Am I just a cynical old bastard?

I wish I was like my colleagues.

I wish I could believe that Madonna's adoption of a young Malawi boy was a sincere attempt to solve a family's desparate financial plight. That she wanted to give little David Banda some sort of hope of a life. That she only bypassed the usual systems in place for adoption because of the media attention. That she did this because she wanted to to help, to "do something", to use her celebrity to highlight the plight of Africa.

The trouble is...I can't.

Everytime I see this story, it looks like some airhead popstar went to Africa and bought herself a a living fashion accessory. Having a little dog is so out these days, why not be like Brad & Angelina and come home with a little african kid? It beats the normal crappy souvenirs and it's sooo chic to wear ones compassion on ones sleeve.

The kid had a family already, but the dad couldn't cope with the financial strain, so Madonna "bought" the boy. If she wanted to help, couldn't she have just given money to the family and let the kid grow up with them instead? Why not discretely adopt an orphan (and go through the usual channels)?

Again - this could just be me being cynical.

It's not just you, it really is the most transparent publicity stunt she has ever pulled.
It's not like she'll even be raising the kid, she has an army of childcarers from what I hear,.

Agreed. It's not just you.

I don't know that I think the situation's entirely bad--there are some obvious benefits for the kid--but your cynicism isn't entirely unfounded, I don't think.

Mommie Dearest MUCH, I'm just waiting the 20 years for all these kids to come out with their Tell all books (the one's I wont read cause I don't give a shit mind you), but mark my words its gonna happen.

Some people will do anything to stay in the spotlight.

Yeah, it's pretty hard to argue with that logic. Were there other circumstances I perhaps missed? Was the child in danger where he was? Why save that particular child? The whole thing is weird.

It's not just you.

Not just you.

I find the whole thing pretty obscene.

The whole thing makes me want to to scream. But I won't do that, because that's like, gay and stuff. And they won't let me adopt my own little Etheropian if they think I'm gay. Bastards.

Adopting black kids is the new black.

agreed.

Goddamn! We agree on something.

Time to take that last chance opportunity for a ski vacation in hell.

Maddonna adopted a baby?

There is a reason I try to avoid the news.

I think that the real elephant in the room here is poverty. Why isn't anyone talking about the reasons why children are suffering in deplorable conditions throughout the 3rd World? It seems its so much easier to focus on the vain and selfish actions of a celebrity then it is to focus on the problem itself. It isn't wrong for people to care for children, but stealing them away from their misery isn't going to change the fact that misery will continue to persist throughout the world, despite a single child being abducted from poverty. People like Madonna may mean well, but their perception of selflessness and benevolence and are easily misinterpreted by others as selfish acts for the benefit of one's image. The whole idea of celebrity adoption is tainted and what if the child were to grow up hating her? (I'm thinking Joan Crawford here [SHUDDER]...) So it really seems like this is a no-win situation. That is, unless, Madonna emigrated to Africa and used every penny of her worth and every ounce of her stength to help educate, innoculate, feed, clothe and care for the childern until death... Maybe then she should recieve recongition for being the savior of children.

Dude, you have "colleagues"? That sounds impressive. Are they baristas?

We should all adopt African boys.
After all, you can't expect Africans to be able to bring up kids, can you?
The kid is much better off in some English castle or other with his mum prancing around with cones on her tits and a fake accent while daddy madly re-writes the only movie he ever did that was at all worthwhile again, all the while struggling to appease mummy with a reverse head-standing lotus posture.
Yes, the kid will end up far less fucked up living with Madonna.

And yes, its all fucking synical.

Double.
(Could we please arrange for a more sensible button layout? Grrrr.)

I think if you're lucky enough to have bio children, your first responsibility is to raise them, and when they go to college, then foster/adopt all the ones you choose to help.

But then, if you're desperate to have more children, they are no lengths too far i suppose. I can't judge her, and i'd rather not pin unsavory motives to her...she could just be feeling her age and desperate to recreate the large loving family she remembers growing up. That's not a bad thing.