A few years back, a New Jersey family was in the news because a bakery didn't like their kid's name and wouldn't put it on his birthday cake. It sounds outrageous ... until you learn that the little boy's is Adolf Hitler Campbell. Then the store's refusal makes a whole lot of sense, as does a court decision today that denied the boy's parents custody of him and his two siblings -- JoyceLynn Aryan Nation and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie.
The question is whether Heath and Deborah Campbell have lost custody of their children just because of the names they bestowed upon them or because of something else. The children have been in foster care since the incident, and the courts say there is evidence of abuse or neglect (details can't be released due to a gag order). The Campbells, however, contend it's just because of the names, and that their freedom of expression has been thwarted. Heath told NBC 10:
Actually, the judge and DYFS told us that there was no evidence of abuse and that it was the names. They were taken over the children's names.
Honestly, even if it was just over the names, I'd almost say that's grounds enough for those children to be removed. I'm a passionate proponent of free speech, even when I don't like it, but bestowing a name that evokes such hatred and violence is just cruel and I think perhaps a form of abuse.
Yes, there's a lot of subjectivity when it comes to what is and isn't an acceptable name for a child, but there's really no gray when it comes to Adolf Hitler. Plus, you know that anyone who would name their child something like this is very likely mentally unstable and filled with hate.
Still, taking children away from their parents just for a distasteful name? I'm not sure I could fully support that, but I bet there are few cases in which a parent who chooses to name their child something like that wouldn't have other issues as well. So while it's disturbing to think the children were subjected to treatment worse than their names, at least they have been removed from it for now. And in a way those horrible names saved them, because no one may have been wiser to the abuse if they hadn't had them.
Do you think these parents should lose custody of their children because of their names?
Image via simononly/Flickr
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Comments 182
Why the HELL would you name your kids like that? That's horrible!!! Those parents are asking for their kids to get their asses kicked by every non-Caucasian kid on the playground. Forever.
Saddling a child with a name like that could be construed as mental abuse. No matter how much you "like" or "respect" the name to give a child a name that all people(at the very least) associate with war(dictator, death, etc.) is mental abuse. You must know that there are people who will shun the child(and later man) because of the name. Make your political statement other ways, not with your children. If they really liked the name, why not just use Adolf?
I think it's a bit of a stretch to assume the judge removed the kids just because of their names. I'm sure there's more to the story, but because there are children involved details have to be kept confidential. Which it seems to me the parents are milking to the fullest, knowing the public doesn't know the entire story and trying to get people on their side.
While I don't agree with the names the parents gave these kids (not to mention what they were probably teaching them), the fact is we live in a country where parents have the right to raise their children as they see fit. Unless there is concrete proof of abuse in that home, the kids should not have been removed. It's a slippery slope for the state to remove kids just because they aren't being taught the 'right' things.
i dont see a problem w/ naming your child what ever you wanted. the problem is how in the hell they call it neglect? its a name that's all.
If they were removed just because of their names, that is wrong and terrifying. Even more terrifying than the parents' choice of names. I thought America was a free country? Apparently not. I feel bad for the children and despite the obvious ignorance an intolerance of the parents, I feel for them too. There are still KKK members in our country, are we going to start taking their children away too? Its just wrong.
I am not condoning racism or intolerance of any kind, let me make that clear. But to tear a family apart beacuse of a NAME is just insane.
@Jenny Fielder - I completely agree with you!
Wow....I cannot believe this is actual. Who the hell even thinks to do this? Incredible.
I do think it's abusive to name your child anything obviously racist and hateful, or after a world leader who advocated mass genocide.
Who would want to hire little Adolf Hitler? Let's be real. Who will trust him? Who would date him? Would the military let him serve? What about a church? I'm being honest- this kid could get beaten up for no reason other than his name. He has already been set up to have serious roadblocks in life due to something stupid like a hate-filled name.