On the Transracial Adoption of Louis Bardo Bullock

by Shaker Quixotess

From Madonna, to multitudes of white Christian families in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, white adoption of black babies and children is systemically fucked up. Not every single white adoptive parent in a transracial adoption (TRA) approaches the process of adoption with ignorant and/or messianic ideas (although many of them do), but adoption in the public sector is woefully under-resourced and adoption in the private sector is, of course, corrupted by profit—and both the dearth and the infusion of money provide opportunities for exploitation.

In fact, all white adoptive parents benefit from a systemically racist system that facilitates the separation of black parents (especially mothers) from their children, makes it easy to ignore the importance of black community for a black child in white supremacist culture, and prioritizes the desires of white adoptive parents over the needs of black children, even despite the protests against TRA mounted by adult adoptees of color.

As with everything else, fame, power, and wealth have typically inglorious roles to play in this process, too.

Which brings us to Sandra Bullock, who has adopted a black baby, the adoption process for whom she began with her ex-husband Jesse James, four years ago, which culminated in Louis Bardo Bullock being brought home reportedly three months ago.

Naturally we are meant to assume that this baby was adopted in good faith by both parents and adoption agency workers, and I don't know whether they adopted him through government agencies or through private agencies, but, if it was private, Bullock and James have a lot of money, and even with the best intentions in the world, people looking to spend a lot of money are going to get lied to, especially if the truth might jeopardize their spending it. Given that this baby was born in New Orleans, it's also entirely possible that some element of the Shock Doctrine (normally reserved for developing countries), in which TRA plays an important role in maintaining colonial power, was involved.

This is all entirely fucked up and racially charged enough before we get into the fact that Jesse James likes to get dressed up in Nazi clothes and date women who do the same. His father has said that James has long been "fascinated" with Nazis.

Now that Sandra Bullock and Jesse James are getting divorced, Sandra Bullock will be the only legally adopting parent, but Bullock has said of James that she "doesn't know how our paths will intersect in the future. Which doesn't sound like: "Holy shit, I better keep my Nazi ex away from my son."

And which also means that even a white adoptive parent being "fascinated" with Nazis and white supremacist culture is not enough to stop them adopting a black baby.

A final note: Some of the conversation I've been seeing around this story tends to hold Bullock solely responsible for the adoption and as the only one involved in the process. This may be partly because People's interview was with her, but James had a part in this as much as she did. In fact, in a staggering display of privilege and entitlement, James says: "I know in my heart that I can be the best father possible to my four children, and the mate Sandy deserves." He has three biokids. He obviously plans to try to parent the newly adopted child, and Bullock isn't exactly ruling it out.

(Also: "The mate Sandy deserves." Barf. She's divorcing you, you twit! And more barf… He also said: "The decision to let my wife end our marriage, and continue the adoption of Louis on her own, has been the hardest." Let. Ugh.)

[H/T to thirdrootprod.]