safety valve

I don't why I never realized it, but for a while I was in the mindset of "oh well, if you're saving a child from certain death by adopting them, what's the problem?" Well, it's not a problem entirely, but focusing on the adoption part diverts attention from the conditions that spur adoption in the first place. This comment I thought was insightful, I don't think I'd ever read something that showed so much humility:

I am infinitely grateful that my two amazing daughters (from China) are in my life. I also think, that as an adoptive parent, it's my responsibility to fight to repair that web of injustice that allowed me to have them.

In the same sense, I've seen some documentaries on race where white families are talking about how, since they didn't directly do anything to blacks, they shouldn't be obliged to "repay" them. Of course, it's not a very historical approach...what would America be without slaves (I'm conflating white privilege and America but hey)? The reverse doesn't hold as much merit...what would "blacks" be without slavery? Uhhhhhhh... ...well the point is that the present must be grateful for the present that the past gave to them.