Children should not be ‘detained’

As I listened to the coverage about the migrant children, I kept hearing a word that bothered me: “detention.” Does that word not imply criminality? Most 6-year-olds know that the people who are “detained” are suspected of criminal behavior.

If they were separated from family for their own safety, why weren’t the dwellings referred to as “shelters”? Perhaps that one change would help to lessen the children’s anxiety. Words do matter.

The State publishes a cross section of the letters we receive from South Carolinians in order to provide a forum for our community and also to allow our community to get a good look at itself, for good or bad. The letters represent the views of the letter writers, not necessarily of The State.