Missing Monday

I like it. Awareness is a good thing. Imagine aggregating this type of information, that might be pretty cool too.

This is a completely silly idea.

A. If it were of any value at all, it only helps people who are missing on the first Monday of a month. What percentage of missing people is that?

B. Who, in London (or Brisbane or Vancouver, etc.), would have any idea where someone in Philly went missing? And vice versa?

C. Why not the third Tuesday of the month? It's just as pointless a date.

D. At the risk of sounding classist--are people who would know where Latoyia is likely to be reading blogs like this?

E. She's been missing for a couple of weeks: no activity on her bank account, credit cards, cell phone. Sadly, that's a 100% surety that she's no longer alive and hasn't been since she disappeared. Clinging to any other hope is fruitless. They're looking for a body, not a person.

All it takes is a simple Google search to end up on this blog, another blog or anywhere to find information. Someone may casually hear about Latoyia's case and perform a simple Google search and end up with more information, more photos and read what's been done on the case so far.

Hey Bill, if you don't think this is a good idea then why not come up with a better one instead of bashing?

"At the risk of sounding classist are people who would know where Latoyia is likely to be reading blogs like this?" I dont think you sound like a classist at all, no, more like a racist.

Thanks for nothing, Bill!

Here is a link to more of Bill's trolling at Tazzy and Piggy's site -- including a wonderful response from Piggy. (the UK bloggers who came up with the Missing Monday concept)

http://www.tazandpig.co.uk/blog/?p=42

From today's Philadelphia Inquirer come these facts:
Missing persons reported to Philadelphia police in the first 8 months of 2005: over 4500
Of those reports, 3667 were children.

My point is that Missing Monday is an ineffectual means to deal with this problem. All the bloggers in Philadelphia together couldn't hope to keep up with them, especially if they only do it one day a month.

I wasn't being racist at all. Access to computers and the Internet is more governed by educational level than it is by race. And blogging (particularly that aimed at a wide audience and which has significant political and social comment) is overwhelmingly done by and read by people with a higher level of education.

If people are interested in helping, they should go to sites like www.missingkids.org, etc.--central repositories that already exist to serve just this purpose.

My analogy would be that if I'm looking to buy a car, I'd go to a car dealership. I wouldn't go walking through corn fields in hope that I'd stumble upon someone selling the exact car I'm looking for.

I already read Piggy's responses, and I still don't think that it makes any case whatsoever for the efficacy of the Missing Monday plan.

The idea is to spread the word about someone on in unlikely place - NOT were you would go seek it out.

No one idea will "solve" the problem of finding all missing persons - but together - if we can raise awareness and get the word out - maybe we can help. And that's far better than doing nothing.

My analogy would be that if I'm looking to buy a car, I'd go to a car dealership. I wouldn't go walking through corn fields in hope that I'd stumble upon someone selling the exact car I'm looking for.

Taking that way of thinking to its conclusion, there should never be a mention of a fund raiser on a non-fundraiser centered site. Or of sports on a non-sports centered site. Or of a breaking national story on a local site.

My point is that Missing Monday is an ineffectual means to deal with this problem. All the bloggers in Philadelphia together couldn't hope to keep up with them, especially if they only do it one day a month

Again taking this way of thinking to its conclusion there wouldn't be non-profits like Project HOME because they couldn't service 100% of homeless women, or street services because they couldn't service 100% of all potholes.

I don't by that restrictive way of thinking. Just because something doesn't ENTIRELY solve a problem - doesn't mean you shouldn't make some kind of effort.

I think it's the one-day-a-month aspect that seems the least logical to me.

Raising awareness of missing persons is obviously a good thing, but if your goal is (as Taz posits) to help find the person in a timely manner, featuring one person once a month doesn't accomplish that at all.

I never said that this had to solve the problem entirely, much of society is intertwined, but I think that the best way to go about it is to provide well-researched links to the organizations that are doing the real work of finding and publicizing missing persons.

And I haven't found any evidence that those pictures on milk cartons helped anyone be found. I'd love to hear what the success rate of them was.

The suggestion is to at least consider posting about a missing person that one Monday/month you're not limited to only doing so once/month. If you go to missing persons web-sites from your local PD you may find out about local folks who recently disappeared missing that received no media coverage, the same goes for checking out some of the national organizations. Additionally, some times there's a quick flurry of coverage and then no follow up - which means some cases slip people's minds, a new post (even weeks after they've gone missing) may help keep something fresh, spark a memory and/or generate new interest. Every little bit of help counts and these families need all the support they can get.

FYI

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which coordinates missing-kid photo distribution with several hundred corporate and other partners, says it has released pictures of 8,204 kids since the program began in 1985; of this number, NCMEC caseworkers have established that 1,435 kids were found as a direct result.

I completely disagree with Bill.

Publicity for missing individuals is always a good thing. And choosing one day per month to make a publicity blitz is a good thing.

If you recall, the little girl who was kidnapped in Idaho was rescued because a waitress at Denny's remembered her picture. Elizabeth Smart had a similar story.

As to international postings? A number of children are kidnapped by family members and taken abroad.

So, I think it does make sense and it is a good idea.

Please save your negativity for something else.

To all who think its a fruitless effort, I'll give you firsthand insight. Having the unfortunate opportunity to have a loved one go missing I can tell you that everytime that persons name or image re-emerges in to the public arena, it gives that persons family a gimmer of hope. It will guarantee that at least one person will see their face and possibly jog a distant memory or sighting. This would help greatly. I am sure many other families would appreciate it, check out some of the missing on my blog at www.brenniesfriend.blogspot.com

Brennie's Friend