Falcon's Aftermath: The Danger Was on the Ground

In an incredibly brief amount of time, the story of the so-called Balloon Boy morphed from drama to farce. I'm not saying that just because it turned out the little boy, Falcon Heene, was never even on that runaway weather balloon the world was watching for two hours Thursday. What authorities in Colorado are saying now is that he accidentally let the balloon go, was worried he'd get punished, and hid in the house while the whole misunderstanding was unfolding on national TV. Weird story, but understandable -- six-year-olds think that way. What is not understandable to me is the way his parents are exploiting him, and their other sons, on national television ever since it happened.

Barely an hour after finding out their son was not dead, and far short of the time necessary to give Falcon's brothers a chance to even begin to process the trauma they must have experienced, there were their parents, holding a press conference, the three sons right there up front. Did anybody else besides me think that the boys looked utterly confused and addled the whole time the cameras were on them? Little Falcon at one point, showing complete common sense in that situation, just ran away from the horde of reporters and photographers facing him from a few feet away. (Chuckling, his mom went and dragged him back into the fray. Oh, that Falcon!)

But that was just the start. On CNN last night, there was the whole family again, the boys showing the same nervous twitchiness as before, only this time it was hours later. Falcon shouldn't have been on national television. He should have been in bed, or playing with his brothers, or being read to by his mom -- anything to put him into a healing, comforting environment as far away from the media glare as possible.

And it still wasn't over. One of the big news items today is that Falcon actually vomited on live television when the family was on "Good Morning America." This makes me want to vomit. Do you know how early you have to get up in the Mountain Time Zone to be interviewed at the top of one of the network morning shows? This had to have been the scenario: after three hours of frightful trauma for Falcon and his brothers Thursday morning and afternoon, they're paraded in front of cameras like trained monkeys well into the evening. Then, they're shaken awake by their parents around 3 in the morning to get them up and ready to talk again about Falcon's humiliating experience, this time on GMA. We're talking about a six-year-old child here, incapable of having any kind of complete grasp of what is going on around him, publicly pushed to the point that he actually became physically ill. But, by God, the parents got another shot on national television! Good for them!

Some people were saying after the balloon chase that the parents should be investigated by child services in Colorado, to find out how there could be a scenario where it might even seem as if this little boy had been carried away in a balloon. I disagree; strange as the whole situation was, it was really just a misunderstanding (I'm assuming, as authorities in Colorado say they're assuming, that this was not a hoax engineered by the father). However, I would call in child protective services to look into the greedy, selfish, publicity-grasping response by the mother and dad to the whole thing, a response that clearly borders on being abusive toward their own flesh and blood.

Of course, with their experience on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap" (and with a classy title like that, you know it had to be an enriching experience for the boys) Mr. and Mrs. Heene know how the game is played: you offer your children up like little on-camera accessories while you get that reality spotlight focused right on you. Maybe someday there will be a specific psychological diagnoses for children emotionally harmed this way by their narcissistic parents; they can call it Jon-Kate Syndrome.

I can't help but think that during those endless interviews, with those lights glaring in his face and people shouting questions he couldn't even begin to fathom, that Falcon was wishing he was someplace else; maybe flying away from everything in a little balloon, high into the sky, where--as it turns out--he might have felt safer.

Comments

[winningticket]

The exploitation of children and chimpanzees in entertainment must stop.

[user168]

And a natural worry mom would get up instantly and follow little ill and vomiting Falcon to see how he was doing.

[James Dubro]

Balloon man shld be sentenced to never be allowed to appear on TV (reality show or not) or to profit from his tabloid personality disorder. But in the dysfunctional and dystopian reality that has become a lot of what the US is today because of tabloid tv and "reality" tv, he will probably be feted, become a multi-millionaire and have his own TV reality show. cheers... james dubro

[dynwit]

Yes, the parents were shameless. But I would also like to see the media acting a little more responsibly in cases like this. It's up to all of us to protect children who are not being protected by their own parents. Someone on the GMA set should have stopped the interview when Falcon threw up, and perhaps offered some medical services. They might have even said something ON THE AIR to the parents about the need to take care of Falcon now and re-schedule the interview for later. I saw NOTHING LIKE THAT, just a voracious push to get the family on the air and exploit them to the fullest. If you have exploiting parents AND exploiting media, the poor kids have got absolutely no chance. Where are the on-set child advocates in these cases? Where are the medical personnel and the psychologists? Should these not be required any time children are used by the media?

[springsm]

Yes, the media didn't waste time beating this story to oblivion...getting the family on TV, etc. They didn't and don't show responsible behavior at all, ever. Exploit exploit and exploit.

[ccoppe]

Thanks, Jim, for at least scratching the surface of this sorry situation.

IMO, The Heenes are child-abusers, lustfully and recklessly using their children as magnets for any media attention they can get.

The real horror here is:
Reality Shows have become the pre-eminent prostitution industry of the 21st Century -- and we all feed it. Producers are the pimps, audiences are the johns, and (contract signing) participants are the whores.

And the victims? Well, just look at Falcon and see who the victims are!

[bglola]

I agree!

The body language displayed by the Heene children during the CNN interview was painful to watch. Each of the boys appeared to be grappling with fear and anxiety. There is no doubt in my mind that Falcon’s “flu” was a physical reaction to the stress he was under.

From all reports, Richard Heene does not appear to be of sound mind, and purely from the perspective of a formerly abused child, I got a cold chill down my spine thinking about what the consequences will be (later after the cameras stop rolling) for a 6 year old boy who was so “bad” that he told the truth on national television.

[annis]

You got this right!

[kylennblack]

I agree those children are in danger of harm by severely irresponsible parents.

[brijit]

I don't get it. Somehow this 6 year old, without being noticed by any other family member, was able to determine that he was all over the media and ran and hid in terror. And what in this family's history would make the kid frightened of being in the news?

[devadasi]

I agree....this is a form of child abuse. The entire scenario was a hoax. The parents are loons.

[mommadona]

Reality check:

Dad was operating Balloon Launching Mechanism on tape.

*bling!

Kids were taping.

Don't think that part was supposed to be in final edit

#justsayin

[LivingTxLife]

And now new video showing the balloon lift off and Falcon is no where to be seen (and there is no basket under the balloon either.) Granted, I've not subjected myself to their tv interviews, but it seems there is still not a consistent story coming out about the events that day. Falcon is safe and I should go on with my life, but I put too much energy into Heene's floating project and his child and would now like to know where the officals and family story went awry.

[jesselee26]

hopefully, public concurrence about the distasteful way in which this kid's parents have behaved will force obscurity upon them. and this little guy can get back to childhood.

[Hontas Farmer]

I agree with you. This is all so overblown, and over reported. Calling in child protective services basically because these parents expose their kids to hands on science would be absurd.

It is interesting that, if we assume the balloon flew the same, these people could be better of if Falcon had been in the balloon. It's almost as if people are PO'd that he wasn't.

[devadasi]

That's not the point Hontas......the boy on national TV admitted that 'it was for a show'. And the father calls the local TV station before he calls 911. If you look into the father's background you would have a better understanding of why child protective services should be contacted.

[Wide Stance]

Good commentary. This type of media exploitation reminds me of Octomom, and it's sickening. I hope Child Welfare Services gets involved.