I mean seriously. There is so much money to be made by the television and web advertisers — especially when there is an amber alert that involves a “beautiful white girl with light colored hair”, potentially kidnapped by a “dark skinned mail”. Do amber alerts do anything besides provide good content for television advertising, provide a platform for politicians, allow police to get overtime and a platform to demand higher wages and better equipment — and ultimately reinforce racist stereotypes? Absolutely not.

I am sure the child wondered off into the woods, or was “kidnapped” by a family member as part of a nasty matrimonial or custody dispute. Really pretty much a private affair, not a newsworthy event for the politicians to be pontificating about on the television. I get the attraction of the millions in the ad revenue, the automobiles and laundry soap sold, but it’s a grotesque exploitation by the media of a family tragedy.