Toddler Hitler's Dad: "Enough's Enough"

[The Straight Story]

The NJ father who gave his children Nazi-themed names gave an interview with MyFoxNY, to decry his family's treatment by the state authorities. Heath Campbell complained that his children were removed from their home only because of their names—and that the state isn't taking care of his kids.

Three-year-old Adolf HItler Campbell became (in)famous when his father told the media that a local Shop-Rite wouldn't inscribe a third birthday cake with "Happy Birthday, Adolf Hitler" (the supermarket would only write "Happy Birthday" and leave room for the parents to finish the inscription). As it turned out, the tot's younger siblings were named JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, and the family and their desired cake became an topic of national discussion. More recently, the children were removed from their parents, apparently over safety concerns.

Campbell and wife Deborah saw their kids for the first time, since they were taken, on Monday, and Campbell was aghast at their conditions, noting that one baby's diaper was leaking and that the kids' hair was in knots. He said there was no evidence of abuse, "They don't know us. If they lived in our home, they wouldn't take our kids away."

MyFoxNY noted that Campbell was speaking in violation of a gag order; he said, "Enough's enough. I can't take no more. Whether they jail me or not, I don't care. These are my children." The hearing over the children has not been held yet because the Campbells are waiting for a court-appointed attorney. The Campbells have also accused local authorities of harassing them.

http://gothamist.com/2009/01/29/toddler_hitlers_dad_speaks_out.php

[WI_DEM]

1. Instead of giving his kids those names why didn't he and his wife change their names to Hitler and

Eva Braun--instead of doing this to their innocent children.

p.s.
I guess they probably shouldn't have talked to the media.

[YOY]

2. Why'd you take them youngins away from us?

[Cleita]

3. I think they were wrong in taking the children from them.

According to what many progressives say, you can't criminalize what people think and apparently this is what this is about. It seems that parents who bother to get cake and have birthday parties for their kids aren't abusing them. Believe me I am no fan of Aryan Nation types but even they take care of their children.

[YOY]

5. Er, I knew a kid that grew up under his clansman daddy (mom died)

that really would have been better off elsewhere if someone had the courage to notice. Beatings were common place with drunken daddy.

Nice guy, I wonder how he is doing. (Nothing like his dad.)

[Jack Rabbit]

7. It's OK to take a kid away from a drunken brute

That has nothing to do with his political beliefs.

[YOY]

9. When part of the brutalization is beating him for hanging out with the wrong color people.

It can be.

Troy was a good man...he never let his daddy beat the hate into him. I really often wonder just how Troy is and if he still is alive. He had future meth addict written all over him.

[Jack Rabbit]

39. If the kid is beaten, that's wrong

Get the kid out of there and address the brutal parent's motives later.

I grew up with kids who also had racist parents. None were beaten.

[Sebastian Doyle]

6. It's fucking child abuse

Obviously, they're teaching the kids to hate, but beyond that, they're also guaranteeing that the poor kid is going to get his ass beat every single day in school.

[Cleita]

11. Well, a lot of kids are going to get their ass beat every day in school for

whom they are. It says more about the bullies than the victim and about a school system that doesn't address this problem. If you start taking kids away from their parents because they are teaching them to hate you will have to do it to half the population. How many people have a problem with immigrants and pass it on to their kids? Believe me there is plenty of hate spread around to kids.

[Sebastian Doyle]

19. I wasn't a bully in school by any means

But if there was a kid there named "Adolf Hitler" I probably wouldn't have gone out of my way to be nice to him either.

Actually, these idiots would be the type to "homeschool" (trailer school?) their kids just so they wouldn't "lern none of that goddamn diversity crap!!!111!!" so little Adolf might not have to worry about that after all.

(And if there are any "home schoolers" out there, I'm only against the idea when it's completely unqualified people doing it. Which would definitely be the case with the Aryan Nations "Parrints of the Yeer" award winners here.)

[Cleita]

20. Actually, most of them do home school and this is where the state needs to

lower the boom not removing the children from their parents. When I was a kid, it was the law that we had to go to public school or an accredited by the board of education private school. The reason for this was so that kids wouldn't be kept at home to work on family farms and businesses and so that they would be exposed to ideas other than in their immediate family most of home weren't that well educated either. My father quit school after the fifth grade and my mother didn't finish high school so they were hardly qualified to teach me much other than their own prejudices. I think we need to bring back those laws. Home schooling should be for special reasons and rare.

On edit: btw I was the only Latina in a school full of white kids so you can imagine how they treated me. I overcame it. I wore my difference proudly and I learned to fight. I eventually became admired for being bi-lingual, and having traveled a lot. (Back in those days, I was the only kid in the whole school who had ever flown in an airplane or been on a ship.) Believe me I capitalized on the notoriety and I also hope I educated a lot of ignorant people about Latin America, including one of my teachers who thought Chile was in the Philippines. I don't expect every kid to be able to do what I did though and this is why I think tolerance and a non-bullying policy is necessary in the classroom.

[treestar]

30. The kids didn't name himself

You wouldn't be nice to somebody because of their name, one of your own peers?

Seems as bad as freepers who think someone is bad just because they might have the name "Hussein."

[Sebastian Doyle]

55. I'm talking about kids here

If you went to a school where kids didn't get made fun of (or in the worst case) beat up because of a "weird" name, then you must have attended Never Never Land elementary.

There's a reason the President went by "Barry" when he was a kid.

[WolverineDG]

41. Ever heard of the First Amendment?

You can teach your kids anything you want but unless you are also teaching them to be violent (beating them, encouraging them to beat up others), you are not abusing them. If all the State has to go on in this case are the children's names, then the children should not have been removed.

dg

[marshall]

44. Round up every kid with a weird name?

That would have been half the high school where I used to teach, as well as the babies they were giving birth to. It was always a treat to hear the name given to one of my student's offspring. The teachers used to joke that they threw scrabble tiles down and whatever came up was the kid's name.

[LisaL]

65. Lots of actors and actresses would lose their kiddies if a weird

name was a reason for removal. Hell, what about Sarah Palin's kids and grandkid?
LOL.

[LisaL]

60. Well, look what many actors are naming their offsprings

While it's nowhere near "Adolph Hitler" lots of names are pretty weird and might potentially result in kids being made fun of. Who decides what name is o'key and what is not?

[hlthe2b]

8. I don't know... I suspect there is far more to the story...

one might predict a family that celebrates hate by naming their kids after Hitler and the White Supremacist movement might well have a few other "quirks" that might not be appropriate...

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. The story's got meth addiction written all over it.

[hlthe2b]

66. since we are speculating..... I could not agree more...

[LisaL]

62. Well I sure hope there is more to the story.

And kids weren't simply taken away because of their names.

[Posteritatis]

14. The names had nothing to do with the seizure of the kids

They've been denying the names are why the kids were taken over and over, despite what the family and a lot of the coverage is suggesting.

[Cleita]

15. If it's genuine child abuse they should say so otherwise it looks like the

parents are being singled out to be punished for what they believe. Child services is not always the best alternative. Sometimes the kids are better off with their parents even though they might be marginal.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

17. Wrong.

The case is sealed under confidentiality laws.

"it looks like the parents are being singled out to be punished for what they believe."

Do you really think that protective services is going to be taking children into protective custody without a good, legal reason?

Honestly?

C'mon.

[Cleita]

18. Yes, but if it's sealed, we don't know.

I've never known CPS to be shy about leaking a little to the press about meth use or beatings and such.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

25. So let me get this straight...

You know the CPS is breaking the law by taking away the child for illegitimate purposes, because if they were obeying the law and taking the child for legitimate purposes they would be breaking the laws on confidentiality.

Did I get that right?

[Cleita]

31. You and I know about the same regarding this, which is nada.

Anything else is speculation. So I suggest we quit it now until further facts come out.

[WolverineDG]

42. LOL!!

They do it every day. :rofl:

dg

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

49. Riiiiight.

Is that when they put the tiny radios in your fillings?

[WolverineDG]

57. LOL!!

Keep believing CPS never lies & never removes kids when there's no reason to.

dg

[philosophie_en_rose]

24. They should not say so.

The court is the only ones that need the information. CPS does not need to tell the public about these children's experiences.

[Cleita]

32. So what if the CPS is the problem but no one knows until there is a tragedy

because there isn't a little hint there that the parents were bad and couldn't do better? It has happened that children were removed from situations, but remedial situations, and placed into worse situations with neglectful and uncaring foster parents. Some children have died because of it. I still don't think that parents who bother to give a birthday party for what looks like a healthy child could have done anything so bad other than the way they think. I need more information.

[dysfunctional press]

43. bullshit.

they never would have even looked into the family if not for the brouhaha over the names.

[Posteritatis]

47. Okay, find me something that says the kids were taken because of the names

I'll wait.

[dysfunctional press]

56. the parents wouldn't have even been looked at if not for the names...

it may not have been given as the official reason- but if not for the names, they never would have been investigated, and therefore not taken.

:eyes:

[LisaL]

64. Really? The names are what got them in the news.

Soon thereafter the kids were removed.
I sincerely doubt the names had nothing to do with the seizure of the kids.

[G_j]

22. after thinking about this, it occurs to me

that naming their kids this way, may be fairly equivalent to tattooing a swastika on their foreheads, especially the boy they named Adolf Hitler.

an argument to be made that this is abuse?

[Cleita]

33. But the physical act of tatooing a swastika is different than the mental

act of naming the kid Hitler. A name can always be changed. The three year old has no idea who Hitler is but it sure would hurt getting a tatoo. For what it's worth, I have seen White Supremist parents put T-Shirts on their kids with Aryan Nation symbols including Swastikas and Confederate flags. I have seen pictures of kids with same symbols painted on their faces not tatooed. Are we going to take their kids away for what they wear? Remember back in the sixties when hippie parents were harassed because of how they dressed their kids and painted peace symbols on them. The minute you allow something like this and approve of it, you are setting up a situation where it could be done to you because there is a precedent.

[G_j]

37. I understand your point

and aside from the rest of it, I certainly don't think the state does anything resembling good parenting either!

It is sad, I believe a child under 14 must have their parents permission to change their name.

[JerseygirlCT]

23. I seriously doubt they were removed because of their names

Those agencies are up to their eyeballs in caseloads. It wouldn't be a legal reason to remove the kids. Why in the world would they break the law AND add to their own workload?

No, there's something more here, I'm sure of it. It's possible that their grandstanding about the kids' names attracted some attention of neighbors who then noticed other things not right in the home, but I seriously doubt these kids were removed over their names.

[Winterblues]

40. You don't consider naming a child such as cruelty?

What sort of Hell do you expect those children to go through because of those names? I can very much agree with the removal of those children from those people as they have proved through those names that they don't care about the children at all, but only how they themselves will be received.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. My favorite part...

was when the grandma was pulled over for drunken driving on the way to court for a competency hearing for the custody of the children.

[Cleita]

12. Which probably explains a lot about why her kid turned out to be a

wacked out extremist.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. Oh, I don't know.

Maybe she became a drunk because her kid's a wacked out extremist.

[Ghost in the Machine]

21. At least try to get your facts straight..the grandmother wasn't driving, *she* wasn't "pulled over

Little Adolf Hitler Campbell’s parents are already in the midst of a custody battle. And now they may have even more trouble on their hands, because grandma was sauced in the backseat of their car, according to Adolf’s mother.

Deborah Campbell, Adolf's mom, claims the couple was mistreated by Raritan Township police during a traffic stop.

With husband Heath at the wheel and her mother in the backseat, Deborah was headed to family court Jan. 13, when they were pulled over by police at around 10 a.m.

Deborah claimed police referred to him as “the Nazi guy” and quizzed him about his tattoos, one of which is a swastika, according to the Express-Times. She says they also made Heath take a sobriety test after allegedly smelling alcohol in the car.

But, it was grandma drunk in the backseat, not Heath, Deborah said. She was headed to court with the couple in hopes the three children would be released to her if the parents could not gain custody.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/weird/Adolf-Hitlers-Grandma-Drunk-While-Headed-to-Court.html?corder=reverse

As usual though, some posters here don't let facts interfere with their righteous outrage or indignation....

[smokey nj]

26. Drunken granny was hoping the court would release the kids to HER?

:crazy:

[Ghost in the Machine]

50. Drunks aren't known for their outstanding thinking skills...

:hi:

[smokey nj]

54. Makes you wonder why they even let her in the car. I can't imagine that sloshed relatives

are much of a help at custody hearings.

[philosophie_en_rose]

27. Grandma was drunk in the back seat, on her way to ask for custody.

I don't know the facts of the child abuse case, but there may be a lack of insight right there. If I can't have my kids, I'm not going to let them go with someone that's drunk enough to stink up a car.

[Ghost in the Machine]

51. I have to agree with you on that... I don't want *any* drunk around my kids..

and they're teenagers now...

:hi:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

28. Oh, yes well that's entirely different.

:rofl:

What were you saying about righteous outrage and indignation?

[Ghost in the Machine]

53. Hey, at least it's FACTUAL...

... but if you enjoy making yourself look stupid, please don't let me stop you...

You posted a 'factual inaccuracy', otherwise known as a 'lie'.... it doesn't lead to productive discussion...

Carry on...

Ghost

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

61. It's also splitting hairs.

:shrug:

[aikoaiko]

16. Of course the authorities are probably bound by privacy laws from speaking about the details.

But I'm opposed to them being taken away because of their names

And I'm opposed to them being taken away because their parents made a public spectacle of them. That makes them no worse than stage parents.


Of course, there could be very good reasons why they were taken away.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

29. I love seeing pictures of white supremacists

My jewish ass looks more like the "master race" than this pair does,

[LeftishBrit]

34. I'm surprised he's not 'Archbishop Campbell' yet, given the current Pope's predilections!

[orleans]

35. of course if the children were taken because of their names then it is horribly wrong

i certainly wouldn't want anyone taking my children because of their names (peace, rainbow, star--which btw i did not name my children...but if i did...)

of course you can't remove children based on a parent's belief system

i would hope that was not why they were taken. and, of course the parents are going to be in complete denial about whatever the real reason is.

[smokey nj]

38. Methinks the kids' names are merely the tip of the iceberg in this case.

They were pulled over on their way to court; one of the childrens' grandmothers was with them and she was drunk. Ghost in the Machine posted a link to an article about the traffic stop upthread.

[blogslut]

36. IMHO

I think there's something off about that mother and that may be the reason the children were removed from the home. I have no proof but to me, she looks like she has some serious problems.

[mitchum]

45. Wasn't it reported that this family is a bunch of Irish Traveler grifters?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

46. Insufficient information to make fair judgment is available.

"The parents are nazis" is not sufficient reason to take children in to care.

There may or may not be other good reasons to have taken the children in to care.

As such, anyone who does not have more information than is available in the OP and says either "they should have been taken" or "they should not have been taken" is not being sensible.

[old mark]

48. I think we should start taking young kids away from religious rightists, too.

[Maru Kitteh]

52. He doesn't deserve to spend time with them, and now he's admitted he's a kidnapping risk

I hope they find the children good parents and the poor kids never have to deal with these assholes that bore them again.

[Tsiyu]

58. One of the key issues to DCS and juvenile judges

is something you might call "good judgment."

If the parents lacked the judgment to not name their kid after a notorious, hated historic figure, it does not mean they lack judgment as parents. But more likely it does point to adults who put their own needs ahead of their children's needs.

And who in their right mind goes to the media to bitch about a cake? Did the parents not believe they would encounter problems with a name like that? Lack of rational thought. Suppose the cake decorator was Jewish with grandparents who died in concentration camps? Sure, she's going to pipe that on a cake!

See, these folks are not in touch with reality. Chances are, their kids were suffering in more ways than one from the parents' selfish, narcissistic view of the world.

[LisaL]

59. Children are supposed to be in imminent danger for them to be

removed from parents. I don't think naming the kid an Adolph Hitler is imminent danger.

[Tsiyu]

67. You are correct

and, as others have noted, we don't know all the facts. For example, I don't know who reported them to authorities so have no clue who initiated a DCS investigation or why it was initiated.

If the children were removed there were environmental or other issues that made DCS feel they had to remove them. And I don't think DSC offices are always right but don't know enough here to say.

Just making an observation above: maybe there is more to these parents

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

63. Violating the gag order probably isn't going to go to their favor.

[Tsiyu]

68. Update on story

From NYT:


Snip:

The Campbells’ neighbors described a family living on the fringe, financially and socially. Mr. Campbell, 35, and his wife, Deborah, 25, do not work and receive disability payments for emphysema and neck pain, respectively. Their landlord, Larry Lippincott, who shares the two-family home, said the family is often up all night.

“I hear the kids playing at 2:30 in the morning and the TV on,” Mr. Lippincott said. “He told me he was a night person and didn’t like to do anything during the day.”

Mr. Lippincott, a truck driver, said Mr. Campbell went through a Confederate flag phase a few years ago, but was now into swastikas, which decorated the apartment and were etched in skull decals on his car.
Mr. Campbell, a collector of German combat knives, also wears Nazi-era boots and, according to Mr. Lippincott, likes to click his heels together. A neighbor, Robert Heckman, said Mr. Campbell had boasted to him about using government money to pay for his cigarettes. Mr. Lippincott said he had decided — before the cake incident — not to renew the Campbells’ lease when it expired in November because, he said, a relative they frequently argue with threatened to “firebomb the house.” He expects to begin eviction proceedings soon.

“snip.’ ”

The Holland Township police chief, David Van Gilson, said that officers have answered noise complaints and domestic incidents at the apartment, but never received complaints of child abuse, although he said other agencies could have.

snip


From a story by Lisa W. Foderaro

[Hannah Bell]

69. "and, according to Mr. Lippincott, likes to click his heels together."

[Tsiyu]

70. Sounds like a swell guy, right? n/t