Clucking Hens

So, this morning I went on Facebook to check the Baby and Kids items and Furniture For Sale groups in the area. Having twins, I'm always looking for a bargain. I also hate my couch and loveseat, but that's a whole other talk show...

Immediately I notice there is a common subject in the posts - and it's not cribs or couches. It was regarding a supposed child abduction on post yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I take child abduction very seriously. However, I wasn't alarmed because someone is claiming their child was 'almost' abducted almost daily here. My guess is the crazies see someone stopped on the curb (probably checking directions or making a phone call) close to where their children are playing and spaz out, especially if the person in the car is black.

Let me get a little off track and explain something here before I continue so you know why race is important. The base itself, and the surrounding area is predominantly black. You get these poor little white girls shipped here from Kentucky, and they are terrified. Seriously. Before I moved here all I got told was how the black people at Stewart hated white people and treated them like crap, blah, blah, blah. I paid it no mind because race matters not to me. I can fit in just about anywhere, with just about anyone when it comes to race. Many of my good friends are black and I am more than aware that stereotypes based on race are just that, stereotypes.  So, the idea of living in a predominantly black area does not concern me. I would like to note that I've never had anyone treat me differently because I'm white since I've been here. There are rude people everywhere, but my theory is the feeling of being treated differently by black people more than likely stems from a subconscious attitude they put off around people of color.

Anyway, when you get Bobbi Mae out of the white 'hood and throw her into an area like this with her nonexistent cultural exposure, she gets scared. She thinks every black person is going to rob her, rape her, carjack her.... Ugh. You think I'm joking, I'm not. I've seen the ignorant fear in these people. I just laugh.

Ok, back to my original rant.

So here's the first post I saw:

This post is for all the families thats in the Ft.Stewart/Hinesville area but mainly on post. Please be on the look out for an orange Monte Carlo on 26" rims. Its 2blk guys in the veh. They have tried on 2 different times to snatch lil kids up today in Southern Oaks. If u know r see this car pls call 911 or the MPs. Pls repost if u n the area. Thank u

Seems harmless enough, right? Well then I read this:

I got an email from a 911 operator... this is what it said.
"I am working at the Fort Stewart 911 Center. There is no truth to the claim of the driver of this car trying to pick up kids. He is wanted for something else. Please post this as a clarification or delete the post. Thank you."
Please remove all posts about this! 

There was another one that detailed how he tried to force a child into his trunk with a knife. It's since been deleted. Too bad, it was pretty intense. I would have like to have shared.

Ok. Stop. At this point I pretty much assumed it's all gossip, and probably not even true. Especially considering I had read about 10 other posts with different stories. Of course they were all black drivers, but they couldn't seem to decide whether they were in an Orange Monte Carlo or tan Ford Taurus. Cause, you know, they look SO similar. It was probably a white woman, in a green El Camino who side swiped another vehicle or something.

This car, the Monte Carlo mentioned, is a pretty obvious vehicle. I see it quite often - you can't miss it. The guy who drives it is a soldier, not that it makes him incapable of crime, but I'm sure he lives in the area due to the frequency in which I see it.

What kind of child abductor would come on a military base as a frequent visitor in a bright orange Monte Carlo with 26" rims, (That chick must have amazing vision to have been able to measure them from a distance, come to think of it!) stop in the middle of the road, pop the trunk, grab a knife and try to force a kid into it? Yep, sounds reasonable to me.

Poor guy. Now every time the crazies see him they're going to panic and call 911 because they think he's a kidnapper. He probably either a) Had nothing to do with anything or b) knowing the mindset of the white people here stopped or slowed down a little too close to their white children and they freaked. Unfortunately, you can't reason with these hens.

I would love to post the resulting thread after I politely commented on both stating this was obviously gossip and while I appreciated their concern for the kiddies, it wasn't right to post a picture of someones car and accusations like that without knowing the facts. I also told them I was sure if an attempted abduction had occurred there probably would have been an official announcement post wide.

They in turn told me that it wasn't gossip (No? I'm pretty sure repeating things you've heard but can't confirm, is gossip. Maybe it's just me.) and that on a military base things are hush hush, so there would have been no alert. What the hell do they think we are, the Mafia?! Oh no! Another attempted abduction (there's at least 5 claims a week), we better keep it on the DL. Wouldn't want people to keep their children safe.

Here's an idea. You want to protect the children of these neighborhoods from being kidnapped? Watch your own first. The first step towards avoiding child abduction is supervising your kids. I bet while this chick was typing up her frantic story to alert the masses, her child was off doing God knows what.

Also, as a side note. Stop being scared of black people. Race against race crime is pretty rare in reality, especially when it comes to kidnappings and sex crimes. Those are typically race on race crimes. So, my dear white friends, that black man standing over there is probably not going to rape you or steal your child. However, you may want to be wary of the white dude over there scoping you out.

Have a nice day!