Black, White, Purple, Blue. Who Cares If They Look Like You?

As I casually scrolled the New York Times website this morning, I clicked on the Opinions page. Often times I will go through this section to see if anyone has an opinion that is similar to mine. Most times I am wrong, people usually don't have similar views as I do. Usually I'm okay with this, other times I'm so appalled and ashamed of these people. Today, I am ashamed. The Opinion article read, In Adoption, Does Race Matter?

I know, this is where people should freely be able to voice their opinions and I should accept that not everyone will see things the same way. However, I'm still shocked.

Cheerios is familiar with controversy with their last ad that sparked an incredible backlash from viewers. The last advertisement showed a bi-racial family(the same one that was featured on the Super Bowl ad).  4,871,934 views later, 76,054 thumbs up and 3,070 thumbs down, the comments section on YouTube was disabled. 

The New York Times article offers scholars and authors an opportunity to debate this “issue” on whether children should be raised by people who look like them. I’m sorry, why is this even a debate? Skin color, hair color, eye color, or anything for that matter in terms of appearance should NEVER be a box someone should have to check to justify that they would be fit parents.

Too many children are stuck in foster care, abusive homes and caught in a continuous cycle of being neglected. WHY ON EARTH would we limit a child’s ability to find a loving home simply because the adoptive parents do not look like them? I’m still very confused as to why this is even an issue, that clearly has sparked an excessive amount of controversy. No one should be told that they can’t adopt a child simply because they do not look like them.  

While I fully understand that some children may be confused about where they come from or feel like they may not "fit in," I think people should have the opportunity to show a child that race should not matter when it comes to love and family. Regardless of appearance, people are able to show compassion, and ultimately end the stereotype that someone's characteristics make them a "better person."

xoxo