The Balloon Boy saga was like the “Baby Jessica down a well” saga of 23 years ago, except sped up for the Internet age. It took 58 hours to get Jessica out of the well. The Balloon Boy thing lasted a few hours. Recent information, however, suggests it’s more like the “Bart down a well hoax” Simpson’s episode of 17 years ago.
The first “tell” probably should have been that the Balloon Boy family had been on a reality television show. After the prospect of a kid trapped in a run away balloon captured the attention of a nation, the balloon crashed into a field with no kid inside. Then he was “found” in the family’s attic. But, bless the imperfect lying skills of 6 year olds, when questioned by Wolf Blitzer, the kid turned to Dad and said, “you guys said we did this for the show.” The most recent thing I saw was that the kid threw up during morning show interviews. I don’t blame the kid at all. Indications are that the dad is consumed with fame-seeking. If this is a hoax – and I’m 99% sure it is – I hope the world comes crashing down on the guy.
Hunter, of Daily Kos fame, made a pointed media critique: “horrible thing, happening live” does not equal news. It’s a snuff film with anchors. This incident caught our attention at the same time most of us ignore the much greater number of children at risk from non-balloon related causes. I suppose it goes back to the Stalin quote about how one death is a tragedy, one million deaths is a statistic.
My first thought when seeing this playing out live was “Oh my god, what are they doing?? They are going to show this kid die live??”
When he was found, a friend suggested that it was a waist of tax dollar and my first thought was “Come on, he is six, you cannot blame him for doing something he thought was funny at the time.”
Now that the father is probably involve, I hope he gets a bill.
There are consequences for calling in law enforcement and emergency services under false pretenses, aren’t there? If it turns out to be a stunt, I do hope we bill him. I don’t want the police to have to chase down hoaxers when really public safety is at stake.
I’m as skeptical as the next person, BUT this family could be innocent. Could this be a situation where the family is a little strange, more than a little enamored of media attention, but in this instance they really believed that their boy was in the balloon or a box attached to it?
South Park will straighten it all out
Okay, so I admit my approach to the Law is idiosyncratic, but, for example, they just got around to charging that Lawrence North swim coach with child molesting the other day, despite the fact that he texted his dewey inamorata:
“uh I hv been there…no I told you im the snuggle guy…luv to snuggle…windows open cold air blowing in and ur in my arms.” (e.g.)
And without crowing about an ugly situation, my own take–that a 36-year-old man texting should be a Class A misdemeanor, texting anyone under 21 should be a felony, and typing “ur” for “you are” should be a capital offense–would have saved a lot of heartbreak. Similarly, a family which has been on reality teevee, twice, and where the father describes himself as a “stormchaser” and a “scientist” investigating “extraterrestrial life”? Let alone naming a child “Falcon”? No way in hell they should even have had custody. It’s only the fact that I’m something of a Fifth amendment absolutist keeps me from demanding two-to-five on the reality show appearance alone.
Oh, and the tell is no six-year-old hides for several hours without orders. Try to make one stand still for two minutes some time.
Convenient the way they just ‘happened’ to have a video cam rolling at the moment of liftoff of the balloon to capture all the anguish and angst. Dad is a really bad actor in several ways, methinks.
And, I sure would like to know if they got union scale for each and every one of them appearing on morning news shows. I bet they did.