One Lie Does Not Erase Thousands of Truths.

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

Don’t be soured by this and care less about the next reported abduction

When I read that Carlee Russell was missing, like many, I was immediately concerned. The specifics of the case made it that much more alarming, because it indicated that someone used their child to lure an unassuming, obviously helpful and empathetic individual into a life-threatening situation.

Now, in addition to the fact that another Black woman had gone missing, it seems like someone heinous had used their child as bait.

Then there was a search party.

A large search party.

People offered more than thoughts and prayers, they came out to search for this woman, and it was a beautiful thing, because missing Black people rarely get this type of attention.

Then, the word came down that she was found, and I’m sure there was a collective sigh of relief from all those in the country with the capacity to give a damn.

But the report wasn’t completely accurate. She wasn’t found. She showed up on the doorstep of her family’s home. I’m sure that it was at this point that some began to question her story.

And now, we have found out that there was no kidnapping. She faked the kidnapping, and she has apologized.

I have no idea what legal ramifications she will face, but I’m sure there will be some.

And so many people are already champing at the bit to find out why she did it. Admittedly, I would like to know to, but that isn’t the part of the story that we need to focus on.

The most important part that everyone needs to remember is that just because this kidnapping was fake, doesn’t mean that the next one won’t be real.

Every year, over 89,000 Black women and girls go missing, and I’m willing to wager that less than 2% of them received the kind of coverage that Carlee Russell received.

And when it comes to missing Black men, I have struggled to actually find a statistic on the subject.

Despite, the falsehood that Carlee Russell has perpetrated to the public, we cannot lose sight that there were thousands of Black…