Vlog for English 002

Vlog

Interracial Adoption

Last month I posted a blog about interracial adopting (primarily Whites adopting Black children), and all of the controversy surrounding the subject.  I received a comment from one of my classmates saying that it bothered her that the child was from Africa and no the US (I didn't necessarily agree with her view, but I understood it). The majority of the examples I used were celebrities like Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Mary-Louise Parker, and new mother Sandra Bullock. Recently, actress Mariska Hargitay, a woman of Hungarian heritage, adopted a baby. Her daughter, beautifully named  Amaya Josephine, is Black. However, unlike Jolie, Madonna, and Parker her daughter was born in the United States, to American parents. To those who it felt uneasy about the subject, I want to know is it now "ok"? The complaints about a White woman not being able to do her Black daughter's hair? Teach her child their Black history from the perspective of a Black woman? Give them the "Black experience"? Is it now solved now that the baby we're speaking of is American? My answer to those questions would be, no. When raising a child everything will not be "ok." But when it truly comes nurturing and caring for a child those things shouldn't matter; and to a loving parent those things don't matter. The point of adoption is to place a child in home where they will be "better off" than the life they would have had with their birth parents, whether for financial or moral issues. My mother struggled with my hair, and we weren't always financially comfortable, but that's just it: everything isn't going to be perfect. Parenting isn't about being perfect, it's about being the best that you can to give your child what they need.

Discrimination Holds Back Prospective Parents

Adoption has never really been easy for families in the United States. For many years single mothers were not allowed to adopt. Gay couples were also discriminated against; the problem is they still are. Many conservative Americans (both Democrat and Republican) feel that gay couples not be able to adopt. The reasons for this concern are somewhat understandable. Critics feel that the life a child will experience will be too unconventional for them. They feel that it may cause distress for them, considering the teasing they may receive.  Others, like Virginian Sen. Tim Kaine, shy away from the subject because it leads to other controversial topics like gay rights and gay marriage. As a country that was based on Christian principles, this may make some people uneasy. Sen. Kaine, who is running for office is refusing to state whether he agrees with this or not. I think something needs to be said. How is it that we are in the year 2011 and we we're still prohibiting people from marrying and adopting children? To me this is no different than if a race of people (African American, Asian, Latino) were prohibited from adopting. Discrimination is discrimination no matter how you look at it. I believe that our adoption standards/requirements need to be updated. They are loving parents out there that are being looked over because of their sexual orientation, that should never be the case.

 ~Courtesy of the Washington Post

Self Evaluation

I am proud of my website. I am proud that I've stuck with it and took time to invest into it. Making sure each article that I read and write about is accurate. Making sure each story is relevant and as recent as possible and connected to whats going in our world today. This is a subject very near and dear to my heart and I am so glad that I was given an opportunity to research about and learn more about it. Adoption and the Foster Care system are rarely talked about, publicly, in our country. There often ignored until something tragic happens that captures the attention of the country for a while and then the subject returns to oblivion. I believe that I am doing my part to bring attention to this subject and the thousands of innocent children whom it affects. Few classes offer this opportunity to use a the new trend of blogging to do active research about topics we're actually interested in. I think I'v e done a good job of expressing my opinions on this site in a professional manner while also reporting the truth.

Interracial Adopting

Within the last few years interracial adoption has become quite popular. Still is rouses complaints with in the Black community when they see a White family raising a Black child. Blacks feel slighted as if the child is merely an accessory amongst the family's many collectable items. Some Blacks even become angry when they here about celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Madonna, Mary-Louise Parker, and most recently Sandra Bullock with their Black children. My question is why? Why is it such a big deal who is raising the child if they love them and care for them? The main concern  for a child's well being should be if they are in a loving environment. As far as we know they are. If the tables were turned and Whites refused the adopt Black children, Blacks would be outraged. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would be there in a heart beat. Some are upset that only African babies are being adopted by Whites and not African American babies (Sandra's child is from New Orleans). My answer to that is as difficult as life is for Black children in America, its far worse in many African countries. So, why does it matter to us who adopts Black children when its a well known fact that many Blacks do not adopt and haven't for some time? Well I guess it goes back to that painful stigma that White women, especially wealthy White woman, raise their children better than Black women. That Black women are some how unfit to take care of their own children. Remember the anger you felt when you watch Halle Berry's character cry in the bathroom when her child was taken away from her in Losing Isaiah? Remember that infamous line on the movie when Sam Jackson's character says, "Black babies belong with Black mothers"? This is why. Blacks feel like someone who is outside of their race cannot love a Black child like they can. I don't. I cringe when I hear comments like that. I think that if you truly love a child unconditionally, it doesn't have anything to do with their race. You will take care of them no matter what.  If we were to ask Theo and Mikaela Spielberg, Steven Spielberg's adopted children, how their lives were they would probably tell us that they had the love and support of their parents. Let's open our minds to the World. It is ok for family's to adopt children out of their race. Martin Luther King famously said people should be judged not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character; he wasn't just talking about "us."

Sandra Bullock Son is my 'crown prince'