Family Fortunes

My store of optimism had been fast depleting with the increase in stories and incidents illustrating the continued hypocritical stance in this country about children, families and which ones are “worthy” of care and state protection.

  The continued state neglect of unaccompanied, refugee and asylum seeking minors, the state sanctioned ruthlessness of forcibly removing other such families from the homes, communities and lives they have made for themselves in this country to return them to situations of brutality and fear surely demands that our Constitution give supremacy to the rights of children instead of the paltry lip service that currently exists towards children’s rights.

I know too, that I am not alone at feeling disgust at the predicament of young Tristan Dowse, returned to an Indonesian orphanage because it no longer suited his married, adoptive parents to keep him, while Irish right- wing fanatics presented the Oireachtas Committee on the Family with a highly questionable petition against same sex couples having a right to family life.  A few days ago, a friend told me about a Christian fundamentalist website where members of its particular misanthropic sect had posted posed photos of their own small children wearing “ God hates Fags” t-shirts and it was then I truly felt the despair creep up around my shoulders.

But just when I felt like putting the duvet back over my head for the rest of the week, I found this little gem of a story.  It is no panacea for all of the disgusting behaviours I have just outlined, but it brought a grin to my face and a whole new meaning to the  “Mother and Child Campaign”.

It seems that the Cincinnati Reds, a major league US baseball team have got themselves a highly-talented, young pitcher by the name of Joe Valentine. Joe was first professionally signed on discovery by a talent scout to the White Sox in 1999. Last year, during Spring training with his new team Joe was interviewed by Newsday. The lad paid homage to his parents for all their support and encouragement throughout his life and their particular nurturing of his sporting abilities. Nothing unusual about that, just a well brought up young man who wanted to give due recognition to the parents he loved. Except Joe has two moms and always has. Deb Valentine, his biological mother and Doreen Price who raised him from birth have been together for 30 years. It was his mom, Doreen who was involved in competitive softball who nurtured Joe’s love of baseball.

Joe Valentine told the Newsday reporter about his upbringing with his moms because “ I just wanted to give them some sort of recognition for this. I feel in my heart they did a great job with me and I thought it would be nice to just have them see that I appreciated it.” Valentine’s nonchalant statements about his parents and family life have been received with a similar kind of “cool shrug” by his teammates in a sport previously renowned for the kind of anti-gay sentiment that bordered on paranoid.

Joe is married and trying to start a family of his own, his moms moved from their old family home in Las Vegas to be close to Joe’s new team home.

“ I don’t see myself as an activist although I will speak up if I need to. I think people need to judge others for who they are, not by any prejudiced ideas or thoughts. I’m a baseball player who was raised by two wonderful, loving mothers. How can anyone criticize that?” Indeed Joe, how could anyone criticize that?