Friday Night a boy was reported missing and an amber alert was issued. Most of us found out because our cellphones woke us up with an extremely loud alarm. The point of it was to make as many people as possible aware of the situation and get as many eyes on the lookout for the boy as possible, so he could be returned home safely. In the end, it worked. He was found safe and sound and is now back at home. While this was going on a flood of calls were made to 911 and police stations in Alberta. A flurry of tweets and social media posts we being issued as well and they weren't in support of finding the missing boy. They were complaints from people about the alert waking them up or interrupting their TV shows. 

 

What?! Are we the kind of society now that we turn a blind eye to helping a parent find their child over a few minutes of rest or an interrupted show? That we will take the extra time to pick up a phone to call and complain about an alert instead of using that time to help spread the word and find a child in danger? What has happened to us? I was woken up, I had a full 15 hours of work the next day but I wasn't mad. I wanted to help where I could and get the word out. As a mom, I can only imagine the pain, fear and hope the family was feeling. I sure hope that if I was ever in their shoes, everyone would be willing to help me find my child. 

 

Do you think the alerts are a good way to inform people? Do you think there might be a better way? Were you upset by the wake-up call?