Being Adopted & Latina in the U.S.
You may, by now, have heard about the 13 year old girl from Florida who has been accused of putting insecticide in the food consumed by family members. She has been arrested and is in a treatment facility. Her family adopted her four years ago from Mexico. When reading various news sources, I can't help but notice how insensitively this issue has been handled in the media. The most notable things about how this issue is being discussed in the news are: Some have referred to her as "a Mexican girl" while also discussing deportation in the same article. Her "adopted" label is used frequently and her relationship with this family is constantly qualified with adoption. The list of the family's good deeds towards this child are spelled out (adopting her after she was "abandoned" in Mexico, sending her to a private school, and "provided love and a home for the girl" ( Fox News ). Yes, she is Mexican. But she is also a United State...