Why Evangelical Christians Love Adopting Kids

[angi_is_altered]

American Christian families are adopting children from other countries with the hopes of giving them a better life - but is it actually better? An interview with Kathryn Joyce, author of The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking and the New Gospel of Adoption.

Comments

[belleweather]

Much like it would be nice if the whole world was fully of kittens and flowers and fluffy bunnies (well, unless you have hay fever or animal allergies...) it would be nice if everyone was a signatory to the Hague. But that's not even close to actual policy proposal -- there's a lot of lobbying and pressure for non-Hague countries to sign, but since the Hague treaty touches on domestic policy there are some solid reasons that some major sending countries won't sign it.

I don't know. Probably too close to this, since it's an issue I work on at work. But she's all "Adoption is a really complicated narrative!" and then doesn't seem to want to admit that the Hague/not-Hague thing, and the actual processing of International adoptions and decisions about who fits the definition of an orphan in whatever country and the diplomacy that goes with the whole shebang is at least equally as complicated. Which pisses me off.

[romp]

She's written a book so she certainly might get to issues in it that didn't make the interview.

I think most North Americans simply need to hear a narrative other than "rescue the pagan babies!" I was probably close to 30 before someone pointed out to me that genuine support would mean many children wouldn't *have* to be adopted. It's hardly consensual when a mother gives up her child because she'll be too poor to care for it.

[elialshadowpine]

This. (And this is something we really need to address within the US as well, too.)

[tiddlywinks103]

White Savior Complex + White Guilt.

[oceandezignz]

That's about the sum of it.

[squeeful]

There is nothing about this that is not creepy as fuck.

[mimblexwimble]

whenever i see "adoption" and "evangelical christian" in the same sentence all i can think about is that mother jones article that came out this month about the liberia adoptions and how sick people are.

[oceandezignz]

What I want to know is this: If the adopted child comes out to the family who's taken them in that they were legitimately taken from their actual family in their home country; do they try to return/reconnect them to their original family or do they hand wave it away because "God put you with us"?

[tallycola]

I would wager that it's really difficult for these evangelicals to see the foreign parents as real people. They probably imagine some random brown slum girl who is so grateful that her child has a home, and if she does want her child back she must be being misled or something. Idk.

I saw an episode of Intervention that had an Indian guy who was adopted at age 3 from a slum by a huuuge family of white evangelicals, and had a very hard time with his sense of identity. Feeling like he didn't fit in with the family and was a charity case contribute to his addiction as a young man, and the guilt he felt because he had been SAVED FROM THE SLUMS AND OWED HIS FAMILY HIS LIFE kept him addicted. It was so sad. The family really fetishized his adoption story. It grossed me out.

ETA Oh man I just remembered a part where the parents were talking about how they were ~ministering~ in this poor part of town and saw him with his mother and "we knew that was our son!". It was groooooss.

[the_physicist]

damn, i just really hope they bring in some laws in the US to stop this. and any other countries where this happens.

[dearmisterecho]

I remember that episode, it was heartbreaking :( well, they all are...