Celebrity adoptions.

al‧tru‧ist  (al-troo-ist) -noun
a person unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others (opposed to egoist).

Might as well jump in the band wagon and share my thoughts in the ever present saga of celebrities adopting children from impoverished countries/backgrounds.

This I see not as an overwhelming desire from the celebrities to help people, not entirely at least. Though some good intentions must be somewhere, I see it more like a fashion and a grandiose self-pat on the back. It is a show about how benevolent they are and how much they care.

Sticking to current debate let me point out a couple of things about Madonna adopting a child. It is fine and soooooooo nice of her to be so kind. Something that she has really going for her and will definitely help her case is not only is she loaded but this is soooooooo important and close to her heart that she sent the babysitter to collect the child. She was probably too busy to go or it wasn't as safe as going the last time with an entire TV crew to record her generosity. Though this might be good as the kid will probably spend more time with her once the adoption goes through. They need to familiarise.

Below are a couple of exerts from articles and their links to what I think it is important to highlight:

• Malawi law requires would-be parents to live in the country for a year while social welfare officers investigate their ability to care for the child.
  
• Foreigners are not allowed to adopt children - but these rules appear to have been waived in Madonna's case.
  
• Source GMTV

The singer said she wanted to "open up our home and help ONE child escape an extreme life of hardship, poverty and in many cases death". Source BBC News

The bullet points are very straight forward and one can always overcome such obstacles with some cash or in this case, showing enough interest and good intention. However, the BBC one is more important to me. She specifically reduces the benefit to ONE child. With all the money already spent, the cost of the babysitter (who will actually spend most of the time with the child) and all the posh clothes... IN A LIFE TIME... couldn't that help to buy HIV suppressant drugs for the community where the little boy comes from?!?!?

Maybe that is just me being cynical. Maybe that is me not understanding their altruistic nature. The funniest thing is that I don't really see the kids growing up that aware of their origins or the troubles that plague their homelands. They might grow to be spoilt brats who will not rally for the same cause of their adoption.

It seems to me now that these kids have been reduced to fashion accessories. You will have to check for next season whether if Chinese is the new Black.

So damn Mia Farrow for so long ago starting this fashion. And remember the ending in the Farrow/Allen foreign baby adoption story...