Some Things Can Wait Until the Kids are a bit Older

A fourteen year old girl was recently shot in the head in Pakistan by the Taliban for advocating the education of women.  This appalling act of barbarity reverberated around the world.  It has even penetrated to places that only have the most tenuous of connections with the world, like Hollywood.  Apparently Angelina Jolie has written an essay detailing how she explained the event to her children.

OK, let's leave aside the question of whether its appropriate to be telling preteens cheery stories about young girls getting shot in the head.  Actually, let's not.  Why on earth would you give that sort of information to an eight year old?  What precisely are they supposed to do with it?  When I was eight my coping mechanism was fully engaged dealing with the fact that Santa wasn't real.  I'm a firm believer in not wrapping children in cotton wool but there is a difference between that and actively rubbing their faces in one of the most hideous acts one human being can perform on another.  There are a few facts of life that can wait until the children hit puberty.  Such as the fact that their mother is bat crazy for instance.

Still at least the world knows that Angelina is on the case.  Haiti had to lose a quarter of a million people in an earthquake before she noticed them.  Incidentally, does anyone know the outcome of that?  Are the people of Haiti still living lives of ghastly, deprived misery or have they returned to their usual state of ghastly deprived misery?  Maybe Angelina could tell us.

In the meantime Malala the brave Pakistani girl indirectly responsible for the Jolie kid's future psychological problems is in hospital in Britain.  She's under police guard at the moment due to the fact that a number of people have pretended to be relatives in order to try and get close to her.  The fear is that the Taliban might try and finish the job although its probably just natural curiosity.  I wouldn't stand the police down just yet though.  It's entirely possible that one of them was Angelina Jolie looking to adopt her.