"Brangelina" Article Backlashby Shoshanna Grey | More from this Blogger 07 Jul 2006 05:45 PM An article titled "How to Shop for Children the Bradgelina Way", printed in the LA Times last week caused an uproar in the adoption community. The newspaper received dozens of angry emails and as a result they wrote a follow-up article titled "Brangelina Article Sparks Outcry". The majority of the article as made up of letters from upset members of the adoption triad. Here are some excerpts from these letters: •"This article is just pure ignorance and I honestly feel your paper should print an apology for being so demeaning, degrading of children and adoption. Please, we have enough to overcome without people printing unbiased truths and ignorance like this only spreading hate and bigotry." •"Building a family is not a game and it is not a shopping trip" •"(The writer's) "ratings" of the various countries based on age and availability of "rugrats" is insulting to the children and highlights her total ignorance of the reasons for the differences in the ages of available children in different countries." •"To print a story that trivializes the adoption process is distasteful even if it was written with satire in mind. This article does nothing but perpetuate myths that affluent parents shop for their adopted children, without considering the many parents who chose to create a family through adoption." Obviously, this article in the LA Times struck a nerve with the adoption community. I was thrilled to see that people spoke out instead of staying quiet. So often, I think that we as adoptive parents just sit back and allow people to say things that are hurtful to us and to our families. The fact that these people expressed their feelings in such an eloquent manner says a lot for the direction that we are headed as a group. The LA Times was obviously surprised by the reaction of adoptive parents, but I still found that their response left something to be desired. They said, "The editors and writer Leslie Gornstein were satirizing a specific person, Angelina Jolie, who had remarked that her next adoption would depend on "which country, which race would fit best with the kids." The satire was in no way intended to be a commentary on all individuals who adopt." In my opinion, the LA Times' attempt to placate their readers was greatly lacking. I believe that a sincere apology was in order. However, I would like to know what Families.com members think. How do you feel about the response that the LA Times gave to those who complained? Learn more about Shoshanna Grey  Shoshanna Grey has worked as an occupational social worker, teacher, child care provider, customer service reqpresentative, college recruiter and several other positions over the years. Relevantadoption tags Food | baby | Scrapbooking | family | children | parenting | holidays | christmas | relationships | pregnancy User Comments  Lisa P (24013) 08 Jul 2006 06:39 AMI think it is time that people speak up about Angelina's planned "collection" of children. Another famous actress, Mia Farrow, collected quite a few children (13-14 at last count) and we all know what happened with one of them and Mia's longtime lover, Woody Allen. Adopting a child is making a lifelong commitment to love and cherish that child and raise it to the best of your ability - it isn't a matter of picking out this season's latest accessory!  babydawn (7008) 08 Jul 2006 07:22 AMLisa, you know I love you, but I have to disagree with your comment. I think, through watching interviews with Angelina Jolie, and reading some articles, that she genuinely wants to give kids, who otherwise wouldn't have a chance, a good life. I have also been impressed with the comments she has made about them. How much joy they have brought to her life. How she has never felt that kind of joy and love before. I also think that her donations of 1/3 of all of her income shows her commitment to helping out people in other poverty stricken countries. I see a woman who is trying to make a difference in the world with the money she makes, and I think she can't seem to catch a break because she has such a colorful past.... many of us do.  Nicole Humphrey (15757) 08 Jul 2006 11:29 AMWell, here's how I see it. I am not an easily offended person. However, I found the original L.A. Times article, highly offensive and inappropriate. To refer to a child as a "rugrat" or a "moppet" is simply ridiculous. In a professional paper, the term "child" or "children" would have been better used. It showed this journalists unprofessional manner, rather than providing an article with information. I do wish people would just leave Brad and Angelina alone - I agree that baby adoption and baby bearing by celebrities has hit an all-time high lately, but I really do not want to hear about it anymore. We need to focus on ways to improve our lives and simply providing this information all the time about celebrities is getting old and quite frankly, annoying. I found the "response" article completely lacking of feeling or understanding at all. I feel the LA Times disappointed their millions of readers, and have caused a huge uproar in the adoption community. By the way, I am a member of the triad. I was adopted.  Shoshanna Grey (2785) 10 Jul 2006 07:35 AMIt really is hard to know exactly what Angelina Jolie's intentions are because the media coverage is so biased. It seems to me, though, that she does have the interests of the children at heart because of all of her humanitarian work in the countries where she has adopted. I'll do more research and try to find less biased information about her plans to adopt. Watch for another article in the future. Community Tags Angelina Jolie, adoption, adoption in the media, brad pitt, children, celebrity adoptions, international adoption Discuss this article
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