Wow. That was some ass-whupping huh? "Mama Toogood" really wailed on that child didn’t she? She sure did but three years in prison for giving a child an ass-whupping is beyond absurd. I mean sure, some parents are abusive and use children as punching bags and that’s deplorable, but trust me, any parent who’s handed down an ass-whupping would absolutely shudder if they saw themselves beating their child on videotape. It would look a thousand times worse than what they felt they were doing at the moment. I know cause I’ve received a parental ass whupping or two in my lifetime. The thing here that’s dangerous to me is the public rush to judgement. People condemning the mother and actually advocating the placement of the child into the foster care system. Exactly how does placing this four-year old girl with strangers help her psyche? Especially seeing as how her entire situation has been made such a national phenomenon.

But there’s another question that this case brings forward that no one’s talking about. That’s the whole issue of cameras placed in public places to ‘observe’ everything and everyone. To quote Mos Def, “I guess Michael Jackson was right, you are not alone”. Because where ever you go, so long as you’re in public there will be more and more eyes watching you, both real and mechanical. But back to "Mama Toogood" and little Martha. I think there is more at work here than simply looking out for this child’s welfare. I think it’s got plenty to do with the family’s lifestyle. The group known as the Irish Travelers bounce around the nation going where ever the opportunity for work is bountiful, and as a result they’re never in any one place for too long. I think when you couple the video of this woman repeatedly striking her child with the information that she’s also a member of some sort of ‘gypsy cult’ without a real home or address then people start to question not only the beating of the child, but also the stability of the family. However, in this day and age it seems increasingly irresponsible to remove a child from their parental home to place them in foster care especially if there’s no history of abuse. History of abuse in itself is a bit of a gray area because, you have to have a case developed against you as an abusive parent which requires more than a nationally televised videotape. I’m always skeptical when any state’s child services agency quickly places a child into the foster care system because the system is so faulty. It thrives on fresh fodder for the machine. And then to sensationalize this situation, tragic as it may be, something about it all just raises my eyebrow. I think that we have to always be a tad suspicious whenever every media outlet runs with something like this. Hell, you could get this same videotape in the cereal aisle of your local supermarket on any given day.

I mean, think about it. How many times in your child hood did you get ya ass whupped (deservedly so) and afterward be like, “Damn, I just got my ass whupped –But I deserved it though!” Now, you’re grown up, you’re not a serial killer or rapist or something; you’re a productive, hard working member of society surviving with dreams and aspirations just like the next person. Now say someone saw ya mama whuppin ya ass when you were 4 or 5 in that cereal aisle. All manner of bureaucratic hell breaks loose, and next thing you know you’re taken from your family and living with some strangers. Not even with your relatives. What impact might that have on your life? Not to mention the noted incidences where a child has been placed into the foster care system only to end up abused further. The way I see it there’s much ado about very little with "Ms. Toogood" and this videotape beating of her daughter. The most shocking thing about it all is the visual.

As I stated earlier, most parents would shudder at the sight of themselves administering any form of physical discipline to their child. If the child is to spend any time away from the mother while the child welfare bureau investigates, there’s simply no reason why she shouldn’t be placed with family. I know people are going to say, ‘but they’re those crazy traveling people! You know they’re trouble!’ Hey, I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t know much about the so-called Irish Travelers, but just because they’re seasonal migratory workers is that justification enough to make some sort of example out of them using this child? Next time you’re in the cereal aisle, and little Billy is giving his mama an earful cause he wants that new Super Duplex Pokemon Cereal with fist sized sugar snowballs just think about that. (Besides if you don't agree with me, you can always roll with this guy!)

GumbyDammit!