Hard as it may be to do but looking at this from an objective point of view this would seem to be quite a bold, and in my opinion frightening, step to have been taken. So long as they are not doing any obvious harm to the children what right does anybody have to decide the appropriate manner of child rearing for another's family.
Don't shrug this off - does it take too much imagination to create a rationale for this type of action related to...oh, I don't know...some of the aspects inherent to an orthodox jewish life?
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New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services removes Adolf HitlerBackstory:
Campbell, sisters from parents' home
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Authorities removed Adolf Hilter Campbell and his sisters from their parents' Hunterdon County home, Holland Township police chief David Van Gilson said Tuesday.
New Jersey's Division of Youth and Family Services took the 3-year-old as well as JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell, 1, and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, who turns 1 in April, the chief said.
Van Gilson said he didn't know why the children were taken or who had custody. He said his department received no reports of abuse or negligence.
The children's father, Heath Campbell, reached Tuesday evening at a relative's home, first declined comment and later said the children were not removed.
The Division of Youth and Family Services would not confirm or deny the report.
A spokeswoman said the division doesn't comment on specific families.
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The Campbell family gained worldwide attention after a Dec. 14 story in The Express-Times about the children's names and a Warren County supermarket's refusal to write Adolf Hitler on a birthday cake.
Heath Campbell, who's previously said he picked the names to honor German ancestry and because they are unique, has reported receiving threats after the story was published.
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Yeah, I must agree. Whatever we may think of how they raise their kids, the idea of taking them away from their parents is a horrible precedent.
ReplyDeleteI hope the other lines saying it's not true are the truth. Or perhaps better, a wise judge forced them to return the kids, citing this same type of logic.
Agreed. No way should the government be allowed to take kids away because they're named after Nazis. Of course it's possible the parents are also physically abusive, in which case, they should be taken away. We don't know the whole story here, obviously.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there's some mental illness involved. While parents are entitled to name their kids whatever they please, I don't think most mainstream people would give their child the name "Aryan Nation", no matter what their beliefs are. There might be other stuff going on that we don't know about.
ReplyDeleteIf a child is in a harmful situation, I 100% agree that he/she should be removed from that. But this is a little too much "Big Brother in my backyard" for me...
ReplyDeleteI don't think they should take the kids away, but a solid kick in the ass is probably in order.
ReplyDeleteI doubt the Campbell children were removed only because of their names. It's quite possible, though, that the publicity over the cake incident prompted authorities to investigate the family and find issues that prompted them to remove the children. (Heath Campbell mentioned that he collects Nazi paraphernalia, including weapons, so maybe that's what convinced authorities to look more closely). Unless the parents are charged with a crime that information will not be released by authorities because the Campbell's have a right to privacy.
ReplyDeleteIn an update to the story you quoted, NJ Department of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) says they didn't remove the children because of their names, but because of "an imminent danger" to the children. I think people are assuming that because the police chief had no reports of abuse or negligence that no reports had been filed. But generally these investigations would be conducted through DYFS.
ReplyDeleteThe police would not be involved unless criminal charges are brought against the parents. The children can be removed temporarily pending further investigation, but cannot be removed for more than a very brief time unless criminal charges are filed.
Generally there seems to be a rather high threshold for for people to lose their children simply because they have unusual/ antisocial religious beliefs. I don't think most frum families have reason to be concerned about this, unless they are neglecting/ abusing their children in some way.
Agree with anon, based on the most recent report:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479904,00.html
New Jersey officials said Wednesday that it is not just a matter of names.
"DYFS would never remove a child simply based on that child's name," Bernyk said.