Our County Commissioners took a break from their busy schedules of approving new car washes and tax breaks for suburban sprawl to drop a real bombshell this week: 10,000 Lubbock County children have been confirmed victims of abuse and neglect over the last decade. That is a nice, round, horrifying number that averages out to about 1,000 local kids a year living through a nightmare while the rest of us were busy arguing about whether or not the city should allow brunch cocktails.
To combat this absolute catastrophe, the brain trust at the courthouse has deployed their most powerful weapon: the “special recognition.” Because if there’s one thing that strikes fear into the heart of a neglectful parent, it’s a non-binding resolution read aloud in a room full of wood paneling on a Monday morning.
The centerpiece of this grand strategy is the “Go Blue Lubbock” campaign, which kicks off on April 1. The plan is simple: if everyone wears blue, we’re “spreading the word.” It’s a bold, “only in Lubbock” approach to social work—treating a systemic crisis like a spirit day at a middle school. Apparently, the commissioners believe that if enough of us look like we’re heading to a Best Buy shift, the child abuse will just see the color coordination and decide to move to Amarillo.
They’re also encouraging neighbors and healthcare workers to keep an eye out for “visible signs” of abuse. It’s an inspiring call to action, essentially crowdsourcing child safety to the same public that can’t figure out how to navigate a four-way stop on Slide Road. Don’t worry about the lack of funding for actual caseworkers or preventative services; just put on your favorite navy polo and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
Nothing says we’ve reached the pinnacle of civic duty like tackling a decade of trauma with the same level of intensity you’d give to a “Save the Turtles” Facebook post.
Is there anything a Lubbock politician can’t solve by simply declaring a month for it and asking us to change our outfits?
