I have been called upon to respond to this news item: (as a vegan mother)
_________________________________
Parents Convicted in Baby's Death
ATLANTA (AP) A Superior Court jury in Atlanta convicted a vegan couple of murder and cruelty to children Wednesday in the death of their six-week old, who was fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice.
27-year-old Jade Sanders and 31-year-old and Lamont Thomas will receive automatic life sentences for starving the boy, who weighed just 3.5 pounds when he died.
Defense lawyers said the first-time parents did the best they could while adhering to the lifestyle of vegans, who typically use no animal products. They said Sanders and Thomas did not realize the baby, who was born at home, was in danger until minutes before he died.
But prosecutor Mike Carlson told the jury yesterday during closing arguments that they are ``baby killers.''
The jury deliberated about seven hours before returning the guilty verdicts.
____________________________________
Firstly, this story has nothing to do with vegans.
It is a very sad story, and I feel moved to say a great deal about the incident. However, i feel completely unmoved to defend a vegan lifestyle. Anyone who reads this story and comes away hating or blaming vegans should look inside themselves and see whether they are swayed to hatred of entire groups based on the actions of individuals every time that s/he reads the news. The truth is that people with different identities do terrible things all the time. It would be a mistake to assume that any individual represents the entire group with whom they identify. There is no exception in this case.
This story is *actually* about parents who needed more support, connection and education (and possibly mental health services). I suspect that there was a great deal more to the story than the media covered. It could not possibly be the case that these parents were stable if they failed to notice their child wasting away. It is concerning that there was no one else in their lives who noticed either. It makes me wonder whether drugs or mental illness were also a factor.
This story is sad because this story could have ended quite differently. For many, early parenting is a time of extreme isolation. Newborns are a rare sight in this culture. What babies eat and how to care for them is a mystery to many. I do not mean to provide an excuse for the lak of care that the child in this story was given. However, It is unfortunate to me that that the spin of this story has largely been about the shocking crime committed by these parents. This story should be sparking conversations about how the community and the healthcare system failed this family and what can be done in the future to prevent such travesties. When things like this happen, it is a reflection of our culture and we should all take responsibility for learning the lesson within.
_________________________________
Parents Convicted in Baby's Death
ATLANTA (AP) A Superior Court jury in Atlanta convicted a vegan couple of murder and cruelty to children Wednesday in the death of their six-week old, who was fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice.
27-year-old Jade Sanders and 31-year-old and Lamont Thomas will receive automatic life sentences for starving the boy, who weighed just 3.5 pounds when he died.
Defense lawyers said the first-time parents did the best they could while adhering to the lifestyle of vegans, who typically use no animal products. They said Sanders and Thomas did not realize the baby, who was born at home, was in danger until minutes before he died.
But prosecutor Mike Carlson told the jury yesterday during closing arguments that they are ``baby killers.''
The jury deliberated about seven hours before returning the guilty verdicts.
____________________________________
Firstly, this story has nothing to do with vegans.
It is a very sad story, and I feel moved to say a great deal about the incident. However, i feel completely unmoved to defend a vegan lifestyle. Anyone who reads this story and comes away hating or blaming vegans should look inside themselves and see whether they are swayed to hatred of entire groups based on the actions of individuals every time that s/he reads the news. The truth is that people with different identities do terrible things all the time. It would be a mistake to assume that any individual represents the entire group with whom they identify. There is no exception in this case.
This story is *actually* about parents who needed more support, connection and education (and possibly mental health services). I suspect that there was a great deal more to the story than the media covered. It could not possibly be the case that these parents were stable if they failed to notice their child wasting away. It is concerning that there was no one else in their lives who noticed either. It makes me wonder whether drugs or mental illness were also a factor.
This story is sad because this story could have ended quite differently. For many, early parenting is a time of extreme isolation. Newborns are a rare sight in this culture. What babies eat and how to care for them is a mystery to many. I do not mean to provide an excuse for the lak of care that the child in this story was given. However, It is unfortunate to me that that the spin of this story has largely been about the shocking crime committed by these parents. This story should be sparking conversations about how the community and the healthcare system failed this family and what can be done in the future to prevent such travesties. When things like this happen, it is a reflection of our culture and we should all take responsibility for learning the lesson within.
posted by christy at 5:32 PM
1 comments
