New Age Mumbo-jumbo

Sad and silly: When I read the article "Little Boy Blue" (by Jesse Hyde) in your March 9 edition, my first and final thought was, "This is total crap!" Yes, I read through the entire article--more than once, just to assure myself that it was written on newsprint in black ink. Truly, people, these are scary times.

This labeling of children as "indigos" is insidious. It is dangerous and untested. There's no true science or careful study. It's a program of psychological mumbo-jumbo that is incredibly unhealthy for growing minds.

For instance, if some similar New Age group was marketing a new pill for these kids, saying that it would help their little indigo brains to glow more brightly, wouldn't we want some smart, academic folks to test it for safety first?

Where's the testing for safety of this product?

That people are making money off parents' fears that their disruptive children may have psychic powers is sad and silly. That these children are being guided to believe that they have supernatural powers is reprehensible.

Has anyone thought for even the tiniest moment what might happen to these kids if someday they have a less-than-affirming experience? What should they be told? That their aura has faded? "Oh, it'll be all right, Dusk. You're just going to be a normal person from now on." Yeah, right.

If this is really an evolutionary process, we should all stop for a moment of silence. Silence. We should mourn the totally unrealizable potential of these missing-link kids. Really. It is no stretch to say that this world is nowhere near ready to be ushered into "a new golden age where love will triumph." Are you?

And, by the way, I'm not convinced that the age of Aquarius has brought us anything more than, well, more of the same...The same war, the same unrest, the same racism, the same destruction. Check the news if you're not sure. Our world is not getting better. But I digress.

Here's the important part: Real people, real children, are having their identities formed by some pretty wicked stuff. At the very least, it does nothing to prepare them for anything further than life in a commune. At the very worst, a generation of precious minds--not spoons--is being bent.

Hannah Brown

Arlington

Attack: Well, I'm done. I try to get through the Dallas Observer because there is a great deal of good information in there, and I want to know what is going on around town, but it's like The Howard Stern Show. By the second or third bit I am offended too much to continue. Again, your rag has attacked Christianity. The attack was not only unprovoked and unnecessary but out of place in the "Little Boy Blue" story about gifted children. I'm enjoying a well-written article about children with problems and quacks that take advantage of them and then I get, "Then again, a large chunk of Dallas--make that America--believes that a 33-year-old carpenter died, went to heaven and returned three days later a resurrected being." Your paper caters to the lowest denominator. It insults the intelligence of its readers. Now I'm not going to argue religion. I'm just not EVER going to read your paper again.

R. Blair

Fort Worth

Dusk's Nickelodeon time: Your article quotes the young boy Dusk as having said, "I am an avatar," and "I can recognize the four elements of earth, wind, water and fire." This might lead your readers to the conclusion that this boy is somehow imbued with knowledge of some ancient Eastern mysticism.

Avatar is actually a very popular animated series for children. The show stars a young boy, the Avatar, who must gain control of the four elements to save his people.

It is clear to me that this child was playing Avatar, and his words were not meant to be taken literally. I do not believe that your intent was to purposely mislead your readers. I just thought some clarification was in order. I am not convinced that these children represent the next step in our species evolution, but I do enjoy the Avatar series.

Dan Bryce

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Editor's note: We weren't aware of the Avatar connection until several of our readers pointed it out. Thanks for the info.

With supporters like these: So the two main supporters of this "indigo" movement you acknowledge in your article are, respectively, a former cult member who plagiarized and lied in his book and a woman who repeatedly touts her fake degree and claims she can talk to angels, and the fact that these two (with a few others) played their pipes and seduced a few thousand parents to follow them to a land free of parental responsibility merits a nonjudgmental exploration of this tripe?