The Amber Alert people try to scare the living sh*t out of parents

[elfs]

It's a truism of modern life that "do-gooder" institutions, having fulfilled their stated mission to the fullest, do not just have a celebratory party and then go into a maintenance mode to ensure that their gains are not lost in the future.

The canonical example is, of course, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), which long ago acheived its original goal of slashing drunk driving to less than half its highest rate, and for tightening the laws regarding drunk driving in all 50 states. Having acheived their goal, MADD looked at the power, authority, and human capital it had accrued over the years and decided, instead, that it was going to find a reason for keeping all of it: the laws had to be ever more harsh, alcohol itself had to be demonized, to justify keeping that budget and political capital.

So now, the Amber Alert people are putting out an ad that talks about that "cold, frightening moment at the playground when you don't know where your child is." It goes on to praise the Amber Alert system

The National Crime Information Center shows that in 2002, the last year for which we have statistics, there were 115 off-the-street abductions and 58,200 child abductions by a non-family member with whom the victim or the victim's family already have some close knowledge. There were 1,547 suicides within the same cohort (2006 data). The vast majority of abductions were of teenage girls, not toddlers at the playground, and in many cases those teenage girls initially got into that car knowing her abductor was about to drive her away from her "old life."

This needless and ill-informing ad campaign by the Amber Alert group isn't helpful. It doesn't do the parents any good; it doesn't tell them what to watch for or whom to really vet. It's irresponsible and nasty: it doesn't tell you what you should really do to protect your children, it only encourages you to participate in ways that justify the Amber Alert's ever-growing budget.

Comments

I haven't looked at the ad campaign yet

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

However, in some cases, I know that many "abductions" have been by non-custodial parents and have resulted in no harm to the child.

I always worry about those cases.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Fear, uncertainty, doubt. It's a time-honored[sic] way of committing extortion without getting a jail sentence.

[(Anonymous)]

I've always wondered: what's the difference between uncertainty and doubt?

The problem comes when these organizations grow beyond the volunteer stage and have a paid staff. The actual objective of the organization becomes irrelevant at that point. I mean, who wants to lose their job?

Anonymous Blog Reader #127

[omahas.livejournal.com]

If you are uncertain, you're not sure about something, the definition of which can go anywhere from a mere lack of certainty, to a complete lack of knowledge that causes one to be only capable of making guesses at outcomes.

Doubt implies both uncertainty and an inability to make decisions because the evidence is insufficient.

In other words, doubt seems to be the result of reaching towards that extreme range of uncertainty.

[ben-raccoon.livejournal.com]

Doubt implies certainty in a negative manner, in that you're certain that the information you're given or the observation you've made is wrong. Uncertainty is more based on insufficient information, or conflicting data. It's neutral where doubt is negative.

That's more my interpretation.

[shunra.livejournal.com]

58,200 child abductions by a non-family member with whom the victim or the victim's family already have some close knowledge???

That is an incredible number. Is the word "abduction" being used to include a young woman's voluntary leaving her family, here?

[hugh-mannity.livejournal.com]

What, like the time the ex-boyfriend of a friend of my son's reported that she'd been kidnapped because she told him to piss off and came over to our house after school to work on a project with my son and a couple of other kids?

Just as well I was home and able to explain to the cops that, no the young lady was in no danger, yes she was free to leave at any time, and yes she had come here of her own free will.

She hadn't been answering her phone because she turned it off because the ex-boyfriend was calling repeatedly.

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

*Technically*, if she's a minor and neither she nor the other party have permission from her legal guardian, then it's an abduction.

Save me from evil and from good

[brandywilliams.livejournal.com]

One parent told me if your child is out of arm's reach they're gone from your life. Imagine how restricted that kid's life has been.

Re: Save me from evil and from good

[gromm.livejournal.com]

And here I thought that rule only applied at the pool.

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

I get Amber Alerts in my state. Every one I've seen has involved a child in danger and not a teenager.

[urox.livejournal.com]

Ah, but I've seen Amber Alerts on the tv and wonder how the hell is that supposed to help the kid? I'm at home, watching the telly, and I'm supposed to be on the look for a colored vehicle and people inside my house?

[ben-raccoon.livejournal.com]

What's even worse is living in a border city. I'm maybe half an hour from the Mexican border. By the time the billboards light up, any legitimate kidnapping victim will have long since become unreachable.

[abostick59.livejournal.com]

The real canonical example is the March of Dimes. Polio is essentially eliminated, but the March of Dimes marches on. (MADD, I had thought, was insurance-company-funded astroturf.)