Comments on: Father Faces Jail Sentence For Giving Seven-Year-Old Son A Quarter-Sized Tattoo

By: TomD.Arch

TomD.Arch — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:18:15 +0000

Ahhh! Not being a lawyer, the “mayhem” charge didn’t make sense. I see that it’s meaning is “maim” as in cutting off someone’s limb.

Using the tattoo to “brand” the child as belonging to a street gang (presumably an unambiguous criminal organization) seems like “a very bad thing to do” to the kid. It probably should be illegal – but is it actually illegal?

Remember the good old days? Before everything was a “war on terrorism”, when everything was part of the oh-so-successful “war on drugs?”

By: margarita

margarita — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:59:30 +0000

What if a parent tattoos the boy’s foreskin and circumcises it? No harm, no foul?

By: lottakatz

lottakatz — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:54:22 +0000

There’s a TV reality show named something like ‘Tots and Tiaras’ that is about children’s beauty pageants. I watched an episode or two and it is sickening. The children, from infancy on up are molded into beauty pageant contestants. These little girls are deliberately sexualized with make-up, costumes and stage acts at a level that rivals kiddy-porn. Being pretty and winning are the only values being taught and reinforced with these kids. Family life revolves around pageant. Kerry Preajean (sp?) is the best example of where children raised this way end up. I’m thinking a pageant oriented upbringing belongs in the listing provided by other posters above.

By: lottakatz

lottakatz — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:39:28 +0000

The law and the justice system the law supports is being debased with this kind of prosecution. It’s being infantilized into a bunch of sore losers and bullies that will use any mechanism, from the obligatory ‘resisting’ charge on a motorist for moving out of their car slowly or asking questions to tazing (and shooting) well controlled subjects under the guise of being an imminent threat, all so someone not normally reachable by the justice system (and its enforcers) can be brought to heel.

The piling on of charges and perversion of charging language is something straight out of Jack McCoy’s play book and weekly touted to the TV watching masses as the proper way to get the job done. An entire generation of TV watchers has been spoon-fed the notion that the law and justice is just a word-salad buffet from which creative police and prosecutors, FBI et al are free to select whatever works to further their aims. The above vid (and scores of others) in the same vein is simply the logical next step. IMO. Rant.

The cop needs to be in jail. I’m sure the student and his parents are going to be very wealthy, as well the should be, once their lawyer gets finished with the school district.

By: REH

REH — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:46:57 +0000

And, let’s consider circumcision, not many of those procedures done with consent of the patient.

By: Anonymously Yours

Anonymously Yours — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:03:40 +0000

I am not a believer in Tats but “Tats for Tots” seems a little out of the question. This person should be …..

By: James M.

James M. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:34:50 +0000

They might have tried to get traction around serious assault charges using the theory that a tattoo is a permanent disfigurement to which a seven-year old cannot consent.

By: Just another mom

Just another mom — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:20:41 +0000

What’s next? Will they start prosecuting parents who have their daughters’ easr pierced? Some parents do it while the girls are still infants so they can’t consent. It’s painful – maybe that too will qualify as cruel and inhumane treatment of a child.

This type of “parenting” turns my stomach, but I can’t view this as a felony either, especially when the content of the tattoo is pushing prosecutors to the more serious charge.

By: rafflaw

rafflaw — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:28:30 +0000

This is a sticky one. If the child was held down against his will, I could see enhanced charges against the father. I do believe that this father should be restricted in his contact with the child to allow time for an investigation of his previous parental choices. A little jail time might be good for an adult who tattoos a gang symbol on a 7 year old.