Every year in the United States thousands of young mothers abandon their newborn infants. In an effort to save many of these young lives, in 1998 a District Attorney in Mobile County Alabama developed a program called "A Safe Place for Newborns." Infant abandonment remains illegal, but District Attorneys in 40 states use their enforcement discretion by declining prosecution, and protecting the anonymity of the mother, so long as the following conditions are met:- The newborn is taken to a designated "Safe Place." Typically safe places include emergency rooms and/or fire departments.
- The newborn must be brought in unharmed. If there are any signs of abuse or neglect, the mother may be charged with a crime.
- The newborn must be brought to the safe place within three days of birth.
The grim reality of newborn abandonment commands our support for this policy.
Earlier this week while exploring the District of Columbia, I came across a "Safe Place." It was located in the affluent Northwest quadrant of the city, which isn't exactly where one would anticipate it being needed.
Perhaps my PC-radar needs dialed down a few notches, but I was taken aback by the absolute lack of political sensitivity that evidently went into the designing of the "Safe Place" sign that appears above. I couldn't help but giggle madly to myself thinking of what Chris Rock might make of it. He would likely think the sign's unfortunate designer is sending the following messages:
- Only black babies are abandoned.
- If you're a white woman who has a black baby, this is where you want to bring him.
- If you bring your little black baby here, he will be safe because some nice white people will take care of him.
Labels: Augur, crime, human nature, police/community relations, race
This racism is killin' me!
I also feel that the picture looks like an adult fondling the child's breasts. That doesn't exactly scream "safe place"
I'm trying to come up with a PC-friendly sign coloring...let's see, we have to eliminate any and all shades of black, brown, white, red, and yellow....I think we should get rid of pink/purple and blue as well to eliminate any possible gender bias arguments....so what do we think of neon green and neon orange??
Really though, I think an up and coming lawyer in D.C. should find some poor woman to be offended by this sign and sue for countless amounts of $$ for emotional trauma and abuse.
You're absolutely right. And this racism is rampant. Apparently white people don't cross streets, play near streets, or work road construction. They are however handicapped.
It's just sad this is not so far from reality.
I actually thought the sign was funny because it looks nothing like a person taking in an abandoned newborn. It looks more like a big brothers/sisters sign. An adult taking in a ten year old to help them out. Alternatively, it also looks a little like a master taking on a pupil/protege in some dark cult.
Bwah ha ha, ha ha ha ha. You mean I have to give back these babies I collected for next Solstice?
I think the sign is the way it is so that you can see that there is two people involved, rather than one big black bulgie Rohrschact blot.
It should have an outline of a person with a baby in its arms. Duh.
I can just see some non-English speaker figuring that this was where you went to get hugged.
Tom
You know with the "safe place" thing below it, it could just as easily be an LGBT teen refuge where they can go to not be judged...
To me it says: "Social Workers ate my baby!"
But then, it's been a long day.