take on infant murder

Earlier this week I read an article in the Times about how infant-mortality rates plummeted after some Zambian midwives were given better training, it was one of these feel-good stories that showed that with some financial help (as little as $300 per child saved) from the Western World a small country in Africa could help bring more babies into this world.

The issue is that next to an article how a country in Africa is cutting infant mortality rates there is another article of some little girl who gets dumped down a garbage compactor or a mother who drives her entire family into a river.

Days like this I hate being part of this world and I wonder how exactly we're supposed to be the civilized ones.   

Now this isn't based on anything but my daily perusal of the NY papers and I might be completely wrong but somehow it just feels like there have been a much higher rate incidents involving infants, babies and small children recently.  Maybe as a father to a young child I am more sensitive to it, maybe with a bad economy people are taking things out on the most defenseless or maybe it's just an anomaly but I know in my heart that there is more senseless violence against young kids than ever. .   It almost feels like these copy-cat suicides or school shooting which happened every few years when you'll see one event lead to a bunch of others. 

Regardless of the cause or the trends I'm saddened and disgusted on a much more regular basis than I ever remember when I see the actions of people living in this city and the rest of this country

In the last few weeks I've seen the following headlines

·         May 26^th

Pa. mom charged in death of baby found in suitcase

·         May 26^th

No bail: Luis Melendez, 33, arraigned on child-assault, endangerment charges in death of baby nephew using a baby blanket before driving off

·         May 22^nd

Baby Found in Walt Whitman Trash Compactor:  A newborn tossed down a housing project's trash chute survived the eight-story fall because he landed on a pile of garbage and the compactor was jammed

·         May 20^th

Teen mom, Shantaniqua Nykole Scott, caught on tape smothering baby with hand and blanket‎

·         May 10^th

Newborn Abandoned in Trash at a Queens Hospital, later dies

·         May 4^th

17-Year-Old Is Charged in Baby's Death in Marble Hill Houses

·         April 26^th

3 Children Drowned by Mother in Hudson River Are Buried

Just looking at these 10 or so cases, most of these are actions by mostly single mothers on the most defenseless victims and one-way or another we aren't reaching them in time.    I understand that money could be tight or that relationships have work out as well as they may have but how throwing your child in a garbage can seems like the most sensible thing to do is absurd.

What the hell is wrong with these people?   It's completely depressing to have to read this but there must be something to all of this.   I can't be sure but this stuff seems to run in cycles and we are in a very viscous one now.