Pat Davis

Pat Davis
Location
Great Falls, Virginia,
Birthday
February 25
Bio
I am a writer and activist living on the outskirts of Washington, DC. My articles have appeared in The Nation and Hispanic magazines and my poems and translations have been published in Poet Lore, Wordwrights, New Laurel Review, Potomac Review, Salt Hill, Puerto del Sol, and the anthology Cabin Fever. With torture survivor Sister Dianna Ortiz, I co-authored The Blindfold's Eyes, published in 2002. For many years, I worked at the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA as communications director and eventually as interim executive director. I've recently started writing plays. "Alternative Methods," my first full-length play, deals with the ethical struggles a pscyhologist faces while working on an interrogation team in Iraq. It's gotten a couple of readings in New York. Anyone out there with ideas on how to get this produced, feel free to pass along your wisdom. Nearly two years ago I became a mother and have learned more about myself and life in those two years than in all my previous decades. I love Open Salon--I love reading the posts, being invited to think about things, and having some shared discourse.

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Salon.com
Editor’s Pick
OCTOBER 16, 2008 6:56PM

The Insidious Plot of the Talking Dolls

Rate: 7 Flag

 A new doll that coos and gurgles and says Mama is "spouting hate," as Fox news puts it.  The hateful words people have heard in the baby doll's gurglings: "Islam is the light."  People believe she is saying "Satan is King," as well, which Fox reports but does not try to demonstrate.  (It would be impossible to demonstrate--while she says something that sounds like Islam and light nothing she says sounds like Satan or king).   

Hate-spouting dolls are nothing new, but up to now they have tended to specialize in personal insults, which only a few particular parents have heard.  The Teletubby who was heard to say  "Faggot, faggot, bite my butt" comes to mind.   Then there's the woman who thought her daughter's Little Mermaid was calling her a slut.  Add to that several cases of Elmo books and dolls issuing death threats . 

But the  Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Cuddle & Coo Doll has broken new ground. This is the first time that numerous parents in various states believe a doll is trying to brainwash their children.  What a Rorschach test.   A doll is trying to convert our nation's children to Islam just as that guy with a Muslim name is running for president.  While the doll's garbled sounds are open to interpretation, what society has said back is unequivocal: a stated belief in Islam=spewing hate; and if you believe Islam is the light you probably also believe Satan is king.  Can't we go back to the good old days when dolls insulted us and threatened to kill our children?        

     

 

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scheming, dolls, belief and religion

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Frankly, I would prefer one of those dolls to the one that makes "pee'ing" sounds in a doll potty and where you can oooo and ahhh over the doll poo before you flush the toilet for the doll.
ElizabethMcDonald DesignatedKnitter
October 16, 2008 08:48 PM
Yes, Elizabeth, I know what you mean. My daughter will soon be at that stage where pee-pee, poo-poo and potties are objects of toil and fascination. I really hope we don't have to bring dolls in on the act too.
Pat Davis
October 17, 2008 12:47 AM
Can't we go back to the good old days when dolls insulted us and threatened to kill our children?

Sounds good to me.
Freaky Troll
October 17, 2008 09:49 PM
Have you seen the commercial for that British baby doll that is -- ahem correct in all his parts -- and pees? The commercial actually shows him peeing on "Dad's" face. The "pee pee" moves and all. Can you imagine if THAT came to the US? The manufacturer would be sued for child porn, I'm pretty sure. I think I saw it on the Soup, or perhaps the Daily show.
Hillbilly Aunt
October 18, 2008 01:32 AM
It was on the soup. Here's a LINK.
Freaky Troll
October 18, 2008 05:00 PM
I saw the title and was momentarily transported back to childhood, where the "Talky Tina" episode of The Twilight Zone caused me to bury all my dolls in the back of the closet for fear they'd kill me in my sleep.....alright, I'm back now.

Anyway, to the point, people are absolutely ridiculous and you are completely right in your Rorschach test assessment. If a fear is in you, you'll find somewhere to project it. You know, like Cindy McCain saying Sen. Obama had run the dirtiest campaign in history....do-do-doo-doo, do-do-doo-doo.....
K.J. White
October 18, 2008 07:29 PM
Freaky Troll, thanks for the link. It is quite shocking. I guess we're the prudes, not the British. A moving weenie? Peeing in dad's face? I think there would be law suits for sure, you're right about that, Hillbilly Aunt.
Pat Davis
October 18, 2008 09:09 PM