Plus the Bigger Hole NPR is Digging for Themselves
Brief recap of this week’s happenings and all the fury over what NPR did and didn’t do.
#NPRGate Back-story: on Dec. 29, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry and her panel of guests cracked jokes about the Romney family’s Christmas card photo, showing the former GOP presidential candidate and his wife Ann sitting in the middle of their 22 grandchildren, with recently trans-racially adopted baby Kieran sitting on Romney’s right knee. That created a whole thing defending the choice to adoption babies of other races. Melissa Harris-Perry has since tearfully apologized and Mittens has accept it.
Enter NPR’s “Expansion” and Insult to Adoptees
NPR, aka National Public Radio, wanted to do a show “in light of the recent comments about Mitt Romney’s grandchild they wanted to expand on the topic of trans-racial adoption.”
Want to Know about Trans-racial Adoption? Ask a Trans-racially Adopted Person!
So NPR asked and interviewed Angela Tucker who IS a trans-racial adoptee; who speaks, blogs, writes and is the subject of Closure; a documentary about adoption. Perfect, right?
Nope.
For whatever reason they chose to NOT run the discussion with Angela, but instead went with Rachel Garlinghouse; a white adoptive mother of young trans-racially adopted children. And I have Nothing against Rachel; I have actually commented on her blog before and find that her heart is in the right place, but still SHE IS NOT A TRANS-RACIAL ADOPTED PERSON. And I am not even sure she understands yet why people are upset that she was the one speaking.
Now, I do not need to tell you how the adoptees who were overlooked and silenced feel. I do not need to tell you what it means to have your story told by someone who has not experienced your story. The fact is, NPR really insulted many of the adoptee voices in AdoptionLand by discounting once again, the adoptee voice, and they are saying so very clearly and explaining why this is a problem. Granted, it is not like this has not happened before, but similar righteously angry responses to overlooking adoptees has also happened before. Can we learn from our mistakes, oh media folks?
Guess, not. So to make a bigger impact, the Adoptees are also putting strong public pressure on NPR for this serious gaffe.
NPR- Making a Bigger Mess
So, in response to the public pressure, NPR has contacted Dawn Davenport to ask her to help them find other adoptees. (because I guess NPR never heard of this thing called Google?)
Now, I have nothing against Dawn or her work at all, but ask why NPR decided to go through another non adoptee? Could it be because Dawn, while a teller of truths, also kind of sanctifies adoption as an adoptive mother and perhaps they NPR would like a “nicer” more “happy” adoptee? Do they want an adoptee who will play by the rules and who confirms their bias. I don’t know, just guessing.
In any case, it’s a big fat “DOH!” to NPR and adding insult to injury. I mean in a half a week’s time, we have a whole slew of adoptees raising their hands and saying “HERE I AM!” and NPR chooses to look the other way and say “oh, where are the nice trans-racial adoptees?” Hello! It’s like this:
Hey NPR, Here are the Adoptees who are “Experts” at Adoption
This is NOT my battle and the adoptees do NOT need me speaking for them. I am not adding this post to get on the bandwagon, but because I want to help and make sure their voices are heard. I even asked first!
So along with taking all the NPR responses to date and making a An Adoption List for them, I ask that you too share our adoptees cries for representation. They BELONG at the table. Hell, they ARE the table!
Here’s how you can Help Support Adoptees and be AdopteeCentic.
- If you have an adoption blog or site; embed the list please.
- If you write a NPR piece, add it to the list please.
- If you are on Twitter, RT or join in the conversations. Here are the Hastags to use: #NPR, #nprgate, #NPRadopteelist, @NPRWeekend, #SundayConvo, #adoptees, #adoption
And again: want to talk to real adoptees and find about what adoption is like? Here’s the blog list and here’s the twitter list; now stop acting dumb!
NPRgate- When National Public Radio Silences the Adult Adoptee Voice
I hate adoption.With the caring of the blood relatives and the 1st real mother still searching for their adoptees ,their rallies shuld be in every single state,bigger than ever before as THIS IS WAR.not the violent kind but anger does blow as it was forced instilled in the mothers and adoptees of loss that is not bormal.It never shuld have went on ,but we are in 2014’the adoptors should heed our words they took our second beating heart away,our human baby that we could have raised with help welfare gives people that come to live from all over the world ,then deny their own 1st mother ,heart and soul,thats Huge! Only people from their own planet could do this as I asked myself Who Does This It sure is not in a newborns best interest if it is even a tiny possibitly that she is cabeable ,most all mothers were born to be mothers themselves and the real blood line goes on.God will interev ene and stop this abomination that is not in Gods natural order of things,he knows and is everything ,so he knows what it’s like to lose a son ,Mary was only 14 and Jesus was treated to be done away with like Moses taken by force from his mother ,she fed him in the wreaths -Moses went to his 1st real mother gave up his rich life and loved his mother and siblings.Sooner than we think the adoption doors will all be shut.No more adopting for any price.Russia banned adoption so can we.Philomena found her loving son after 50 years ,I hope all the adoptors watch it and see for themselves that adoption just cannot go on ,mothers and all kin and public will help once they hear these horror storys they just never heard .SECRETS OUT ADOPTORS !!!!!
Mila (from Yoons blur/now Lost daughters) would be perfect.
As you point out, there are plenty of TR adoptees out there blogging – easily found by google.
And why do they want “young” adult adoptees? (as asked in Dawn’s question)