to think this article is wrong and patronizing on so many levels?

[JaneS]

This article is in the Times today. The author is worried that her 9-yea-old son, though
'far from vain', perhaps shouldn't be asking for plastic surgery on his freckles. So she takes him to see cleft palate operations performed in Laos, and proceeds to spend the rest of the article ahhhing at the way her son patronizes the candidates for surgery there.

Am I being unreasonable, or is this crass, patronizing and wrong? Article here:

women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article7037635.ece

Well, the article is pukesome, no doubt.
Funny, a few years back, K Baird Murray (ie our winsome writer of this piece) wrote an article (might have been for Rhe Guardian, IIRC) along the lines of: 'it's so unfair, when I go out for swanky dinner parties on Belgravia with Bankers and Hedge Fund Managers and Other Important, Rich People, nobody takes little old me seriously once they hear I am Beauty Director of Tatler. Woe is me, I did get a 2.2 from a Russell Group Uni and my friend who works on Cosmo can speak a bit of French and Spanish, you know!'
It's churning out drivel like this, love, that makes intelligent, informed people take the mickey out of you for spending your day trying on mascaras.
Do run along, KBM.

for spending your day trying on mascaras...... LOVE IT

it's hardly the son's fault that she's presenting him like that. who knows what he really said/did? is a ridiculously self obsessed article but think it's supposed to be raising awareness of smile clinic = no bad thing

"Who knew that children who live in extreme poverty were put on this planet for an educational tool for spoilt brats?"

Very true TheCrackFox

And

Who knew that children who have facial/oral disabilities were put on this planet for an educational tool for spoilt brats?

The article leaves a bad taste...maybe because I have a cleft lip (or rather, did)

It's a horrible article. Raising awareness is no excuse for being so f*ing rude.

Ah well - prettyinpink, at least now I know journalist has form and won't bother to read anything of hers again.

QuitePrettyInPink
I remember that article! At the time, I was working in an agency that meant we had contact with Kathleen Baird Murray. That article was legendary! She was known variously as Little Miss Clever, Clever Clogs and Kathleen "I'm Clever, Me!" Baird Murray in our office for ages afterwards. snork. She is so vacuous. I'm loving this article. Shows her in her true, superficial light. And by the way, rainfatclouds as she was the one who brought her son into the article, I think he is fair game for comments. She should think twice before using her son as a crutch for some crappy article. There are lots of choices that other mothers make that I would not make but would defend, but using your child like this? Indefensible. And another thing, it makes me steaming mad that this article appears in the "women's section" of The Times.

I wonder if she would like to come for high tea on Sunday and teach her son how to patronize help people with Tourettes? or I could take them to my mummys and he could stare learn about amputees?

I just can't believe how bitchy and vile these comments are. This is nothing less than a vile, personal, attack on a journalist, who is doing her job, I mean how fatuous to make remarks like she isn't even pretty and has half a brain cell. This is an article about a charity. All charities need publicity as they rely on people like us for funding. Good on her to go out and actually do something useful, rather than sit at home and bitch online.

Katryn-Baird Murray

I agree the comments about her appearance are below the belt, BUT

There are ways of doing one's job which do not exploit one's children. It is an unfortunate way of getting publicity for this charity. Shame - it's a good charity.

< never does anything useful, ever >

I didn't even read as far as the 'gawping with patients with cleft palates'.. I thought it was a bit to mention that the doctor (at five foot 7) only came up to her shoulders.. so she's very tall. Is that something the doctor should feel bad about??

Apparently it is Ok for journalists to be bitchy in their articles that they write but it is not OK for people to"sit at home and bitch online" in response to the same article.

'I just can't believe how bitchy and vile these comments are. This is nothing less than a vile, personal, attack on a journalist, who is doing her job, I mean how fatuous to make remarks like she isn't even pretty and has half a brain cell. This is an article about a charity. All charities need publicity as they rely on people like us for funding. Good on her to go out and actually do something useful, rather than sit at home and bitch online.'

Whoops, silly me, I forgot, you're only allowed to be bitchy, vile and fatuous if you're being paid for it by a national newspaper.

My bad.

Yeah I saw that and it was blardy patronising.

My ds has cute freckles so does his dear old mum, Plastic surgery indeed tsk tsk and Janeite wellsaid the whole article was for PV to show off her f----ing holiday.

I've typed out my response to that hideous article about five times but just can't find the words to express my absolute disdain at it. Precious and precocious crap.