# Child Abuse; it's all a bit of fun, isn't it? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 11, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688 "2003-07-11T12:11:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/1 "2003-07-11T12:11:34Z")
As featured in a number of news stories today. [Soviet Child Wrestlers](http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_798926.html) Can we count just how many ways this is offensive? [list=1] [li]Any child that size at that age has either a serious medical problem or parents who are killing him.[/li][li]Let’s make 4 year olds fight for a bit of fun![/li][li]Let’s make it a funny news story to liven up a slow news day![/li][li]Hey kid! Your weight is a good thing and not likely to kill you before you reach 30. Keep it up![/li][li]Hey kid! You’re famous as being a bit of a freak![/li][/list=1] ---
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/2 "2003-07-11T12:21:23Z")
I think it rocks… "And with the blue pacifier, the Gorger from Georgia, the Beast from the East, Georgy Bibilaaaaaauri !!! With the red pacifier, the Greasy from Tiblisi, the Eight-stone Wonder of the World, Dzhambulat Khotokhoooooov!!!" At least they’ll have enough money to get the fuck out of Russia… Only joking… ---
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/3 "2003-07-11T12:22:57Z")
I mean I’m joking about the money… they probably won’t even make enough to pay for the bus to the Liposuction Clinic. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/4 "2003-07-11T13:52:11Z")
You know, this kind of reminds me of those warlike societies in history that train their children for combat practically as soon as they can walk. I’ve heard that the Spartans were very big on this (at the very least, athleticism). ---
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/5 "2003-07-11T13:55:22Z")
At least they won’t get the shit bullied out of them in school… ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/6 "2003-07-11T14:09:19Z")
This is sad, very sad. ---
**Author:** ![7\_up\_yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/919ad9/32.png) [@7\_up\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7_up_yours)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/7 "2003-07-11T22:25:19Z")
Funny… you never see outrageously skinny kids thrown into a ring with another outrageiously skinny kid. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/8 "2003-07-11T22:35:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tarantula \* > \*\*At least they won’t get the shit bullied out of them in school… \*\* Yeah, the morbidly obese kid who can’t run never gets bullied at school. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/9 "2003-07-11T22:42:54Z")
Maybe they should team up and have a battle royale with the 4H kids. ---
**Author:** ![Apricot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@Apricot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apricot)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/10 "2003-07-11T23:33:29Z")
I don’t see the problem. The kids are already fat. It doesn’t seem that they were force fed for the publicity. It sounds friendly, it ended in a draw, then the kids went for ice cream. Then again, I’ve spectated at a wrestling event for the disabled. My favorite match up: The blind, limited mobility kid vs. the paraplegic, with less mobility, kid The kids seemed to be having a great time. It was the only time they were allowed to get down and really play without accomidations for their disability. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/11 "2003-07-11T23:51:11Z")
Calling this child abuse devalues the term for _real_ child abuse. Whatever negatives there are to this, at least they enjoyed themselves, sounds like. Not quite in the same league as beating or raping them, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/12 "2003-07-11T23:57:56Z")
Anyone know how much a “stone” is in pounds? [sub]…rassafrassin European weights and measures…[/sub] Anyway, put me in the “big fuckin’ deal” camp. There’s not exactly a lot of depth in that “article,” but I hardly see how it qualifies as child abuse. Little kids wrestling? So what? Kids wrestle all the time. Is it 'cause they’re fat? It’s not like their parents are breeding them big for some underground mafia baby wrestling circuit. It’s two fat kids romping around, having a bit of fun. The most objectionable thing about this story is that anyone considered it remotely newsworthy. So. Any bets on how many more posts until someone yells at the OP for calling overweight kids “freaks”? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/13 "2003-07-12T00:16:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*Maybe they should team up and have a battle royale with the 4H kids. \*\* Until the Russian manager comes in with a steel chair, whacks the 4H kids while the ref isn’t looking, and the Russians get the pinfalls and the belts… ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/14 "2003-07-12T00:18:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*Until the Russian manager comes in with a steel chair, whacks the 4H kids while the ref isn’t looking, and the Russians get the pinfalls and the belts… \*\* 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/15 "2003-07-12T00:28:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > **Anyone know how much a “stone” is in pounds?** To you sir? 14 of the Queen’s pounds ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/16 "2003-07-12T00:41:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*To you sir? 14 of the Queen’s pounds \*\* So the kid is… 123 pounds! :eek: I don’t envy the mother: they must’ve heard her labor pains from Lisbon to the Pacific Rim. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/17 "2003-07-12T12:22:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*Calling this child abuse devalues the term for _real_ child abuse. Whatever negatives there are to this, at least they enjoyed themselves, sounds like. Not quite in the same league as beating or raping them, is it? \*\* Well of course not, there degrees to everything. However, the diet this child is on, if he doesn’t have a medical condition, will give him health problems his whole life and eventually _kill_ him. Sure as apples are apples. If that doesn’t count as abuse, what does? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > **So. Any bets on how many more posts until someone yells at the OP for calling overweight kids “freaks”?** Except that’s not what I said. I was paraphrasing the news story and meant that these children are being _treated_ like sideshow freaks. However, if you want to take it like that. I’ve no problem saying that a 8 stone 11 pound (123 pounds) 4 year old is freakishly abnormal. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/18 "2003-07-12T12:38:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*Until the Russian manager comes in with a steel chair, whacks the 4H kids while the ref isn’t looking, and the Russians get the pinfalls and the belts… \*\* And if they’re pros, they won’t be listed as 123 pounds. Oh, nosiree. They’ll be “And from the former Soviet republic of Whatsiskubekitstan, weighing in at _four_ hundred _eighty_-seven pounds …” ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/19 "2003-07-12T13:21:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > \*\*Well of course not, there degrees to everything. However, the diet this child is on, if he doesn’t have a medical condition, will give him health problems his whole life and eventually _kill_ him. Sure as apples are apples. If that doesn’t count as abuse, what does? > > \ > > However, if you want to take it like that. I’ve no problem saying that a 8 stone 11 pound (123 pounds) 4 year old is freakishly abnormal. \*\* That 4-year-old weighs as much as me! I do hope their conditions are being addressed or their lives will be short ones. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688/20 "2003-07-12T13:22:39Z")
Oops, just wanted to add… It’s all fun and games until someone bruises a thigh. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/child-abuse-its-all-a-bit-of-fun-isnt-it/187688.md?page=2)