Too big for their britches

For the record, I am not a fan of Disney because, among other reasons, they are not parent friendly.  That's right - first Tinker Bell teaches kids that you don't even need a mother and father - just some pixy dust and a bunch of friends; Peter Pan didn't need parents and ran away when he was one day old; Snow White and Cinderella both had wicked step-mothers.  Finally, The Little Mermaid features a whiny 16 year old mermaid who knows more than her frumpy father.  There is a song (the "I want" song) where Ariel (the 16 year old mermaid who knows more than her father) sings about what she wants in life.  The line that really sets me off says:  "Betcha on land; They understand; Bet they don't reprimand their daughters."  Here's a newsflash, Ariel, any parent worth their salt does reprimand their daughters and sons and sons-in-law and daughters-in-law (or at least they should) if/when they get out of line.

The reason I'm blogging about any of this is because the California 6th Appellate District Court just handed down a decision that should never have been brought in the first place.  In Gonzalez v. Santa Clara County Dept. of Social Services, Ms. Gonzalez is a concerned mother who believes in corporal punishment (i.e. she spanks (not beat) her kids).

Apparently, Ms. Gonzalez has a daughter who was getting bad grades in school and was showing an interest in the gang culture.  Daughter (who is 12 years old and is smarter than everyone else) told school officials that her mom spanked her when "she is not doing what parents are expecting from her."  

On first read, you'd think this is a case of a 12-year old brat (who probably memorized the "I want" song) who thinks she's got one up on her parents by tattling to CPS.  A closer examination of this case shows the how the social workers were stumbling over themselves to nail Ms. Gonzales with something.  It's actually quite sad what they did to build a case against these parents.  Child Protective Services (CPS) put their stamp of approval on everything by suing Ms. Gonzales for disciplining her kid.  In the end, though, CPS finally lost.

What this case shows is yet another example of a government entity exercising unrighteous dominion against the rights of parents.  Sad thing is that unless (or until) parents rise up and vote against regimes who condone this sort of thing, it will continue to happen over and over and, maybe, next time to you and your family.