Elian Redux

[Judith Baer]

Sandy writes:

Does she [meaning me] agree that the Satmars (or, perhaps, the Amish) count
as a total institution (or, at least, sufficiently close to one to raise
serious questions).

Well, it was Goffman's concept, not mine, and no, I don't think he would
agree (I refer the curious to ASYLUMS.)  As for YODER, see Martha Nussbaum's
latest book for a discussion of this case.
After the contrast between the infamous tape and the various Saturday
photos, I'm not sanguine about even the proposition that "what Elian really
thinks" is knowable, or, indeed, exists.

Judy Baer