Not that I've had my head in a hole for the last several years (or for all 32 years of my life for that matter), but I was still a little jolted by the article that I read a couple days ago, nonetheless. It would seem that merely due to the color of my skin, if I were to go missing or be murdered, this crime would be less likely to be reported in the news, than say, if one of my white girlfriends befell the same bad luck. Not to say that the police would not open and investigate a case, but the media would be less likely to have a story on the evening news, online or in the newspaper. This means that the vital first few days that I or my kidnapper/killer could be found would go by without the benefit of media attention, which could alert the public to the situation.
Let's face it; love it or hate it, we've all heard of Lacy Peterson, Natalee Holloway, Chandra Levy, Stacy Peterson, amongst other young, pretty, white women who have gone missing or turned up dead. But why do we not hear about the many women of color who meet the same awful fate? For example, about two years ago, there was a young, black college student who was in a club in Florida during summer break, only to go missing. I literally saw one article about her on CNN. I can't even remember her name because of how little media coverage has been done. I've just done a google search to try to find an article about this young woman; after conducting a few more searches, I was able to find out that a suspect has been arrested in her murder. Does anyone have to do a google search to find out what happened to Lacy, Natalee, Chandra or their killers?
Listen, I realize that there are thousands of women of all races that go missing or are murdered every year, and that only a very small fraction of those become the media sensation that Lacy Peterson was. But the issue is more that we hardly ever hear about desperate searches or investigations for black or hispanic women in trouble. The case of the Rocky Mount (North Carolina) murders is a case in point. Over the span of six years, ten women have turned up murdered in what experts believe is the work of a serial killer, and yet only $20,000 has been managed to be pulled together for information in the case. To put this in perspective, $20,000 was pulled together within a day of Yale graduate student Annie Le's disappearance. Granted, this is an Ivy League school, but still, why has it taken six years and ten murders for the same amount of money to be raised for the women of Rocky Mount? I think that it's fair to say that if ten white women had been found murdered over the last six years, the media would be all over this story.
I realize I'm on my soapbox here, but for good reason. I am pretty partial to staying alive, and my family and friends love me just as much as any other woman's friends and family. Shouldn't I have the same benefit of media coverage if I were to be kidnapped so that public awareness might save me? Or, if I'm already dead, shouldn't my loved ones have the benefit of the public attention in helping to find my killer?
The murder of any innocent person is awful. Not giving the case its fair due because of the victim's race is tragedy upon tragedy.
2 comments:
I wonder the same thing, especially in light of recent child kidnappings. Sad to say that the media doesn't extend the same attention to all missing children (and women), regardless of skin color.
It's really sad that anyone's life is considered less important than anyone else's, to the point that their disappearance or murder would not be reported. There was actually a satirical quip about this very issue on "The Family Guy." Dark humor on the show, but it definitely points to some sobering realities out there.
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