though, and make his business everyone else’s business. He’s a little boy with no road to redress. But it’s not OK for adult adoptees to own their own birth records in the privacy of their own homes. Or to form relationships without agency/state supervision. Today’s internet star is tomorrow’s home wrecker. And there’s no $$$ to be had with OBCs.
Note: I have not linked to the Gladney press release, but you can find it easy enough if you do a little searching.