Important But Also Ironic: Kidnapped Nigerian Girls

 The amount of time it took for the media to pay attention to the story about the kidnapped Nigerian girls had some people crying racism.  I think it had something to do with that and something to do with the fact that most of us are overwhelmed by the stories of violence and abuse coming out of Africa.  And the story's hard to relate to.

Why did we see SO much coverage of the missing plane and so little of this story?  After all, we are fairly certain these girls are alive and can be helped.  Well most of us have been on a plane at some point in our lives.  Maybe we've even thought "What if this hunk of metal just fell from the sky?"  Personally, I've been on a plane that had to make an emergency landing because the cockpit was on fire.  Since I was ten years old at the time I found it exciting to put on an oxygen mask and review the seat back brochure on how to use the inflatable exit ramp (which we didn't get to use).  So I know that the improbable achievement of hurtling through the air in a tin can is not without its risks.

But most of us don't entertain even the slightest thought that hundreds of our children might be removed from a public place in broad daylight.  Even I, who also had classmates and teachers who were victims of kidnappings as a child (really, sometimes my own life sounds remarkably unlikely), have a hard time making this scenario seem real.  And what on earth do we do about it?  Who do we send?  How do we keep the perpetrators from turning around and doing exactly the same thing next week?  At least with the plane we could put pressure on the "powers-that-be" and make sure that the search was done with the utmost expediency and thoroughness.

So we, here in our safe comfortable homes in America do what we can.  We talk about it on social media.  Which led to this ironic juxtaposition on my Twitter feed today.

Artist @emilymcdowell_ created this powerful image w/ the names of the 177 missing Nigerian girls #BringBackOurGirls pic.twitter.com/k33YGoLbqe
— HuffPost Parents (@HuffPostParents) May 8, 2014

Just sayin. pic.twitter.com/oa1abwNpdj

— Ben Howe (@BenHowe) May 8, 2014

It's kind of a mystery to me how hashtags really do work, but I guess in this case it's a question of bringing attention to a real and serious problem.  So we feel like we did something and hope, in our usual helpless way, that someone somewhere can make a real difference.

As usual I do not have a satisfying conclusion.