Remember 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell?
He’s the little boy whose name was the center of an international firestorm in December after a Greenwich, N.J., supermarket refused to write his name on a birthday cake. The store said it was inappropriate and refused to give an apology after the parents demanded one.
Sgt. John Harris of the Holland Township Police Department has confirned that Adolf Hitler Campbell and his sisters, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, were taken from their Holland Township, N.J., home on Friday by the state's Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS).
Their father, Heath Campbell, is expected in court Thursday in Flemington, N.J., in connection with the case. Kate Bernyk, a spokeswoman for the DYFS, said confidentiality laws barred her from commenting on the case or even confirming that the Campbell children were involved.
"DYFS has their reasons and they normally don’t release any information, so we kind of have to go on faith with them," Harris said. Police were not told what the agency was investigating. "I’ve dealt with the family for years and as far as the children are concerned, I have never had any reports of any abuse with the children," Harris said. "As far as I know, he’s always been very good with the children."
"Just from knowing Mr. Campbell from the past ten or so years, I've never known him to abuse his children and when he has talked about his children he has been very much into his kids. Very loving,” Harris said.
Speaking generally, Bernyk said the state's "decision to remove a child is based on the safety and well being of the child and the risk to that child, and that decision is made in conjunction with the courts and the county family court judge."
Forensic psychologist N.G. Berrill said naming a boy Hitler could be considered child abuse. "Part of it is the infantile nature of the parents’ behavior," Berrill said. "You can name your dog something weird, but they think they’re making some kind of bold statement with the children, not appreciating that the children will have separate lives and will be looked at in a negative light until they’re able to change their name. It is abuse."
If it turns out that the Campbell children were taken from their parents because of their names, it wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened. Last year, a New Zealand court removed a 9-year-old girl from her parents in order to change her birth name: Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. In that country, officials do not deem a name abusive unless it causes serious bullying.
I think people need to take their heads out of the cloud they've been in and start focusing on the future and not on the past," Heath Campbell said Tuesday in an interview. "There's a new president and he says it's time for a change; well, then it's time for a change," he continued. "They need to accept a name. A name's a name. The kid isn't going to grow up and do what (Hitler) did."
[Compiled from several news sources.]
I can certainly imagine situations in which action should be taken against parents who make very poor choices in naming a child (for example, if a parent were to give a child a name that included obscene words). But if government is going to get in the business of regulating names, action should be taken at the time when the parents choose the name, i.e., when the child is a newborn. Waiting until a child is 3 years old to address the problem is stupid. Taking the child away is irresponsible and subjects the child to psychological trauma that amounts to child abuse.
Another point: regulating baby names puts us on a very slippery slope. Where do you draw the line? What if someone names their child Stalin Campbell? How about Pol Pot Campbell or Kim Jong-il Campbell? Would Ahmadinejad Campbell be okay?
Update:
Adolf Hitler Campbell custody hearing postponed
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