An Open Letter To The Person Complaining About Amber Alerts

You're listening to the radio and the song gets interrupted by tones... Or watching your favorite show... All of a sudden, the screen goes blue--and the Emergency Alert tones take over the sound. Text starts to roll across the screen, describing a child that's gone missing: what they were last seen wearing, who they were with, and what vehicle they could possibly be traveling in-along with a description of the perpetrator (many times a family member) who has them. These are the precious moments after law enforcement has been notified of a child's disappearance-that they have to potentially successfully track down someone who's abducted a child and return that child to safety. Is it jarring when you're watching tv? Yes. It's supposed to be--to get your attention. Does it interrupt your show or the song you were jamming to on the radio? Yes. But for your momentary inconvenience of having to either re-watch the show or rewind, or go find the song you were listening to and play it again... There's a scared child who can't help themselves hoping that someone notices they're gone.

While it may be temporary aggravation for someone listening or watching-try to put yourself in the shoes of the parent or parents that are desperately trying to find their child, or the child themselves who's not sure where they are going or why they've been taken away. Empathy is a great quality and will help calm you down when these alerts appear out of nowhere and you get upset. Texas does it the right way-State wide everywhere when it happens so there's nowhere for these scumbags who kidnap kids to hide. Imagine never seeing your child again. I'd miss any show or song any time to help someone get their babies back. I hope you would too.