Founder's Blog
What did we do? What're we going to do?
As with any toddler, Rainbird's second year had bumps and bruises, and a whole lot of learning what not to do. But we also took ground and learned to walk, doubling in every way, which added up to a year of expanding the conversation for the end...
Read MoreMandatory Bullshit
I got a speeding ticket last night. That would ordinarily be a non-event. I sped. I got a ticket. The end.
... Read MorePartnership, Part 1: Not-for-Profits Unite!
People often ask if Rainbird provides services for our community, as if direct service is the only service of merit. But we aren’t a service organization and we aren’t going to be. Why? Because there are already too many that don’t get their job done. Many are consumed by the survival of their organization. They provide too limited a service, maybe serving a few hundred while the rest of the...
Read MoreSpanking, Part III: The Lack of Logic
Our Supporter said she knew that spankings were ineffective, she wasn’t a fan, and she wasn’t trying to justify it. Yet everything she said made her a proponent, and if you think about it, how couldn’t she be? She was born into a possession mentality at a time when violence toward children was justified. Below are her points, Italicized & in pink:
Spanking, Part II: The 2 Ideas @ The Core of Spanking
There are two ideas at the heart of spanking that confuse spanking with discipline and turn an obvious form of violence into an acceptable form of behavior:
Spanking, Part 1: Using God To Justify Child Abuse
I recently had a conversation with a Rainbird supporter. She is a mother of two and she was upset with our stand on spanking. People have a lot to say about spanking. It never ceases to amaze me. Why is a clearly violent act up for question as an act of violence? How has something so simple become so complex?
As Part 1 of a 3 part mini-series, we are going to start with God, where...
Read MoreWHY DO WE DO NOTHING?
Rainbird is in the business of doing something. We do something every day. That’s the only way we can sleep at night. I don’t know how anyone can live with themselves if they do nothing. But let’s set that thought aside and explore the whole “Do Nothing” thing.
... Read MoreIDEALISTS: THE NEW REALISTS
I’ve heard that to fly from the west to the east without taking into account the crosswind, one will drift and land south of the targeted destination. To reach a destination, one must overshoot it and take into account the crosswind, constantly turning into it to stay on course. I think this holds true for human beings as well. To accomplish anything, we must set our sights on the impossible,...
Read MoreInstead of “Go the F*** to Sleep”, Let’s Wake The F*** Up!
Last week, a reader of this blog wrote me an email about a story she read on CNN. Check out the story and weigh in:
Read MoreTwo 3 year olds. One 4 year old. And a Little Girl Who is Still Dead
This week we have an issue in Madison, so we have 2 posts because I must honor the children who went down. On Sunday, a beautiful 3 year old boy died at the hands of his mother. On Tuesday, brothers, aged 3 and 4, were killed by another mother’s boyfriend. And as we all know, Caylee Anthony...
Read MoreThe Tipping Point
As I said in the last post: we’re nearing a tipping point. For evidence, file a report with Child Protective Services. CPS only responds to extreme cases. They used to respond to everything. Ask them and they’ll tell you that they don’t have the manpower to respond to everything anymore. They will tell you about the sliding scale of severity that they had to create: if a child doesn’t have...
Read MoreAn Idea Two Sizes Too Small
The Rainbird Foundation started because we couldn’t find another organization committed to the end of every form of child abuse. At first, this was shocking - why would anyone want to do anything less, right? But shock turned to annoyance as we realized how few people talk about it, let alone consider the end of it. Most of us can’t say, “I am committed to the end of child abuse”. And most of...
Read MoreA Love Note For My Father
Yesterday was Father’s Day. I haven’t celebrated this holiday for my father in nearly 2 decades. I stopped celebrating it shortly after the birth of my second child, when I could no longer tolerate being in the same room with him and my children, even for the most vigilant of visits; when it became clear to me that...
Read MoreLET’S BLAME IT ON THE 60‘s
Part of my job is to keep current about child abuse. This week, my brother in law, Scott, sent me this article:
...
Read MoreIF IT’S UP TO YOU (AND IT IS) CHILD ABUSE WILL NEVER END!
Ask nearly anyone - to include yourself - and you’ll find that we do little or nothing about child abuse because if we think about it at all, we think of it as the issue our government and non-profits are taking care of. Most of us assigned responsibility over long ago and washed our hands of the whole situation....
Read MoreThe Power of Straight Talk
After reading the blog last week, a young woman named Randi asked for clarification on how our taxes...
Read MoreTo Christian Choate
I just read an article about a boy named Christian Choate. I want to talk about him, not...
Read MoreRich, Sexy, Cool
I study social media sites and I study you. I do this to find out what interests and motivates you because so many of you do nothing about child abuse, which I don’t get. So I study you and I’ve learned that you spend lots of time and money on getting rich, sexy, or cool. These are your 3 biggest motivators. For evidence, look at your facebook page, your shows, the clothes you wear, the things...
Read MoreMother’s Day @ H & M:
Mother’s day was great. I went to breakfast with my children and we laughed ourselves silly over I can’t remember what. You know the kind of moment I’m talking about. What every mother lives for. Then, my daughter and I spent the afternoon doing what we love most in our rare, free time: shopping. One of the top 3...
Read MoreThe Kiss, The Dress, The Condition
As I watched The Wedding, I couldn’t help wondering what it cost. Please don’t get me wrong: William and Catherine seem to be genuinely in love, and I loved the spectacular theatre of it all. In fact, I’ll blow my toughie facade completely and admit that I woke up at 6 to catch, yes, the dress! I love Alexander McQueen. I own Alexander McQueen. I want more! Sarah Burton did him proud. And the...
Read MoreApril: Child Abuse Awareness Month
April is Child Abuse Awareness Month in the U.S. We pat ourselves on the back for this token gesture as if it was something substantive. So, with this auspicious month nearly over, let’s recap our results. Surely, with one whole month of awareness, something exceptional had to occur, right? Here is what I was aware of:
If Children are our future, what kind of future are we talking?
From the remarkable people @ Moveon.org, we just learned a few facts:
http://front.moveon.org/...
Introduction
My name is Hanna Roth. I'm a coach, a writer, and the founder of The Rainbird Foundation. Being a coach was a fascinating job. Now, I work for the end of child abuse, the world’s least savory issue. It makes me a real catch at dinner parties.
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