|
TooBAD For Toogood
Being on television. One of the long lasting American dreams. Images of make-up chairs, witty banter, fan clubs, incredible paychecks and red carpets come to mind. Ahhhhh, the glamour, glitz and glory we grow up imagining can be found behind the glass eye of a TV camera. Admit it, we have all daydreamed about being in the spotlight, enjoying the televised fame of Jennifer Aniston or Kelly Clarkson.
Then there's the televised fame of Madelyne Toogood. REAL Reality TV.
Given her ubiquitous "fifteen minutes" not for beating the competition in the ratings or for becoming the overnight American Idol. Rather, she has taken center stage as an "idle American" transient caught on film beating her innocent 4 year old daughter.
I joined millions of other Americans in a collective gasp of shock and rush of rage when the security tape was shown on my local news. The gasp and shock were no less intense when I again viewed it on the nationally televised Today Show. I monitored the police progress in tracking down the elusive Ms. Toogood over the weekend and was not surprised when it was a lawyer who contacted the authorities on her behalf. I was not even surprised when the attorney and Madelyne Toogood showed up on the Today Show.
What surprised me was this woman's blatant attempt to win sympathy for herself. The tears, the pathos, the pleas. Someone hand this woman an Emmy for Best Actress in a Disgusting Role.
As for the tears? Cry me a river, Maddy. The only honest tears being shed in this whole scene are the ones that flowed from little Martha's eyes as she was repeatedly battered in the back of that SUV.
The pathos? I feel compassion...for little Martha, not for grown up Mommy.
And finally, the pleas from Madelyne. The choked up words of regret, promises that she does not abuse her children, that she lost her temper, it was a one time thing. I have news for both her and her reptilian lawyer: We aren't buying the snake oil you're selling. Regret? People like this are only sorry they got caught. Not abusive? A closed fist on a 140 pound woman directed at a 30 pound child. ABUSIVE. She lost her temper? The tape clearly shows she calmly walked to the vehicle, opened the door, looked around to see if anyone was watching and then lit into the child. And finally, this "one time thing" garbage. What was displayed is a lifestyle, not an unfortunate incident. The only pleas the American public cares about are the ones surely uttered by little Martha as she was beaten. As in "Please stop!"
I think what I find most upsetting in all the televised attention this woman and her case are getting is that this is only one incident of abuse. There are hundreds of thousands of children abused each day that unfortunately are not captured on film. The abuse is hidden behind closed doors, their cries drowned out by loud stereos, their bruises camouflaged by layers of clothing. Their agony will go uninterrupted until a very clear message is sent to their abusers: DON'T DO IT. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING IT, BECAUSE WHEN WE CATCH YOU, THE GAME IS OVER AND YOU WILL LOSE. PERIOD.
So as abhorrent as is the thought of Mama Madelyne having her fifteen minutes of fame stretched out into twenty or thirty, I'll accept it. As long as that means constant updates of a legal system dedicated to sending that message to all child abusers. The tape is irrefutable. The penalty needs to be just as swift and just as harsh as the abuse it depicts.
Children are precious, children deserve safety and love. So as far as I'm concerned, no punishment will be tooBAD for Toogood.
Copyright © Linda Sharp. Linda is an internationally recognized author & columnist whose work wraps around the globe to appear in print publications from Maine to Malaysia, as well as
across the web. Linda is also creator of the totally irreverent and hysterical website, "Sanity Central: A Time Out From Parenting!" Her latest book, Stretchmarks On My Sanity: The Growing Pains of Raising a Family, has earned her rave reviews and comparisons to
the late Erma Bombeck. She may be reached via email at lsharp03@aol.com. Reprinted with permission.
|
