KFC Kicks Child 3 Out

[Virgil Showlion]

I'm confused now. Are looks important or aren't they?

Riddle me this: If an attribute is fundamentally of no importance, and if an individual criticizes me with respect to this attribute without my knowledge, what harm has been done?

For example, if Peace Of Mind and Jaguar secretly discuss their dislike of my adorable snake avatar, would anybody find their behaviour cold or upsetting?

Of course not. Nobody cares about who likes what avatar. And on the off-chance I personally did care, I'll never discover the contents of their discussion anyway.

So why among the myriad comments we've seen on our message board about hyperactive kids, "evil" or "creepy" kids, fat kids, unintelligent kids, bratty kids, kids people can't stand to be around--all of which come and go without people batting an eyelash--do the "Whoa! That's harsh!" alarm bells go off during a criticism (in this case a comment made in poor taste) of a child's appearance?

I thought appearance didn't matter. What counts is on the inside. True beauty shines from within.

It couldn't be that we're all just a bunch of flaming hypocrites who can't swallow our own pap long enough to make it out of this thread, could it? The old "We don't care, but she might." excuse obviously doesn't apply since the subject will never discover anything said here. And the old "It isn't right to criticize people behind their backs." excuse obviously doesn't apply since (as I've pointed out) we regularly criticize people--including kids--for every reason under the sun.

Nosir, the red flags clearly went off because it was a criticism of appearance. Which tells us all we need to know. Despite all the gum flapping and high-minded sentiment in this thread, we do care deeply about others' appearances. We pity homely individuals. We envy beautiful individuals. Beauty is an attribute we value highly. Our words say "No, no", but our behaviour says "yes, yes".

And with one errant comment, the hypocrisy is exposed.

Oh NMSNM.

[Peace Of Mind]

Jun 24, 2014 22:27:18 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

I'm confused now. Are looks important or aren't they?

Riddle me this: If an attribute is fundamentally of no importance, and if an individual criticizes me with respect to this attribute without my knowledge, what harm has been done?

For example, if Peace Of Mind and Jaguar secretly discuss their dislike of my adorable snake avatar, would anybody find their behaviour cold or upsetting?

Of course not. Nobody cares about who likes what avatar. And on the off-chance I personally did care, I'll never discover the contents of their discussion anyway.

So why among the myriad comments we've seen on our message board about hyperactive kids, "evil" or "creepy" kids, fat kids, unintelligent kids, bratty kids, kids people can't stand to be around--all of which come and go without people batting an eyelash--do the "Whoa! That's harsh!" alarm bells go off during a criticism (in this case a comment made in poor taste) of a child's appearance?

I thought appearance didn't matter. What counts is on the inside. True beauty shines from within.

It couldn't be that we're all just a bunch of flaming hypocrites who can't swallow our own pap long enough to make it out of this thread, could it? The old "We don't care, but she might." excuse obviously doesn't apply since the subject will never discover anything said here. And the old "It isn't right to criticize people behind their backs." excuse obviously doesn't apply since (as I've pointed out) we regularly criticize people--including kids--for every reason under the sun.

Nosir, the red flags clearly went off because it was a criticism of appearance. Which tells us all we need to know. Despite all the gum flapping and high-minded sentiment in this thread, we do care deeply about others' appearances. We pity homely individuals. We envy beautiful individuals. Beauty is an attribute we value highly. Our words say "No, no", but our behaviour says "yes, yes".

And with one errant comment, the hypocrisy is exposed.

Oh NMSNM.

I love your snake but I'm not swallowing anybody's pap!  

Yes, looks are important - in some cases. That little girl is adorable. Her scars will cause somebody to stare because people are curious.  Some things do make people gross out though and it's an involuntary response.  Whether it be spiders, clowns, or some form of deformity.  Nobody knows until they encounter it.  I personally find people who do bizarre things like hammer nails in their face or even odd contortionists can give me the heebie jeebies or make me turn my head or shudder but nothing - NOTHING makes me freak out more than heights.  There is an ad or commercial (can't remember because I turn away so quickly) that shows somebody jumping off a cliff and there was something on MSN recently about some clear glass/plastic frame thing that people could be on over hanging a skyscraper .  It freaks me out and I literally can't catch my breath for a second  I've grown so afraid of heights.  I can't even go to concerts in the nose bleed section I freak out so bad.  

Although I believe I read that the little girl's situation at KFC was a hoax - and I personally find her adorable even with her scars - people do freak out over some things when they see them.  Even when they see balloons and I know a grown man who freaked out over large birds (he did some tile work for me and was cutting tile outside when the Sand Hill Cranes snuck up on him to see what he was doing).        They are 4 ft. tall and he fell on his ass trying to get away from that bird screaming like a little girl! He said even small birds freak him out.  I guess that makes more sense to me than those that freak over balloons.       

[truthbound]

Jun 23, 2014 23:04:47 GMT -5 resolution said:

Looks like the whole thing was a fraud and the family successfully collected $135,000 in cash for something that never happened.


www.11alive.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/23/girl-tossed-from-kfc-hoax/11291535/

Oh snap. I guess everyone should have waited for the facts huh?

[Jaguar]

Funny enough KFC is not pulling it's $30,000 donation away towards Victoria's medical bills.

www.cnn.com/2014/06/24/us/kfc-incident-questions/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

[zibazinski]

I'm a bird freaker outer, too.

[zibazinski]

Hopefully, KFC makes sure it goes to doctors not scammers. Here's to hoping grandma and grandpa end up doing some jail time.

[djAdvocate]

i haven't posted on this thread, but y'all are aware that this story is a fraud, right?

[Opti]

That's funny POM. I would have liked checking out the Sand Hill Cranes if they

got that close.

[resolution]

Looks like the fundraising site is hanging on to the funds for now, and not releasing them to the family.

abcnews.go.com/US/fundraising-suspended-scarred-girl-kfc-incident/story?id=24295492

An online fundraising page for a toddler allegedly asked to leave a KFC restaurant due to her facial scars has been taken down after the restaurant chain said there had not found evidence that the incident ever occurred.

The GoFundMe page, which had raised more than $135,000, was removed Tuesday. A search for the page today produces the notice, "Campaign Not Found."

GoFundMe CEO Brad Damphousse said a hold has been placed on the account balance.

Damphousse said in a statement on Tuesday, "In lieu of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the 'Victoria's Victories' online fundraising effort, GoFundMe has temporarily suspended the campaign until the full truth is made clear."

He said donors who wish to request a refund can do so on the GoFundMe website.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

That's probably a good idea on the part of GoFundMe. I'd hate to think grandma is going to make a profit off of her grand daughter's misfortune. What a piece of work her grandparents are.

I don't think anyone has addressed this, where are Victoria's parents?

I'm curious because Dh and I were talking about it yesterday and the grandparents would have been cut out of Gwen's life after the pit bull incident.  We'd clean their clocks if they dared to try to use her in a scam on top of the fact that what happened was their fault.

[mmhmm]

There's a huge difference between taunting concerning an injured child and taunting concerning someone who has defaced their own body with piercings, wild tattoos, etc. Personally, I don't think I've ever called a child ugly. I don't recall ever having called an adult ugly, unless I was referring to their behavior. To me, ugly is as ugly does - not as ugly appears. This child's injuries can be repaired. You can't fix real ugly.

[mmhmm]

Jun 25, 2014 11:21:14 GMT -5 Opti said:

That's funny POM. I would have liked checking out the Sand Hill Cranes if they

got that close.

They were curious! Heck, I'd have put them to work. They've got good, strong beaks! 

[Sam_2.0]

Jun 25, 2014 4:10:11 GMT -5 Jaguar said:

Funny enough KFC is not pulling it's $30,000 donation away towards Victoria's medical bills.

www.cnn.com/2014/06/24/us/kfc-incident-questions/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Seems like they are being the only classy ones here and decided to still help a little girl out, regardless of the abhorrent actions of her grandmother. At least that's how I want to see it

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Hopefully KFC gives the money directly to the hospital. I'd like to think that even if it is scam maybe some good can come of it for the kid.   Cause it sure as hell sounds like her family doesn't have her best interests at heart.

I don't want grandma to see one red cent.

[Deleted]

KFC not pulling out their donation is a PR thing. Since they offered it, it would be a PR nightmare to rescind it... even though it was obtained by fraud... because some people would spread the news out as "KFC takes money away from scarred child"... and many would just accept that true, if incomplete, statement as all the facts of the case.

"There's no such thing as bad publicity"... just isn't true, despite the protestations of some to the contrary.

[Deleted]

Jun 25, 2014 12:10:05 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

There's a huge difference between taunting concerning an injured child and taunting concerning someone who has defaced their own body with piercings, wild tattoos, etc. Personally, I don't think I've ever called a child ugly. I don't recall ever having called an adult ugly, unless I was referring to their behavior. To me, ugly is as ugly does - not as ugly appears. This child's injuries can be repaired. You can't fix real ugly.

I think I'm just going to follow you around and  you everywhere...

[whoisjohngalt]

Jun 19, 2014 21:57:19 GMT -5 ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ said:

I don't think it's an innate phenomenon either - it's a learned trait/reaction.

Kids are very accepting of anyone - despite their appearance.

I can't bold the part I want to respond to bc your whole text is so bright already...so I am just deleting the rest of the post

But kids are not accepting at all!!!  And  it has NOTHING to do with parents.  Kids get scared of things and cry at certain things all the time. 

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

whoisjohngalt, kids learn to react or be afraid by watching their parents' reactions to people who are different. If the adult is repulsed, or recoils, the child picks up on their reaction.

_________________________________________________



Here you go, POM - they just opened up this latest attraction at a National Park not far from me - the Skywalk has a clear see-through floor so you can look down several hundred feet while you're perched on a mountain side:

[EVT1]

Not walking on that  

[The Captain]

Jun 25, 2014 19:55:31 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Jun 19, 2014 21:57:19 GMT -5 ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ said:

I don't think it's an innate phenomenon either - it's a learned trait/reaction.

Kids are very accepting of anyone - despite their appearance.

I can't bold the part I want to respond to bc your whole text is so bright already...so I am just deleting the rest of the post

But kids are not accepting at all!!!  And  it has NOTHING to do with parents.  Kids get scared of things and cry at certain things all the time. 

I have to wonder about this though.  If the parents don't make a big deal of it in my experience the kids won't either (beyond natural curiosity).  

You know, kinda like when a little kid falls- then looks around to see if anyone see them.  If someone is watching they start crying for attention, if not - then they usually pick themselves up, brush off the dirt, and keep playing.

[whoisjohngalt]

Jun 26, 2014 6:41:03 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Jun 25, 2014 19:55:31 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

I can't bold the part I want to respond to bc your whole text is so bright already...so I am just deleting the rest of the post

But kids are not accepting at all!!!  And  it has NOTHING to do with parents.  Kids get scared of things and cry at certain things all the time. 

I have to wonder about this though.  If the parents don't make a big deal of it in my experience the kids won't either (beyond natural curiosity).  

You know, kinda like when a little kid falls- then looks around to see if anyone see them.  If someone is watching they start crying for attention, if not - then they usually pick themselves up, brush off the dirt, and keep playing.

One of my kids is VERY avert to anything "sickly".  So much so that when my FIL started using wheelchair, he wouldn't go near him and that was his most favorite grandparent.  I can promise you it didn't come from us.   My husband, whose adoration for his father has no end, was very VERY upset.  It took a loooong time before my son started feeling more comfortable. 

I have other examples, but I know this crowd will find a way to make it my or my husband's fault somehow, so I won't go into it.

Yes, absolutely, kids imitate their parents, but sometimes it really doesn't have anything to do with it.  Kids are not always nice and forgiving and open minded  - they are people, not fully developed, but still people. With their own views and emotions

BTW, it goes the other way too - that same kid suggested doing something very nice for someone that he has never seen or heard us do (in specific or general).  the idea came entirely from him. 

[Virgil Showlion]

I couldn't go into nursing homes when I was a kid. The atmosphere was deeply upsetting to me.

I eventually got over it... somewhat. Enough that I can actually go into a nursing home. I certainly don't enjoy it.

[The Captain]

Jun 26, 2014 8:02:27 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Jun 26, 2014 6:41:03 GMT -5 The Captain said:

I have to wonder about this though.  If the parents don't make a big deal of it in my experience the kids won't either (beyond natural curiosity).  

You know, kinda like when a little kid falls- then looks around to see if anyone see them.  If someone is watching they start crying for attention, if not - then they usually pick themselves up, brush off the dirt, and keep playing.

One of my kids is VERY avert to anything "sickly".  So much so that when my FIL started using wheelchair, he wouldn't go near him and that was his most favorite grandparent.  I can promise you it didn't come from us.   My husband, whose adoration for his father has no end, was very VERY upset.  It took a loooong time before my son started feeling more comfortable. 

I have other examples, but I know this crowd will find a way to make it my or my husband's fault somehow, so I won't go into it.

Yes, absolutely, kids imitate their parents, but sometimes it really doesn't have anything to do with it.  Kids are not always nice and forgiving and open minded  - they are people, not fully developed, but still people. With their own views and emotions

BTW, it goes the other way too - that same kid suggested doing something very nice for someone that he has never seen or heard us do (in specific or general).  the idea came entirely from him. 

Lena - I am most certainly not trying to suggest anything is your fault. I'm only going by my own observations which are obviously different from yours.

My grandfather was horribly (or so I'm told) disfigured in an industrial accident which he should not have survived.  Since the scars, no ears, lips or facial hair were all my siblings and I knew of him we never saw him as anything that what he was, our grandfather. That is maybe why I really don't see scars etc on people today, just the face - am I making sense?

My grandmother was in a wheel chair from the time DD was born - that was her "normal".  DD's always been comfortable (other than curiosity) around folks with physical or mental limitations.

It's different for everyone. I worked and volunteered in a hospital and nursing home and was pretty comfortable from the get go but as you've said, not everyone will react the same.

[whoisjohngalt]

Yes, I understand completely what you are saying and like I said, I do agree.  I just don't think it can be said that it's 100%.

My other two kids never blinked an eye about wheelchair and don't usually notice anything "unusual".  But they are much more laid back in general.   The other one - well, let's just say that it can get challenging sometimes with him.  

I always say that my experience with kids is limited to my own, but it has been very interesting to see the differences which are clearly nature vs nurture things