Maybe donating our airfare and volunteering at a homeless shelter might be an even better way to teach the kids about homelessness. I invite you to give that a shot. Since when did taking a vacation or buying a doll have any impact on homelessness, poverty, or any other social ill? I've helped serve meals at a food kitchen - as have my kids. We've even given... gasp... these dreaded & corrupt offensively expensive dolls to two less fortunate young ladies in our community and would again without reservations.
Just because you're poor - even living in a car - doesn't mean childhood can't hold some small pleasure or that you aren't allowed to enjoy a good book/treasured belonging. The mothers I've met don't teach their children to resent those who have things - they teach them to strive to do better and that life is about more than the possessions we - or others - have. That's the problem with many in our country's inner cities today - it's easier to blame those who have, than to take responsibility and work to be one of those people in the future.
Lots of offended folks who haven't bothered to read Gwen's story - and probably need a free wdw ticket as incentive to volunteer their time - are complaining, but very few with all the facts who've read the books have found anything done in "poor taste". More to the point IMO are whether the bloggers and media focusing on this - who want a presumably evil American capitalist company, along with an actual published author of more than just a blog, to write & give money to what they deem appropriate - spent any time or money lending a hand to those less fortunate? I'd love to hear those stories - especially if they're factual - unlike the original "story", that this craziness spun off of, now being taken as Gospel by so many of the uninformed. To use words that make me cringe every time I hear them coming from the oval office lately "we've got a lot of misinformation out there".
Not only is Gwen not a "new" doll, she's not even "new" news! This lopsided biased "news" was first announced last week 9/24.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/homeless_doll_costs_hairstyling_4Ic0hC7Lacpfo8HQbczsQM
They say both news and fish stink after three days - but the fish can't possibly be worse than the reek of incompetence keeping this going.
Can anyone name the doll from the "roaring twenties" mentioned for me?? Go check AG's site, I'll wait... uh-huh... just what I thought... there isn't one... never has been.
Geez, that's such a simple fact, yet apparently neither she, nor her editor, or the publication's proof readers for that matter, were informed enough to catch even this simple & obvious detail - much less take an hour to read Gwen's background directly from her story - or even cheat like middle school kids and watch the movie. The story OP's link takes us to is not the original, and has now been "updated" by the author several times as you can see if you read both.
As a newspaper columnist for a daily paper owned by one of the leading news publication companies in the country for the past 19 years myself, There's one thing drilled into our heads every single week - that it's all about the facts - check, check, and double check - give readers factual information in a timely manner without bias. This writer did none of those things. The news is nowhere near timely - geez, Chrissa's story was introduced in Dec 2008 - almost a year ago- and she wants us to be offended NOW? Where has she been all year? It sure wasn't at the library or anywhere for fact-checking...
Actually that's not correct - Lindsey (2001) & Jess (2006) didn't sell out in the time period stated and sales were briefly extended beyond the initial retirement date, with excess inventory eventually donated to charity. I believe that Marisol (2005) was the first doll to sell out, and Kailey (2003) was also extended into January, possibly Feb but will wait for somebody else to post and verify that before saying for certain. The past two DOTYs, Nicki and Mia, both sold out before Christmas as expected though. It remians to be seen if Chrissa & friends will or not...
I could buy my DDs 3 or 4 Barbies (sorry, few are $10 any more) to drag around with cheap hair that would shortly be permanently unmanageable and clothes that are hard to get on/off - OR I could buy one quality doll with a body, clothes and accessories that actually resemble real children more than grown women and a story that will teach them something, while encouraging a love of reading, for that same money which has a lifetime satisfaction guarantee and can be sent for exchange or repairs at any time - even after being passed down to their children. No doubt at all in my mind which is the better value...
FTR - I'm completely underwhelmed by Chrissa, Gwen and Sonali even though we own them. I'd much rather AG have introduced more DOTY clothing, furniture, access to go with Chrissa - like Nicki or Mia's whole world collection, as opposed to two more dolls. In fact, my issue with the two "friend" dolls was that neither had very much of a story and we weren't given a lot of background - or epilogue either - to develop those characters enough to warrant buying them.
The bottom line though is that Chrissa's story wasn't about homelessness - it was about bullying - much in the same way that we can probably agree Gone with the Wind wasn't about slavery even though the story touched on it.
Is it sad, reprehensible even, that people are homeless in America today? Sure it is. Given the economy, it's a reality more of today's kids may have to face one day in some way, shape or form. I can't help but think that putting a face on the homeless, and a character kids have some experience with & can relate to, can only help today's youth feel more empathy and compassion for those facing that hardship...
if I came across a doll like this in a store! Nothing like exploiting a homeless child for $. Just like the pp said, imagine what a real homeless child would think/feel or even the mother. I would imagine it would make a homeless mother feel 100 times more awful for being in that situation with her kids and not being able to help it.
EXPLOITATION!!!! DISGUSTING!!!
I agree with this statement
