i mocked the law and the law won

univisionnews:

By DIANA OLIVA CAVE
Channel: Family

That is the question…on the minds of many moms with Latin American backgrounds.  Lucky for me, my baby girl was born in Miami where the tradition of ear piercing was considered more normal than not piercing and where her poor mother wouldn’t have to endure the wrath of apparently just about anyone who reads The New York Times.

Today, on the Times’ website, a Townies series column on the Opinionator page told the story of Eleni N. Gage and her daughter Amalía. They live in Miami and Amalía’s father is Nicaraguan while Ms. Gage is from Massachusetts. Apparently, Ms. Gage struggled with the idea of conforming to the Latin American customs she was discovering in Miami, but with a little push from her husband’s side of the family, decided to go for it and have her 6 month old daughter’s ears pierced by her pediatrician.

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I got mine pierced when I was…maybe three weeks old? Both of my parents are Mexican, and this happened in Mexico City, but even so, my dad was not terribly pleased. But eh, I’m glad I had it done at a point where I couldn’t remember the pain, and I don’t feel especially traumatized by it. I’m glad to have them, too.