Articles Book III - Pg 300-560 (Birthparents) - triadoption

Editorial
How do I love thee?
by JOHN L. BROWN, Fnsll. Acs~. AOPA
Foundor of tho Browndolo Movomont
for Community Based Trootmont
In oil of mon's inhumonity to mon throughout Mon has tho capocity to pass on from gonorotion
tho history of monkind, thoso doods which oro dono to gonorotion tho wrongs that ho hos sulforod.
in angor and hostility con bo rodrossod ond doolt whothor they ore overt wrongs or covort wrongs.
with by tho victims ond by socioty et largo bocouso And thoro is o whole gonoration of people who
you con fight egoinst evil, you con fight ogoinst hove sufforod from tho inhumonity of our social
wrongs ond you can got support in thot fight:
sorvice systems bocauso thoy woro poor, bocouso
but tho inhumanity that is done in tho noma of they wore helploss, bccouso thoy woro young.
"good", in tho nomo of "holp", in tho nomo of bocauso thoy hod no odvocotos, bocauso thoy wore
"servico", thot is tho kind of inhumonity thot trootod unjustly, bocouso thoy woro trootod as
offors no opportunity for redress. To ottock tho though thoy hod wrongod pooplo by having o
do-gooders is to olionate yourself and to fight
child. We now ilove to coll thoso social sorvico
ogoinst tho systom is to fight ogoinst "good
systoms to task, we hovo to bring thoso injustices
structure", to fight against thoso ports of socioty
into public view.
thot ore supposed to be coring for tho noods of This issuo of our journal is on ottompt on our port
people. And so the victims ore victims without to shore with our readers somo of tho histories
rocourso, with no opportunity for obtaining
of somo of tho pooplo who hovo boon wrongod by
.- sympdthotic support. And ~ hot wo soe in the lows our social sorvico systems. We invito you to
tho1 have offoctod tho rights of children is that toko whotover action is opproprioto in your torms to
if a child hod o need that extended beyond his redress thoso wrongs - not for tho people whose
family's copacity to copo with it, tho systom
stories you rood horo, thoy ore olroody helping
robbod these children and thoir poronts of tho right thomsolvos, but for tho pooplo in your own
to redress tho wrongs that were done in tho wmmunitios who havo boon victims of those kinds
name of "service".
of so~icos- the parents who hovo lost their
children ond tho chiidron who hovo lost thoir
This special edition of Family lnvolvomont is filled rootodnoss through theso "good" intentions.
with tho stories of people who hove suffered,
Ihe Of Ovil
And tho first stop that has to bo t~kon in redressing
wrongs of this typo is to insist thot peoplo toke
but 0s o rosult of tho systoms and procticos of
pooplo good poopie Ot
o position. This issuo is presented to you in tho
form of o confrontation. Which side ore you on?
night fooling that their day's work hod boon o Thero is no placo in this issue for middlo groundors.
good work for mankind. And whon a systom bo- for modorotos. Either you oro ogeinst tho systom
comes cloaked in thot kind of aura, thoro has to bo that wrongs pcopie or you ore for it. You connot
hurt in tho redressing of it. We connot tolk
bog tho quostion by saying thoro is some good and
swootly to tho pooplo who committed these
somo bad, otc. . .. thero cannot bo "soma good"
wrongs: wo hovo to toik straight, we hove to con- one ,,orson is wilon
front, wo hovo to be brutally frank, wo hovo to
has no rodross for thot wrong.
put thom bofore o "firing squod" in essence, to
rodross tho wrongs thot woro dono. Whon genor- One thing you con do, if no othor action or
otions of people hovo boon hurt, to soy "I'm
outlet sooms opproprioto to you, is to join, or
sorry" isn't enough. Somobody.has to toke tho othorwiso support, organizations like Poront Finders.
blomo, somobody hos to be punishod, or olso tho Orphan Voyogo or Concornod United Birthporonts. '
sicknoss, tho hypocrisy that was port of the
These orgonizotions ere trying, in positivo woys,
system cannot bo chongod: it livos on in tho to rodross tho wrongs ond deol with tho rosiduoi
I.
- hoorts of tho victinls end mokos thom cynical ond fooiings thot these injustices hovo loft in tho
vongoful and noedy.
hearts and minds of tho victims.
VOLUME 9 /NUMBER 6
J