6/7/2002 – Robert

You know, we've all been hearing a lot about Elizabeth Smart, that girl who was kidnapped out of her family's home recently. It's every parent's nightmare, losing their child and not being able to do a damned thing about it, not knowing if their child has been raped, molested, or murdered. I really feel sorry for the girl and her family. Her father collapsed because he has been awake for the past 48 hours, franticly worrying about his little girl.

According to the US government, in 2001, 840,279 people went missing last year... out of those cases, 725,000 are children. That's basically 2,000 children per day that go missing in the United States. What's wrong with this picture here? How come we don't hear about the 2,000 children that go missing each day? Are they not important too?

Why do we care so much about Elizabeth Smart? Why does the media in the US care so much about her? Is it because she's white? Her parents are wealthy? She lives in a good neighborhood? She's a good Mormon girl? What's wrong with this picture? Why doesn't anyone give a damn about anyone else that goes missing? We're all human beings here, shouldn't we care equally about those that go missing, or is it that we're all so judgmental about other people, that if they don't meet the right criteria, nobody will care?

Don't get me wrong, this is a terrible situation. I hope that Elizabeth Smart is returned to her parents unharmed, but just realize that there are a whole bunch of other people out there that deserve every bit of attention that she's getting.


http://www.missingkids.com

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