e-foot in mouth

july 30 2007


Ugh...Well, let's start at the beginning.

The vacation was only two days on it's way when it was announced it would rain for at least another week.
So I started looking on internet if there was something special to do for the girls.

Living with 4 brothers with autism spectrum disorder in the house isn't easy, especially not when you have to stay inside because of the weather and because everyone else you want to play with is on vacation.

I landed on a special site that stated that they had something to do in the vacation for every child.

"Well, that's it!", I thought.

It was about a photography contest for children, or a video contest. I don't remember.
It said that the children had to use their own camera (not from someone else)to make photos for a contest and with those photos they would make a mobile photo-exhibition that could be invited to schools.

None of my children has a camera.

They asked if they were allowed to send a mail.
Ofcourse!

So they wrote that they felt excluded from an activity that was announced to be for all children.
If they had cameras for hire, at libraries for instance, so they could realise their claim the contest was for every child.

That was more than a month ago.

Today a reply was in the mail.

Clearly adressed to a grown up. Stating that it's life that some children don't have a camera, and that the exhibition can come to their school too, and they can attent an event in another town. (You have to buy tickets.)

The tone of the mail, and the abslute lack for understanding, really made me angry.

Why organise something for children when you're not even willing to express even a little bit of understanding, or complimenting that they have written the mail... or something like that?

So not the girls, but I wrote them back.
Stating that this contest is not for all children at all.
It's not for children that aren't mobile, that haven't a camera, and don't have parents who can afford to get them to the other town.
They exclude a large group of children and they know it, otherwise they would have organised a drawing contest, a poetry contest or something like that.

And I ended: "I think the commercial gains outweight the feelings of the children."

Then I hit the send-button.

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I'm not used to sending unkind mails... so I feel I'd better put my e-foot in my mouth and shewed on my toes.