America's cardboard army of Flat Daddies boosts families

Craig

Craig

Jedi Master
Paul Harris and Javier Espinoza
Sunday October 8, 2006
The Observer

It is one of the hardest things about being a military family. How to cope when a husband and father, or wife and mother, is posted abroad, especially to combat zones such as Iraq or Afghanistan.

Now the United States army has come up with a bizarre solution: Flat Daddy and Flat Mommy.

Many military units can provide families with a life-size cardboard cutout of their overseas warrior. The family can then take that figure to parties, put it in the passenger seat of their car, take it to bed or do whatever it is that families want to with a replica of their loved one.

Named after Flat Stanley, a children's book character who was squashed flat, the cutouts have been a surprise hit since they were introduced. In Maine alone, the state's National Guard has given out more than 200 Flat Soldiers since January. The scheme began in North Dakota when one army wife, Cindy Sorenson, made up a life-size photograph of her former husband for their daughter, after he was sent to Iraq. The model helped the girl cope with missing her father and Sorenson mentioned it to a motivational speaker, Elaine Dumler, who included it in a book.

From there the idea took off and has been adopted by units across America. They can be found going on dates with their wives in Alaska and having dinner with their families in Colorado.

Experts believe the cutouts are a useful psychological device, especially for children, that helps cope with the stress of long absences. It allows the family to genuinely feel the missing person is still involved in day-to-day life.

'Families miss people so much when they are gone that they try to bring their soldier everywhere,' said Barbara Claudel, director of the Maine National Guard's family unit.
Click to expand...
 
I can't really put my finger on why, but to me this seems to be just a little bit twisted. I can understand the how it helps psychologically for a child to be able to see a loved one, but it could be taken way out of context. I don't know, just something about interacting with a cardboard cutout just spooks me. Just my paranoia coming out I guess.
 
Well,

It is cheaper than providing an OP, I guess. Whatever works, works, if
only they can use their imaginations. Wonder what would happen if the
REAL mommy/daddy comes home? Would the cardboard mommy/daddy
be more preferable because they don't nag? I see psychologist drooling....
moola! moola! moola!

Quite tragic.
 
What the....

This is unbelievable.

Maybe the PTB wants to replace everyone with cardboard cut-outs, they're flamable and they don't complain.
The perfect citizen.
 
www.bagnewsnotes.com ran this picture just last week -
flat-daddy-tm.jpg

It strikes me as just so sad and sick...
 
http://signs-of-the-times.org/signs/editorials/signs20060901_FlatDaddiesandBronzePooSomethingIsRottenInTheStateOfAmerica.php

;-)

Joe
 
LOL "take that figure to parties, put it in the passenger seat of their car".

Things are much worse than I thought.
 
Joe said:
http://signs-of-the-times.org/signs/editorials/signs20060901_FlatDaddiesandBronzePooSomethingIsRottenInTheStateOfAmerica.php

;-)

Joe
Click to expand...
Tom Cruise lost his marbles. Or maybe they were confiscated as a terr'ist threat at some airport checkpoint. Or maybe he sold them at eBay under an alias.

Britney's bronze? Jezuz man. What the hell?

And flat daddies and mommies? This is ridiculous!!!

How much more desensitization can occur? That's how I see this - desensitizing.
 
This can only be one of those ludicrous reality distortions inspired by pathocrats to enable their continued slaughter of innocents, or a sad and desperate attempt at solving a heart-breaking problem by a mind too ponerized to think straight.

Let's see here... Little Timmy misses his Dad, who's off in Iraq robotically doing the bidding of his "leaders". The solution to little Timmy's woes?

1) Bring Dad safely home to little Timmy, so they can grow together as a family?

or

2) Create a cardboard replica of Dad that little Timmy can project his emotional needs upon (even take to parties if needed), thus keeping Dad available to murder "Ay-rab" families in their sleep and drag any survivors back to Abu Ghraib for a cordial "debriefing"?

Hint: If answer (2) looks even remotely sensible, you might need some time off - perhaps a bit of hiking in the mountains with a few friends...


The mind boggles.
 
Actually this idea isn't new. When reagan was president I remember a joke going round that he was really a cardboard cutout that was wheeled out in front of the audience when required, and propped up from behind with a stick. The joke was before his attempted assassination, and he seemed to be a shell of a man after that, so cudos to the puppeteers.
Dubya aint doing too bad an impression either. Though they've probably improved on the cardboard since Reagans days.

But to get back to the story, thinking about problem, reaction, solution:

Problem: Dad/mom/partner are thousands of miles away, busily spreading freedom and democracy.
Reaction: Family missing them dearly.
Solution: why not send the cardboard cutouts over to do the job and let the soldiers stay at home.
 
Mark said:
How much more desensitization can occur? That's how I see this - desensitizing.
Click to expand...
That's what I was thinking. Thank you, Mark, for filling in the word for me.

It seems to me the next step is taking chidren out of the home and raising them with a family of cardboard cutouts to relate to. No emotions from anyone, no love, no laughter, only the non-emotion that the PTB want to create in their future soldiers. Heck, just raise the embryos in test tubes and put them with a cardboard family.

Okay, I guess I sort of got carried away. Anart, that picture is totally sick. Thanks for sharing it though.
 
For some reason, this reminds me of that monkey baby trying to nurse on a wire mommy. *shudder* But who knows - the idea could take off. ie: What if we erected giant cardboard tree cutouts in the Amazon as we clear them out. There'd be massive logistics/transportation savings by keeping wood products there in the local economy *and* cardboard is bio-degradable so hey, win-win.
 
sleepyvinny said:
:O
makes me want to throw up.
Click to expand...
me too!!!
And just when I thought I had seen everything. Tom Cruise 's daughter's bronze poop, and flat mommies and daddies gives me yet another shock in how deeply disturbing this reality is.

I had seen the Britney Statue pic a while back though. What is up with the bear?:/

Nina
 
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