Diana Nicholson, the mother of Taraha Shenice Nicholson, is comforted during a news conference in Tarboro, N.C.
posted by Sam Richards
Part of this story is about social class…maybe most of it is. I don’t know and nobody does. Race and class are so intertwined that they’re impossible to disentangle. My raised eyebrow to the fool who says it’s all clear to him or her.
All I know is that when I read this story I cannot even possibly imagine that these events would be silenced if the victims were middle class, and certainly not middle class and white. I really don’t expect the media outlets to cover every negative and sad event from across the land, but I have to wonder how much a life is worth and why some lives are worth more than others.
Read the story and chew on the question that is embedded into that last statement. It’s going to take you a few minutes, but it should keep you thinking. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE STORY.
UPDATE: Perhaps you’ve been following the case of the man in Cleveland who tortured and killed 10-11 women whose bodies were buried or hidden in his house in a poor section of the city. The man is black, as were most (perhaps all) of the women. This case juxtaposes well with the one in North Carolina in that the relatives of the missing Cleveland women all report that the police entirely disregarded their attempts to report someone as a “missing person.” In one case the aunt of a missing woman was (purportedly) told to just sit tight because her niece would return “when all of the drugs were gone.” It seems as though the message is the same: the rape, assault, and disappearance (i.e., murder) of poor and marginalized women is not really a public concern.
This story saddens me, but I am not surprised at the response, or lack thereof, to these horrific crimes. I have been trying to take notice of inequalities of responses lately, mostly because of this class. I was watching an episode of 20/20 in which a reporter followed the lives of two women who chose to live a life of prostitution. One was an educated English woman who, at 42 and after losing her job, decided to become a prostitute. This woman was well-dressed and articulate and painted her lifestyle as empowering and a way to find and build her self-esteem. It was obvious that this woman made the reporter think, “Wow. This woman is empowering herself through selling her body.” This reporter did not necessarily respect this woman, but accepted her choice and did not see her as a whore. The other woman that this reporter covered, however, had a completely different background. She was uneducated (yet very intelligent) and had a severe heroin and crack problem. Her name was Duran and she had had to struggle to survive her entire life. Since birth, she was discarded and settled live her life as a discarded woman. But, she did what she could to survive. She prostituted herself. The reaction from this reporter was much different to Duran than that of the educated English woman. Duran’s lifestyle was despicable, while the English woman’s lifestyle was empowering.
I brought up this episode of 20/20 because I thought it touched on the same type of issues as the serial killings in North Carolina. The women that were killed we poor and had personal issues dealing with crime and drug use. Does that make them less important? Do their heartbeats, and feelings, and wishes, and dreams somehow mean less because their lives went down a different path than an educated white woman? This kind of behavior makes me very sad, but when I think about it, people do this all the time. I might even do this all of the time without thinking about it. Judgments are things people make every day without knowing all of the facts or circumstances. It is crazy to think that it took six years and ten deaths for this problem to get any recognition. AND, it is crazy to hear that Nancy Grace wanted nothing to do with covering these serial killings when she found out that an educated white woman went missing. I guess one missing white woman trumps 10 missing poor, black women.
Still, I have not heard a lot about this issue. Laci Peterson goes missing and it is plastered on every newscast across the nation. Natalee Holloway goes missing and I know every detail about the case. Yet ten women go missing and I have not heard a word about it. It is very sad that racism and classism is so prominent in today’s day and age. You’d think that we, as a nation, have moved past this ignorance. But it is cases like these that prove that we have a long way to go.
In 2007, I got a DUI. I have a DUI, but I am white and I will soon have a college degree. If I went missing, how many reporters would focus on the mistake I made two years ago? How many billboards would have a picture of my mug shot as opposed to a photo of me smiling? Not many. I have issues in my past, but because I am an educated, white woman, who comes from a wealthy neighborhood, chances are my (hypothetical) disappearance is going to be more important than that of a woman of different circumstances. It is sad.
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How many killings equal one public outrage?
Why are some lives worth more than others? Is it race? Is it class? What makes “us” better than “them”? Who, if anyone, has the right to decide whether a white middle class female victim survives or a black lower class female victim does? In my opinion, no one has the right to make this decision, especially not the media. My thoughts and prayers go out to these women and their families and this town in North Carolina.
The article indicates that the town is over 50% black. It also states that the police put off investigating these murders. I would like to know how many of the active police officers in this town are black, because it’s nearly impossible that they are all white when they make up the majority of the population. How can this be a race issue if the authorities denying the victims and their family’s proper investigations are all of the same race? It comes down to class.
Society chooses to ignore celebrity drug and alcohol abuse even though it is continually in the media, but when lower class citizens, especially lower class black citizens, show the same issues and are then faced with a serial murderer running rampant in their town they receive nothing. Does that sound just? We’re told that life isn’t fair. Through experience we find this to be true most of the time; the facts of life are usually not within our control. The sad truth is that, this time, they are. Police had the ability to conduct an investigation and even call in higher authority like the FBI for reinforcements. Trying to fix the problem was within their control, and they openly chose not to make an attempt. These officers, and them alone, were responsible for the deaths of the remaining women after the first missing person was reported because they decided these people were not worth their time and effort. What if it was their family, their daughter who had gone missing? Even if she was involved in drugs and prostitution, wouldn’t they still want her back?
The media is one of the most twisted and opinionated things in our society, and in this world. They were wrong to ignore this story. But, in my opinion, it is much more wrong for these officers, whose job it is to protect the town they serve, to pick and choose who is worthy of a missing persons and murder investigation and who is not.
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Cases such as this one does not surprise me at all, if anything, it only adds fuel to the already lit fire that many blacks have when it comes to cases, and they believe they are correctly represented in murder issues. Being black, I guess this brings back the whole race card because it was many times in which I said to myself “a black female died and they aren’t getting any media time, but yet a Caucasian female dies and she receives all of the attention and the police and community is trying to do everything in their power to find this girl, but what about the black female who died?” I can’t help but thinking that way because it just seems like it’s always an issue and it’s always been in the black community. One day I will be a part of the media but I would hope that wherever I work does not discriminate and filter what they want people to pay attention to and see, instead of broadcasting or publishing everything that needs to be seen and is going on in the world. Being from the black community, I could only say that this is fact. What normally happens is that if a black female goes missing, then maybe they’ll get face-time on the news, but even if the person isn’t found after a long period of time, then it hardly ever becomes a national issue and I believe it has to do with race. It took so long for them to air something about these women missing that it is honestly ridiculous and by them airing it on CNN did actually make a difference because people started acting on the situation and donating money. If only the media would have taken the situation more seriously, then there may have been a positive outcome for these women. There is obvious prejudice and racism within the media, but what I’m also wondering is that why aren’t the black people within these media outlets actually talking up and asking why isn’t a story being covered about the black people missing or something of that nature. But the media is easily allows it to be known when a black person commits some type of crime. Although this may sound racist, I find this to be the absolute truth in many cases in the media. I guess they believe that whites are more important than blacks. I actually read an article that is related to this issue http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/03/diagnosing-missing-white-woman.html .“ This talks about diagnosing “ missing white woman syndrome” and it states that “When pretty, young women — especially white ones — are killed or disappear, media storms often follow. There is no polite way to say it, and it is a fact of television news. Media and social critics call the wall-to-wall coverage that seems to swirl around these events, “Missing White Woman Syndrome.” All this is just seriously fascinating to me and my own question is why? This is the website again just in case (http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/03/diagnosing-missing-white-woman.html)
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How many killings equal one public outrage?
After reading this article, it seems as though this writer is being critical about how the police run their searches. Granted, all three examples were white, it might just be that area. I think it is odd that the missing people were just found, and nothing was done, but at the same time, what is that status of police activity down south?
I know from living in suburbia and being around a lot of white anxious people, they expect certain things. In certain areas, many police activities are done in an instant, just because of the stress. I know any police search should be done as soon as possible, but the delay might not be on the police themselves. Another thing that is really surprising is the fact that the media did a horrible job of covering the search. There was not a lot of coverage to begin with and nobody knew anything until bodies were popping out of a house. I think no matter the circumstances or what else is going on, everything that is newsworthy should be told throughout the nation, and not to wait until it gets to be a huge problem.
Many of the examples such as Natalie Holloway were probably using drugs and drinking, and clearly that had nothing to do with the process of finding her. I do not necessarily think this is racism, but more of what the parents can provide. Clearly those in affluent families are more likely have the resources to use anything they can to help the situation. Those are the ones that “know the people” to get the news out there and to start a search. Those in poorer states do not have the same resources, and probably live under a microscope and stereotypes. The fact that mug shots were used to identify the women is something that should not happen. No matter anybody’s record, letting the public know that this missing person has a record is not a great way to get help. The authorities could have used a family photo or composite to help the search.
I think that with this story, like most, the media wants the public to feel the pain and suffering of the family, so they release the pictures, but in this case, the public has a difference view because of the pictures. Since they are mug shots, the media portrayed the missing women as those with a troubled past.
Overall, nobody will know why the media covers what they do. For all we know, the media where the missing girls were could have been covering the story for a while, but nationally it just came out. Like I have said resources are a huge necessity in getting news out there. As a country and people we still have a long way to go before equality really comes around.
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I am not surprised at all that some cases are sometimes silenced due to ethnic background and social class. But what is very shocking is that how the people involved in the criminal system can sit there and allow all this to happen. Everybody deserves an equal chance of getting any type of attention whether it is from the media or from another source. Just because someone is not wealthy or a person of color does not mean they should be denied of assistance in solving a crime. I don’t understand how doing this can bring the country together if favoritism is being showed, especially in such a horrible way. Race and social class will always be an issue in the United States and in other countries around the world. One factor that distinguishes the United States from most nations is that they have a very organized justice system. You would think that by having this system solving crimes and other aspects of it would benefit the nation. But by looking at the unsolved crimes that have been committed some people do not benefit from this at all. After reading the article about the women whose bodies were found just demonstrated to me that only the people who seem worthy enough should have their crimes solved. I wonder how this makes any sense. Doesn’t everybody deserves justice or is it that justice is something that only some people receive depending on their background. Even though this is not what this country is built on, their actions sure do show it. What makes this situation a lot worse is that all of the women found were African American. Just because all of them where women of color shows to the audience that they were not worth the investment of time into solving their crimes. So basically silencing the crimes would be the best thing to do, when in reality that is the worst thing to do. People of color and others will just look at this whole situation as outrageous because of the lack in effort to help solve these crimes. At the end of the day no matter how poor and colored these victims are their families needs justice to be served as well as the victims. Looking at this from another perspective, assuming that all these victims are citizens or permanent residents of this country and they also pay their taxes why are the crimes committed against them either silenced or have little attention received. What will it take for before these crimes are publicized to the media? How many deaths will it take before they say enough is enough and actually go and put in some effort into finding the man responsible for all of these deaths? This country needs to get it together or there will never be any progress among races.
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Disgusting.. This article makes me sick. But sadly, I do not have an answer. There is not enough money or media coverage to bring justice to every person who has committed a crime. Crimes occur every day, by white people, black people, children and adults. The same types of people committing crimes could easily be on the other side as victims. Distinctions must be made between more serious and less serious crimes… I understand that.
That being said…. these crimes ARE SERIOUS!!
We dropped the ball on this one guys… right? Drug users and prostitutes deserve the same rights and liberties as everyone else… right? Here’s where things get fuzzy. If the money exists to solve the crime, it will be. Unfortunately, these types of communities are not wealthy, and have higher rates of crime than communities with resources to solve the crimes. This forms a very difficult situation. Unless we were to be placed under marshall law, security and police forces around the country will not be the same. Certain areas are simply wealthier and can afford better protection.
So those of us with money can only help so much, so who do we help? We help people like us. Missing school girls, a woman on her evening walk, a little boy playing in the street… because we can relate to them. We don’t want to feel like we are in danger, or worse, our children. Nobody thinks to themselves, “Damn… when are they gonna make the streets safer? Being a prostitute is hard work as it is… diseases and whatnot. They don’t need to worry about being murdered too.”
Conflict of interest and lack of resources…. so as I said. Sadly, I do not have an answer. I guess the most we can do is use cheaper outlets to spread information on missing people (i.e. the Internet). The police and the media can’t help everyone (not saying they shouldn’t be on this case), but ultimately, information is the key, and we have it conveniently at out fingertips.
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Apparently, not all lives are equal in the eyes of the “public.” Clearly, the lives of the middle-class are more deserving of attention than those of the disenfranchised. To me, it seems that there is a perception among many in the country that the poor deserve to be where they are and simply do not work hard enough to improve their situations. Few seem to be care about the rampant social problems that exist in poor communities and how difficult it is to overcome these obstacles. Yes, people do make mistakes that negatively contribute to their well-being, but this does not make their lives any less inherently valuable. Unfortunately, the issues of class and race, which are firmly intertwined, still seem to provoke anxiety among the general public. Both the North Carolina and Cleveland murder cases show just how much people are willing to ignore before confronting these difficult issues.
Discussing these cases without discussing the racial implications involved would be a major insult to the victims. It is true that a number of the murdered or missing victims had histories of crime, drug addiction, and prostitution. It is also true that all of the victims were black women. This combination reinforces many of the middle class’s prejudices regarding the black community. It is easier for people to sustain these prejudices than it is to truly reflect on the nature of the struggles that persist. Poverty often leads to desperation, regardless of race, which is an uncomfortable topic to discuss for many people. This realization brings to light the injustice of poverty in the world’s richest nation. People do not want to accept their share of the responsibility in alleviating poverty and would rather attribute these problems to personal moral failure and collective apathy. Apathy does indeed occur; however, it starts from the top.
With the Cleveland murders, it took a nauseating odor permeating the community for authorities to take action. Apparently, the police had better things to do than investigate the whereabouts of poor, disenfranchised women. It seems that there is a dividing line between whose lives have value and whose are expendable. Clearly, these women fell into the latter category and were not worth the tax-paying public’s time or resources. If one of these women was a PTA member out walking her dog, what would the media’s reaction have been? Most likely, it would have been one of alarm and sensationalism. Psychopathic killers can and do exist in any type of community, but only certain ones are worthy of a public outcry. This seems to suggest of an unspoken consensus that the poor are in an unfortunate situation, but it is their sole responsibility to confront the problems facing their communities. Which begs the question, how can the poor be expected to take responsibility for these problems when the police and other authorities, who supposedly exist to serve the public’s best interest, are not willing to treat them with full human dignity? Anyone who denies the subtle effects of class are either lying to themselves, or uninformed about the nature of our nation’s social structure. Unfortunately, many choose to remain uninformed because seeing the truth would entail an obligation to recognize the lie that is social and racial equality. What “decent” American wants to do that?
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In a situation like this all that can be asked is “what the hell are the media doing?” It seems like they’re blatantly ignoring these cases based simply on the lifestyle choices of these people. Other than race and social class, I don’t see any other reason the media would have to not cover these stories. It’s just like any other kidnapping or murder story isn’t it? I mean it’s not often we run across people today who don’t know about the Chandra Levy, Natalee Holloway or Laci Peterson cases. Why should this case be any different? Shouldn’t these ten women get the same treatment anyone else in this situation would get?
As stated in the article “In this information age, cases get solved through sheer publicity, whether it’s an Amber Alert or America’s Most Wanted, anyone could have a time or be a potential source of information.” Why aren’t we helping these people any way we can? Natalee Holloway was just one person, in this situation there are ten different victims and still no one seems to care. What makes them different from Natalee Holloway? Just because they’re not in the upper middle class doesn’t mean their lives aren’t worth as much. It’s disturbing to think that we see some lives as worth more than others. Just because these victims aren’t model citizens doesn’t mean we can’t show them some sympathy. This should be a much bigger issue in the media, I wasn’t aware of it until I read it on the race relations project website.
I think that if it was ten rich white women that were murdered there wouldn’t be anyone in America who wouldn’t have heard about it. It would probably get as much publicity as the D.C. Sniper or the Virginia Tech shootings. How could this really be ignored? There’s a serial killer murdering women that live in this particular area for whatever reason. That alone should be enough to gain the countries attention.
I’d like to know what the police are doing about these murders. The first one might’ve been hard to trace but after murdering ten different women they’re still unsure as to whom the murderer is? You have to wonder are they really trying or are they doing the same thing as the news? Do they really just not care because these women are poor and prostitutes? Just the little exposure gained from CNN the town was donated $20,000. Imagine if the news gave these people the attention they deserved. They might’ve got much more financial support that could be given to the children and other family members of the victims to get them through this time of crisis. In this day and age, we should be treating people as equals but as you can see there’s still biases that prevent that from happening.
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I have been following along the story of the Cleveland man, who was found with multiple dead bodies in his home, and I have understood the outrage held by members of the neighborhood who feel as if they were blown off by the police. In this one case, as Sam quotes, a woman reported the disappearance of her niece, and the cops said that she would return when the drugs were out of her system. On the surface, this seems extremely insensitive, and as Sam points out, potentially is racist. That this sort of thing wouldn’t occur to a white family or in a more upper class neighborhood seems the definition of racism, and it’s certainly sad. However, I feel as though the message is being distorted.
I read an article in the New York Times last week on this very issue. No offense to the folks at Newsweek, but I trust the Times a little bit more, though both are certainly reputable sources. Now, according to the Times, the police in Cleveland denied saying the quote in question, but in fact worked the case of the missing women. In fact, I recall reading that the police spent plenty of time trying to recover the missing person. In fact, the following is a quote from the Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/us/06cleveland.html?_r=1&sq=niece%20drugs%20system&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=1&adxnnlx=1258146154-bwcpTAv/ahKKG5e+P3AohQ
“In the case of Ms. Drain’s niece, “certainly our records show that we spent a significant amount of time investigating the disappearance,” Lieutenant Stacho said, including checking leads, looking up license plates and obtaining Ms. Walker’s dental records.”
So it’s not like the police completely dropped the ball here. Maybe somebody tried to make a joke and it came off a little insensitive, but it’s certainly not as big a deal as not looking for this woman because she was black. Furthermore, the police investigated this case despite the fact that there was no foul play involved, or so we thought. Again, per the Times article:
With adults, the police tend to investigate only when there is clear evidence of foul play, rather than just signs of a family feud or the disappearance of a drug addict who, perhaps, has chosen to remain out of touch while on a binge.
Seeing as the woman in question here had been a drug user, and not, say, a professional with strong ties to a job and family, who’s to say that the police weren’t in the right here? We look at things from a personal standpoint. How would we want the police investigating if this was my child, we ask. However, on an institutional level, choices need to be made, and some things take a priority over others. Tracking down a potential drug user might not be a top priority, especially in Cleveland, which isn’t exactly State College in terms of crime. Yes, in a richer neighborhood or in a whiter neighborhood, where these disappearances would be out of the ordinary, they would draw more attention, and this wouldn’t have happened. But to place undue blame and call the police racist is a vast oversimplification of a complex matter.
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When looking at the case of a Cleveland man who tortured and killed 10-11 women whose bodies were buried or hidden in his house, who just happened to be a black man, and all of his victims were also black, it’s just sad how stories like this go unnoticed, along with their loved ones’ cries for help.
How could a police officer tell the aunt of a missing girl to just sit tight because her niece would return “when all of the drugs were gone.” Their job is to protect and serve, not to ignore cries for help, not to stereotype people, not to discriminate based on race or socio-economic status. While race is an issue in America, wealth and social status means just as much in America. If this were a white, suburban, rich, upper middle class town that was terrorized and victimized, the local community and the media would be in an uproar, the story would go national and the entire country would know the story. Instead this was a poor, lower class African American community and the story never got the attention it justly deserved.
I don’t think the media catches enough flack for this type of behavior. They bury these stories time and time again. The poor, the downtrodden, the less fortunate, these are the types of people that are forgotten by society and it’s the media’s fault to a degree. These types of people aren’t shown because they don’t believe that their viewers will care about these stories. Their viewers don’t care in part because these stories aren’t shown, they can’t see these people, they can’t empathize, they can’t learn of their situations. It’s not all the media’s fault, but to a degree, they are responsible. It’s sad but true.
I feel that like the piece from the New York Times, with the former illegal immigrant who was feeding hot meals to illegal day laborers every day for years is something we should see more of. The entire class, myself included, was captivated by his story. They empathized seeing those people, their awful situation and their motivation to provide for their poor and downtrodden families. People will care about others if they give them the chance. I’m sure there’s plenty more stories like that one. There just needs to be a push to get them out there to the public. We don’t care enough about our own people. The poor people in this country are pushed to the background and buried. We don’t want them seen, we just want to keep the “American Dream” out there. That’s America, not these lower class people. Sadly, that’s not true. These people need help, they need their situations improved and it starts with something as simple as getting their stories out there.
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Today is November 13. Elizabeth Jane Smallwood’s body was identified on October 12. That was a month ago and this is the first time I’m hearing anything about it. Although I don’t read the newspaper, or really watch any of the news channels up here, I still try to stay in touch with what’s going on outside of Penn State. Even though I don’t read the newspaper, I still look at the front page as I walk by one. I also look at the headlines on AOL’s main page and check out the websites of the news stations back home. Why is it that I am just finding out about this if I do these things everyday?
I defiantly do think this is a race issue to a certain extent. If ten white women—scratch that—if one white woman went missing for more than a day, the media would be all over it. So why does it take the media ten black women? A person is a person regardless of their skin color or class.
This case should get as much attention as the Natalee Holloway case did. I’m sorry for what happened to her and her family. I’m also sorry that what ever happened to her was never really or clearly explained, or at least it wasn’t to us. Not to be mean, or to sound like a jerk, but I got tired of hearing about her. The story was being shoved down our throats and I was getting sick of it. I was at the point were I just wanted them to find her in whatever condition she was in. This is how I should feel about this incident in South Carolina. I should be at the point where I want whoever killed these women, or if it was multiple people that did them, to come forward and turn themselves in so we can move on to other news.
I think Nancy Grace or whoever decided to cancel the show to headline another story that was breaking news is full of it. That’s was just a lame excuse that they thought everyone would believe. Well I don’t. I know this is like comparing apples and oranges, but think about how things were when Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died. Yes, Michael was the main story, but Farrah still got some airtime. The next day, before Michael died, ABC had planned to show an hour special during 20/20 dedicated to the life of Farrah Fawcett. After Michael died, it was announced that it would be a two-hour special edition 20/20 with each hour highlighting each star. They did this because they knew it wouldn’t be fair to Farrah’s family if she just got overshadowed by Michael’s death, even though she kind of did.
In the end, it all comes down to the fact that the media makes us see what it wants to us to see.
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Reading this article I am both outraged and disgusted. I find it completely ridiculous that nobody has paid attention to these murders simply because these women are of a different race and social class. This completely de-values humans saying that one group is worth more than another. Murder is against the law, no matter who the victim is. It is very sad that it took up to the fifth or sixth murder for this to be investigated. In the article they even state that if it were someone of a different race this would have been dealt with the first time around. Also, this is clearly not an impossible case to solve. All of the women who were murdered lived in the same town and they even all knew each other. This is a clear serial killer case. It should have been a dead give-away after the third murder. Now it might be too late, and it probably won’t be long before this killer commits another murder. I do not blame the African American community for being frustrated with the media. It is a completely offensive action and even a slap in the face towards them. What gives the media the right to decide what is more important of a crime than another crime? The article states that the murders get the most attention are people who are white, rich, and educated. Either way murder is murder and it should be investigated the exact same way despite race and socio-economic class. This type of case may even open the door for more serial killers to commit such heinous crimes, and think they can get away with it. And the truth of it is, they can. The police need to lay down the law when it comes to this type of case. It should never take eleven murders in the exact same location to cause media coverage or appropriate police investigation. It is difficult to tell whether this is a case of social class or of race. Did this case not get any attention because these women are black or because they are of a very low social class? It probably is a combination of both factors, which once again leads to the question, how far have we really come? It is time that we stop putting the status of certain human beings over others, especially when it has to do with things that are under nobody’s control. We need to be treating each other equally and stop de-valuing certain people’s lives over others. Black families grieve just as much as white families when they have lost a loved one. I think that this case is a disgrace to all people.
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After reading the blog titled, “How Many Killings Equal One Public Outrage,” and the accompanying news article, I found myself questioning the media in the United States and wondering why I never thought about this type of thing before. The way the media portrays certain stories and manipulates what the American public hears is something that needs to be discussed and dissected. Without a doubt, the media deems certain stories unimportant and at times sweeps certain stories under the rug. At times, I believe this could be due to a certain culture of racism in this country. News stories involving black victims are often not given the same respect as those involving white victims. For some reason, I never really considered this before reading this blog post and the news article. This type of practice in the media is just not right and I hope it changes. Victims are victims, no matter what their skin color is.
In terms of this specific news story, it is an outrage that this story has not gotten more national play. I probably do not follow the news as closely as I should, but you would think that if a serial killer were on the loose in this country with about ten victims already found, that everyone in this country would know about it. There are many factors in play in this story that have probably made the media hesitant to make this a huge national story. The victims were black women from the poor section of town, and were possibly involved in drugs or prostitution. When the media chooses stories to bring to the public eye, their aim is usually to get public outcry and sympathy for the victims. However, when all the victims are poor black women with problems it seems like the media is concluding that these women do not deserve any sympathy. There is no doubt in my mind that if the victims were middle class white women from good backgrounds the story would have been given to the public much differently. There would have been a national outrage, the story would have been all over the nation, and I’m sure there would have been a call for a national manhunt for the serial killer.
Ultimately, it should not matter the race, class, or background of a victim in a news story. A victim is a victim and the way a story is shown to the public should be the same for all victims. This type of media racism should not be occurring in this country. To me, it seems like the only stories about black people in the news are out there to criminalize them, not to depict them as victims. This is not right and something needs to be done about it.
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This is the first time that I have heard about the cases in Rocky Mount. To be honest, I was not surprised when I read the article because I know that this happens often, but I am appalled by how African Americans are treated in such cases. The media puts its focus on white, middle-classed women in particular, but why should African Americans in similar situations be marginalized because of class and race? I previously heard of the case in Cleveland that juxtaposed this one, but I think that was only because geographically, we are closer to Cleveland. Also, maybe because the killer has been taken into custody. In Rocky Mount, the killer is still on the loose. How many murders is it going to take for the media and white officials in the town to start recognizing the cases and try putting a larger effort into figuring out who is behind it all. You think they would have gotten the picture after they found two of the bodies in the same location. I understand how they may think that those that are missing will ‘just come back when the drugs wear off,’ but there are others that have disappeared and then were found dead. If I were an officer, I would have thought the same thing. However, even if it were a white lower-class woman, I would have said it. Officials can’t just jump to conclusions and say they’ll return because they need to think, what if they don’t come back and what if this were a middle class white woman. Would they be saying that she would come back once the drugs wear off? No. They would have immediately sent the story to the media, which would have raised some type of reward. This is what they needed to do in North Carolina so that the search for the killer (who is still out there may I add) can get moving. This article reminded me a lot of the class where we talked about drug arrests and how the majority of drug users are white, but the African Americans are always the ones that get arrested because the police jump to conclusions (since they are being racist.) Both scenarios anger me. The African Americans are being victimized when they have just the same rights as whites, regardless of what class they are in. Nowhere does it say that the cases of those in lower class shouldn’t be addressed nationally. If it is a matter of funding, well then they should air the cases and raise money to just like they did once more and more people were murdered. Also, if they think it is a matter of people not tuning in just because the victims are African Americans, they are wrong. There are millions of African Americans in the United States that watch the news. Most white people are not going to turn off the news either when they see that a serial killer is on the loose (even if the targeted victims are a different race.) All in all, something needs to be done to have these cases recognized because how would you feel if your family member was missing and there was no one trying to help with figuring out what happened. Think about it.
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When I first read about this story it seemed ridiculous to me. There is someone out there killing African-American women, yet the story has been almost completely ignored by the media. It seems that the main reason that this major story is being ignored is because of one of two reasons. It is either because these are poor women or because these are black women, but either way it should not matter. When someone is out there murdering women in cold blood then it should not matter what skin color they are or what social class they are. People should be made aware of the issue so that they can help in any way that they can. Also with more media attention there is increased effort by the police because they are constantly under scrutiny. It seems absurd to me that this story has been largely ignored when there is a murderer running around killing people. A part of the story that makes it look a lot like an issue of race was when the Nancy Grace Show was scheduled to come to town to cover the story at around the five victim mark, but it was cancelled immediately when a white woman in Georgia went missing. The station claims that it went with the story about the white woman because it was more recent and was a breaking story, but it certainly looks like racism when five black women are killed and ignored, but the moment a white woman goes missing it is a national story immediately. It is important to have this national media attention because it can help to raise the reward money and maybe increase the number of tips that are flowing in toward the police. However, the national media has chosen to ignore the story because they are lower class black women, but it should not matter what class or race they are. What should matter is that someone is out there killing people and he needs to be stopped. It should not matter that some of these women may have had prison records they still do not deserve to die.
The case with the guy in Cleveland also fits well with this story, where this guy killed ten or eleven black women. Now while this case is getting a little more attention because I have heard of it a little bit, but what is outrageous here is the incompetency of the police who seem to not care. The officer, who told the Aunt to sit tight because her niece would return when the drugs were gone, should be fired on the spot. How could he just completely ignore the fact that there was a missing woman out there. The media and the police force need to start treating every human life equally and need to start arresting people who are killing people.
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I think the article about the potential serial killer in North Carolina brings up an interesting point of police and media involvement in criminal cases and investigations. It’s sort of a double-sided sword: on one hand the media is criticized for not reporting enough light-hearted, uplifting stories and that they are too focused on the horrible and sometimes depressing stories that they latch onto. On the other hand, they are scrutinized for not reporting enough on the local happenings and crime within the town which they cover.
However, in this case, this trend of disappearances and murders obviously warranted the attention of the media, and at the very least the police. The apparent comment by a police men to the concerned aunt that her niece would return “after all the drugs were gone” is disturbing on many levels. Not only is it unsettling for this case itself because a life is on the line, but it makes you question their credibility in any of their dealings with civilians.
How can we count on these men and women to protect us if they are automatically assuming that a disappearance is credited to drugs and in turn does not warren their attention? I guess here is where we insert the race card and deduce that if it were a white family searching for their missing child the police would take the time to at least perform a search of sorts.
So yet again, it is strange that they did not further investigate one missing person, let alone a string of similar, unsolved cases. As a woman who has seen the marginalization that certain men force women to subject to and how often those sorts of situations end badly is flat out terrifying. There are the people we would be calling in our time of need or desperation and they could hardly be bothered to lift a pencil and write down a report.
Yet again in the defense of the media, most stories do make it passed the drawing board (or in the real world a producer or editor) unless they have credible sources. With crimes cases, the sources the public wants to see to make the story believable is the police. If the police aren’t even bothering to take the reported accounts seriously, there is no way they are reporting the incidents to the media. And if a journalist tried to get a story to be written or filmed about a case, their superior is going to be looking for proof and credible backing before they put their company’s name on the line.
As scattered as all of these thoughts may appear, the bottom line is that the media gets its information from the police. The media takes a huge risk reporting stories that do not present police-backed facts and many people have lost their jobs over discrepancies that they could not back up.
The other plot line to this is that discrimination is still prominent in the justice system despite the progress we have made in other areas of our lives. Of all areas that need to step it up and realize that a person is a person and life is a life, it is the police departments of our country.
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The media has shown in the past to have shown favor when it comes to the issue of race. Just look at the people who are reporting the news to us, especially on the more well-known networks. Notice a pattern? The greater majority of them are white people. I’m not saying that these people are responsible for failing to report the occurrences of the missing women or anything but to say that race does not play a part in the media is an argument one would be hard pressed to defend. Now I know this is not true for all media outlets. ESPN seems to have a very diverse staff on the set of Sportscenter and other shows, but the reason for this may be the athletes they are covering are mostly African American and other minorities. I am referring to the media outlets that bring us the general news about everyday occurrences.
I am very skeptical to believe that the reason the missing persons case was not covered by the media extensively was because of their race. I believe we as a society have moved passed this type of barbaric thinking. I couldn’t imagine those who are in charge of what the television network shows would go to this low of a level of petty racism. What would they really achieve by doing this? Where would they benefit? Do they believe that their ratings would go down if they put an extensive story about missing persons who happen to be minorities? If anything I believe any story that involves this type of mystery and intrigue would produce great ratings. I’m simply arguing both sides here and I do not value people’s lives by ratings in my everyday life but I am just very unconvinced that racism was the cause here.
The issue of class I believe plays a much greater role in this story. The majority of this country is in the middle class segment of the income scale. It would make sense that the general public would not want to hear about people from a lower class that in their minds may have very little importance to society. It is very cruel and wrong thinking in my opinion because I believe every human being is intrinsically valuable and created in the image and likeness of God, but I will try to keep religion out of this debate. Also, there are a great many other stories about people the media and the general public would deem more important about white collar crime and other offenses committed against higher class individuals. It is just sad to think that money really does control almost every aspect of our society and some people are just swept by the wayside.
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I never realized how extreme people could act just because of the color of someone’s skin. I know that if I was a police officer, I would never be willing to not make an attempt to find a missing person due to their race. The fact that these 10-11 missing black women were found dead throughout this house is so disturbing that I do not even know how to respectfully understand what these women went through. I do not understand how people’s minds work in this world and I do not understand how police would not investigate this situation just because the women missing were black. Since when did it matter what social class or race someone was that the community is unwilling to help them out? There should be no one out there that is more important to this world that they are worth investigating if they were stolen compared to anyone else. It is obvious that if any one that was famous was stolen, raped, killed or anything it would be a huge ordeal. Yet, just because these women were black middle class women, they were disregarded when it came to looking for them. I do not understand how this type of situation could have been silenced in only one state over…Ohio! I know that if the police were ever to do something like this in my area, I would feel so uncertain that they were doing their jobs or if they even cared about the community they live in. I know that I am not even someone that would be in charge of finding a woman that went missing, but I know that if I was then I would never hold back just because of the social class or race of someone. People are so racist out there, this type of action needs to be brought to a halt and these police officers should be taken out of the force due to the fact that they did not do their job properly. This would not be an excusable act in my eyes! I feel horrible for the families of these women due to the fact that their daughters, sisters, or wives may have been missing and nobody was willing to help them do anything about it! If someone close to me was to go missing, I feel as if the entire community that I live in would be willing to help out, yet I feel as if the communities in which these women live in are outrageous. The torture that these women went through could have been prevented if the police would have been willing to help find them. There should be no cut off in this world about whether someone is worth helping out or not. We all should be looked at as being equal and no one is truly higher up than anyone else in this world.
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When you hear about a person going missing you say to yourself, I hope they find them. The thought of race and class really does not come to mind right away. When you think about it though most of the stories you hear come from parts of the country that are more populated and closer to cities. The town in question is called Rocky Mount and has a population of 60,000 and is in a state that does not get much attention in the first place. You cannot put the entire burden of the lack of publicity on the issue of race; the geographical location plays a part in the publicity the story receives. The fact that the murders and disappearances happened over the course of five or so years does not add to the severity of the story. I am not saying that the story does not deserve coverage but that there are other factors that affect the amount of coverage. To answer the question embedded in the final sentence of the article, these women do deserve justice. The justice they deserve though may not be on as grand a scale as the national news, which the article pushes for. The author compares this issue to that of a terrorist receiving a trial. A terrorist group affects the entire nation because the group is threatening something that all the American people share, freedom. When something applies to all of the American people it will get national coverage. When a small town loses about 10 women, who will have more sympathy, the entire country or the people from the town that knew the victims? This may sound harsh in the sense that I am saying there is no need to cover the story but the fact of the matter is that the story should be most highly covered by the area, which is mostly directly affected, the area in which the incidents happened. The question of race really has no factor in this because a missing person is a missing person. The only way the issue of race comes into the play is by the opinion of the person hearing about the story. The reader has all the say in whether or not race comes into play. If you want the situation to seem racist you can, it’s all about the person reading. Overall the women deserve coverage but the depth depends on the situation. If they all could be linked together and they had a definite lead and they knew that there was a dangerous person out there then maybe it would get national coverage. People just need to realize that there is only so much that the national news can cover and some times it comes down to luck of the draw. Everyone deserves justice but it all does not need to be publicized.
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While reading this article, it becomes apparent that there definitely are differences between the stories which are aired on television and highly publicized and stories like this one, which receive little or no media attention. Yeah, race could definitely be an issue in this, and I’m sure it does play some small role. However, I really do not think that it is the biggest factor in why this story was never picked up by the media. The biggest factor to me appears to be socioeconomic status. And no, I do not necessarily mean the socioeconomic status of the individual that went missing or was killed. I mean the socioeconomic status of the family and friends of the individual who went missing or was killed, although those two are most likely to be the same.
When looking for a missing person, one of the most effective ways is to utilize all resources, which range from posting flyers throughout the area where the victim lived or was last seen to creating threads on popular internet sources such as Facebook or Twitter. Although these both seem very easy, the people who can utilize them the most are people who are in about a middle social class. Why? It is because they are able to go to Kinko’s or 7-11 and afford to make 1000 copies of fliers to post all over the neighborhood or own a computer with which they are very familiar with Facebook or Twitter and are able to use it. So it may seem simple, but to someone who is on a very tight budget or does not have regular access to these things, it can be nearly impossible. Having money definitely helps get the word out faster, which is so beneficial in missing persons cases as well as trying to catch serial killers.
The other important factor, which is probably more important than utilizing resources, is having a reward available. Although I do not think that rewards should be necessary and people who know information should just come forward with it, that is unfortunately not how America works. Everyone expects to be compensated for their help or knowledge. In order to have a reward, there must be a group of people looking for someone who have money to put into a reward. Families who had money, like the Levy’s and the Holloway’s, were able to create enough conversation because they had money to facilitate it. Rewards were high, which got more and more people interested in the case. Even though it is horrible to think that people will only help out if it benefits them with monetarily, it really does work. More people talk since the stakes are higher which spreads the word. Unfortunately, it seems like the families and friends of these women did not have money which is why the word was not spread like in cases where the missing or killed person is from the middle class. Since race and socioeconomic status are so very tied together, race also is a factor in issues like this. However, I think that socioeconomic status of the people trying to find the women had a much bigger impact on the lack of media attention than their race.
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When televisions are turned on and newspapers are read are we getting the full story? Do the words we take as fact truly tell the whole story? After reading the article I can firmly state that the answer to both of these questions is a bold “no”. It is truly a shame the influence the media has on what we hear and what we see. Although I am well aware of racial issues in this country, I do at times feel distant from it all. Very rarely do I see any blatant acts of racism and for the most part it seems as if all races get along fine. This is however strongly contradicted from the events depicted in the article. It is clear that racist overtones still penetrate society today. I honestly feel a sense of sadness that I, like many Americans, was unaware of this story until presented with it. I tried to justify the apparent blind ignorance in some way but I simply cannot. As I think of major cases of crime covered in the media the same image appears time and time again. This image is largely of an upper class or middle class victim of the white race. What does this say about our society. Do we really value some lives over others? Is it simply a coincidence? My answer of “yes” coincides with the former. There is simply no other way to explain it.
I do agree with Sam when he stated a large component of this is entangled with the issue of class. It seems as if the media feels that this is what happens in lower class society. Killings are a daily occurrence and crime is an everyday act. Is this true? Of course not, but with the amount of publicity or lack thereof paid to the issue this is the only logical assumption. The media has a clear and concise responsibility to report the news with little discrimination or bias. Although this may be viewed as an unrealistic desire, it is also apparently unrealistic that coverage could lead to a capture. The influence the media has should be used in ways that benefit society instead of contributing to its ills. Are their people in this country that would turn a blind eye to this story, of course, but this does not mean we should all choose to ignore it. The life of every individual is worth the same and it angers me to see that some do not view this as the case. It is clear that some people need to take a step in someone else’s shoes. How would you feel if it seemed nobody cared about your family member? I for one would be extremely upset and I hope this country and furthermore the media make an effort to feel the same.
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One thing that disappointed me in this article is that the 10 women’s mug shot pictures were posted in attempt to raise money. Who in the right mind would post pictures of these women in such a bad state. Whenever you see missing person pictures the majority of the time it is their best picture. The person is usually smiling and looking their best because it makes in impact on people who pass it on the street. Another thing that bothers me is that there were 10 women and it took so long to raise money for ton the street. I completely agree with the following statement.
“Everyone has a dark side at some point, but you want to put your best out front when you are trying to appeal [to the public] for help,” Chief Manley says. “When you look at obituaries in the newspaper, [the photos] show a bright time in someone’s life; you really want to show the person when they are doing well.”
When celebrating a person’s life after they died, there is always a picture that sheds a positive light on their life. There is no reason why those women should not have that. It makes me disgusted that who ever thought the terrible pictures would help raise money. Even if there was a description about what the goal is, if I passed it on the street I wouldn’t think twice to stop and read. If I cant see myself doing that then I most certainly wouldn’t think the general public stopping, reading about what happened and took the time to donate money to the cause. I almost look at that situation as a mean unnecessary joke.
I don’t understand how it took so long for a mass murder to be more public. If it was a person of a higher socioeconomic status more money would have been donated in attempt to find them and catch the serial killer who is on the loose. There is no way that it wouldn’t be all over the news and made a huge deal. There is one thing that made me open my eyes to the two different situations. How can the life of one person be worth more than another? It made me sad to read that because we should all be treated equal. In a perfect world if people of different classes go missing, both would be considered a priority.
If one case is to be considered more vital than another I would say it is the mystery murders of the 10 women would be more important. Without knowing who committed the murders, I think that case is imperative to solve because after 10 women are killed, he/she won’t stop there. The murderer will keep going until he/she is caught. Therefore, more action should have been taken to bring justice to what happened to innocent people.
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Although I kind of hate to say it. This news story doesn’t really surprise me. When you look at our society and what the media constantly chooses to display and make a big deal out of just the fact that this injustice is even being covered is miraculous enough. Because race and socio-economic class are so intertwined with one another why wouldn’t the media owners and producers of the talk and news shows that we get our information from; who are probably well off and white not focus on issues that pertain to them. Actually I sort of take that back, I remember in discussion group we once had a discussion on who you as the media outlet owner would give coverage to in some tragic incident or something. I being a female minority said that I would not give coverage to someone similar to me but instead to a little white girl in a typical suburban setting because that is what would ‘tug on the heartstrings’ of America the most. I mean think about it is a missing black little girl from a poor community really going to illicit responses from all over America? Is a little Native-American boy that wandered off his reservation really going to be featured on Headline News? Would anyone even make an attempt to find them? What about all those missing children signs we see every time we go to Wal-Mart? Or those America’s-Most-Wanted 24723743284384729 hours long ending credits? I’m not sure because I don’t really buy cartons of milk anymore but remember back in the day when they used to put missing children on them? I feel like the response would be even less if it was someone from the LGBT community that was missing or abducted or whatever it is that lands people on Issues: With Jane Valez-Mitchell. It’s kind of sad and slightly pathetic to think about but I feel like your race, then your socio-economic class determines how much your life is worth (okay maybe not actually because a human life is a human life regardless, but definitely according to the media).
The thought that if I got raped and killed on my way home from a party by some creeper or something and the media would view my life more expendable than that of my white friends kind of makes me upset and depressed but then again I realize that my life would be worth more than some immigrant or poor black person so in a twisted sort of way I kind of feel better. I know everyone always says that “WE ARE…PENN STATE” so no one should be treated differently but I wonder that had Joe Dado been a black male wanting to pledge a black fraternity if anyone would have cared? Would it have made a difference in the media’s reaction? In how long it took to find him? In Penn State and the Greek community’s response?
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This story is one that really has got me thinking hard. It is hard for me to believe that this story has not hit the media hard, let alone caused an outrage among the public. I had always agreed that social class and race had a lot to do with media attention, but I never thought it was to the degree that was displayed in this story. To think, 10 woman have been killed or found missing in the same county over such a small period of time. I can relate this to here at Penn State. I could not imagine the outrage that would ensue if 10 women had been identified as missing or dead in a short period of time here. Just thinking, over the past semester the unfortunate event that has happened. The attention and ensuing effect that that event has had on Penn State is still shaping our University, and will continue to change our the way our lives operate for a long time. To put this into context, imagine if that happened nine more times, in only a short period of time. As far as the media coverage goes for these events, I think that is directly related to the abundance of this occurrence. I think that if we were to put this in mainstream media after the first or second occurrence, the further instances would have been prevented. Drawing media attention not only creates awareness for the situation, but also has other trickling down effects. For instance, media attention would make it necessary for this county police department to expand this investigation and implement more ways of preventing these events from occurring in the future. Also, national attention brings forth charitable donations that could help either the investigation, or the families struggling for the losses.
This topic has made me think about the way our society is structured as a whole. Whenever a crime or unfortunate event is committed upon a drug abuser, prostitute, or member of lower a lower social class, it always seems to be ignored. The public always seems to take the stance of “well it was only a…” or “Well they had it coming to them”. This stance frustrates me more than anything. In the overwhelming majority of these scenarios, these people do not want to be put into this situation, but they were put here by society, or an unfortunate turn of events. This makes me think back to the class we had on free will vs. social factors. Some of these people were just unable to break the strings that have been tied to them since birth. Because of this reasoning, it is these people that we should be highlighting, not neglecting in society.
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When I read this article my heart dropped. It is an incredible injustice to these women—mothers, daughters, sisters, neighbors, friends—that their murders or disappearances are not better investigated and recognized. I don’t live in a bubble—okay, State College is basically a bubble—but I don’t live in closet. I read the papers and I watch the news, yet this is the first time I have been exposed to this story. My first thought was, “what if that was my mother?” As a daughter, how would I feel if the greatest tragedy of my life, a mother’s death, was ignored by the media? Yet, a prime time show covered the disappearance of a white woman because it was more “timely?” I can’t begin to imagine.
The media’s lack of coverage may be a result of one of two things. First, it could be a classic example of agenda setting where the media selects what stories will be passed on to the public. Second, it could be the media was only responding to what their audiences wanted to hear. Just as Sam says you cannot separate race and class, I also believe you cannot separate the “fuel” behind a story’s coverage—the media or the public.
It is likely the women’s unlawful backgrounds also had an impact on their media coverage. It is far easier to dismiss the event if one believes the victim caused their tragedy. Perhaps audiences wanted to reach this conclusion so as to avoid thinking about the serious and scary issue at hand. Or, perhaps it is simpler and less pleasant: perhaps the lack of coverage was a realization of race and class prejudices.
Whatever the reason, there should be no argument that media coverage was lacking. It is interesting to reflect on this case and also consider the recent Gates situation. Gates, a black professor from Yale University, made headlines when he claimed that he was racially discriminated against by a white police officer. It seemed that every media outlet in every location covered the story. Ultimately, the ordeal ended with a “beer garden” resolution mediated by President Barrack Obama. This occurrence leads me to believe that a major factor of Rocky Mount receiving so little press was class, not race. A Yale professor is of a higher class and therefore commands more media attention. The poor women from Rocky Mount are simply, easier to ignore.
At the recognition of such a disparity, one must wonder how to avoid future occurrences. And if that were easy to do we would have much less to talk about in Soc 119. If we circle back to the question “who fuels a story’s coverage,” recall that it is both the media and the public. On the part of the media, they should aim to better recognize stories requiring public attention and then promote them. As for the public, they should seek to take action in their own communities. When a story is covered and then forgotten about, citizens should encourage the media’s continued efforts to follow the story. No solution is easy. If all parties made small efforts the effects could be powerful.
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This story really angers me. I agree with Sam that this story is probably just as much about social class as it is about race. I think the two things in our society go hand in hand. Where I’m from I will hear a lot of people talk about the “good, smart black people” as opposed to “bad, regular black people.” And we all know the areas where the “white trash” or the “burnouts” live. The poor are definitely looked down upon by the members of the upper-middle or middle class. And my area itself is looked down upon by the really rich suburbs that surround it. The thing is, even if our country is starting to really make progress in its race relations, (people of color have the same highly paid jobs that whites are getting, we have a black president in office, interracial dating is increasing ect), our society is still very unaccepting of the poor–white or black or brown. It’s so frustrating because the people that are on the bottom stay on the bottom, and the people on top just help others on the top. The cycle will just keep going round and round.
The media is representative of what the majority of the country wants to hear or is interested in. By not linking the murders and kidnappings of North Carolina together, and not making them national news, it is proof that the large portion of our country does not consider the poor minorities or the poor in general to be “real” groups worthy of justice or a spot in the news. One of the aspects of this article that really shocked and angered me was how the Nancy Grace show canceled the story of the missing black women to feature a story of a missing white girl. How many black women does it take to equal a single young white girl? When a girl like Elizabeth Smart goes missing the country is up in arms. All over the news you hear about the “young, smart, beautiful” girl from a “wealthy, good, family that was active in the community.” Even if the women who went missing in North Carolina or the ones mudered in Cleaveland, are reported in the news they are just numbers. They are often stripped of their individual identities. Their back stories are lost. The public has less sympathy. They are somehow lesser people. It is a disgrace but the cycle will only continue. The rich care about the rich. The poor? Their stories are sad, their deaths are tragedies, but they are still grouped in this overall category that the general public doesn’t want to get close to.
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A few weeks ago there was a blog posted, asking the question “Why black people aren’t more positive about our status in society and about the potential for an eventual solution to the race problem?” And this article is the answer to that very question. Over the past 6 years 10 black women have gone missing, and many of them were found murdered. And no one has heard about it, I have never seen it on the news or read it in the paper. Why, because nobody cares about poor, black women with criminal records. Regardless of the fact that they (just like you and I) are daughters, mothers, and American citizens and above all else are human beings…Regardless of all that, they still don’t matter. They were counted out just on the bases of their color and tax bracket.
And white people wonder why we are all so cynical about our status in society, because not only does history, but the present events and treatment of black people and other minorities (because I couldn’t imagine this event being any different if the women were of Latino or Native America descent) have given us no reason to think or believe otherwise. The media shows what it wants to about minority and poor people (especially black poor people), and they deliberately chose to not publicize the kidnappings and murders of these women, Why? Because they knew that there white audience wouldn’t care. And hey maybe they were right. But you know what, if there is a serial killer killing these women, and he decides to change his formula, and kill a white woman (especially a rich white woman), this whole damn country would be up and in arms, trying to find him. And please don’t let the man be black, the media, the police, the government, (shoot they may call the Pentagon about it) will find his butt in less than 48 hours, and he would be on trail that next morning (but hey that’s how good it is to be white I guess).
Now let’s be honest here, these women were no saints, they did their share of misdeeds and harm, but the last time I checked they were still citizens of this country. And they should have every right that this country promised them, and should be treated with equal decency. And that means (that the media and the police) should have been doing everything they can to find their murder(s). Because if they had been from the beginning; many of those other women would still be alive today. And their children wouldn’t be motherless.
Now I’m not one to pull the race card and holler racism at every opportunity. But let’s call a spade a spade. Besides what other explanation could there be. The article clearly said that the media knew about it, but they just chose not to speak of it. But the next time that you hear a anger black person or minority speaking about the “one man” and the injustice his people face, think about that article, and try to understand why he feels that way. Because in my opinion he has every reason too!
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First off, crimes against women are hardly ever reported. Rape and domestic violence are rarely brought to the attention of the police, and then it is it is even rarer that the offender who committed the crime will be prosecuted and then convicted. With that in mind, I also do believe that if these were white women who did not have their troubled past brought into the mix, that this case would become a national one. I watch the news very regularly and before I read this blog that was posted I had never even heard about this case where several women had been murdered and even more are missing. I am a criminal justice major, and having grown up with a father who was a Virginia state police officer for over twenty years, hearing about a crime like this just makes me sick to my stomach.
Just because these women are not white, and some of them have a troubled past does not mean that this crime should be overlooked by the national media. As a society we should all be outraged that these murders have occurred. We should not be desensitized to a crime such as this, it could happen to anyone. I sincerely believe that if these women were wealthier, or had a brighter past or even if they were not black that these crimes would have more national attention. If I were a family member of one of these victims I would be disgusted at the lack of attention, and the inability of the justice system to take these matters more seriously. Something that really struck my attention in this article that was posted online was how these crimes have not been officially connected even though two of the same bodies were found almost in the same place. I cannot help but continue to think that if these women had been white that these deaths would be in the forefront of the minds of the police who were working the case.
I honestly do not know that if these women did not have the shady pasts that they did if their race would matter as much. Now, to be fair it does not say that every one of the women had a bad past, but I am sure that there would have been more sympathy for some of the victims if there had not been drugs or prostitution involved. I know of plenty of cases where victims who had a questionable past and were also white that got no sympathy because of their lifestyle. This does not make it right and every human life should be equal. My heart goes out to these women who have so obviously been forgotten by the media.
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The idea of race and class being the underlying issue in this story is in my opinion one hundred percent true. The women that went missing and were most likely murdered in North Carolina apparently had previous issues with the law and drugs and what not but those struggles they faced in their lives has nothing to do with the fact that they are missing. When a person goes missing anywhere the matter should be overly publicized to gain as much attention and support as possible. When a group of women that have been missing from the same town in an extremely suspicious case are not aired, how will this shed light on an issue that clearly needs all of the help that it can get. Any unsolved case needs to have as many contributing forces to help solve it as quickly as possible. The help that can contribute to this force should not be taken for granted due to race or previous issues with the law. They are just as much of a person as any other citizen of the United States and deserve justice for both them and their family. If the number is getting this high for a potential serial killer, why does every person in America not know about this? A person’s race or any other fact in this matter should not have contributed to why this issue was not brought up to the national level. These people clearly need help and financial support to help solve these crimes. If the roles were switched such as in the case of Chandra Levy, Natalee Holloway, and Laci Peterson they would have a lot more reward money, support from every community and most likely a resolution to the case. The fact that this did not happen in a predominantly white community and lacked the support from cases that evolved in most cases that take place in them is clearly a contributing factor as to why this did not gain as much media attention. That to me is awful. Every single life is meaningful, no matter of any circumstances. Every person is loved by someone and deserves to be fought for in a time of need. This is clearly extreme mistreatment and these women need the public to come together for them. Although jumping to a race issue may be a hefty and quick conclusion but if you add up on the factors what reason do they have to back this up? There is absolutely no reason that could make this lack of media attention towards this case acceptable. The fact that this is just one case that has been brought up.. makes you wonder.. how often does this happen that we are unaware of? That is terrible to imagine and sad because it most likely happens all the time.
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It is stories like these that make me regret every thought that I have ever had about our world coming nearer to equality. It makes me sick to hear about this story, and it makes me even more sick that I have never heard about this until reading it on the blog. 10 people went missing, and all of these disappearances were somehow linked and no one said ANYTHING about this on the news? This story is disturbing and against what people have been fighting for, equality and justice. Where are the families of these missing women? I’m sure that they have been fighting to get publicity, why have their efforts gone unnoticed? I live in a nice suburb of Philadelphia and two years ago, my senior year in high school, a freshman girl in my high school was brutally murdered by her mother’s boyfriend. Nothing like that had happened in the community where I live in a very long time so everyone was pretty shook up. I went to a pretty diverse high school because there is an urban area where I live. This young girl that was murdered was black and it was almost as if the white students that didn’t know her felt awkward mourning her. As if the other black students were going to say something to the white kids about feeling sorrow for a poor girl that was murdered. I was really impressed with how the administration handled the situation though. They openly addressed the issue and had open auditorium where students could talk and express how they felt about the situation. There was a memorial service and huge banners all around school were kids could write messages. The thing that really bothered me was a comment that I heard about that happened in the cafeteria. A random student was talking to his friend about the situation and he said “I don’t understand what people are upset about, it’s just another black kid that got killed,” or something to that effect. I was not present when the comment was said, nor do I know the student or what ethnicity the kid was. Luckily, a teacher overheard the comment and the kid was pulled out of his seat and went straight to the principal’s office. But what did that comment even mean? “Another black kid got killed” As I mentioned earlier there had not been an incidence of violence like this to any person in a very long time in the community where I lived. Why is there this image that black people are violent people that happen to get into more altercations that white people? And why is it that every time a white person goes missing or gets in a fight it is all over the news, but with the situation with the ten missing black women, it goes completely unnoticed? I wish I had some kid of explanation or even a speculation as to why society is like this, but I really have no idea.
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It makes me very upset to see just how things really and truly run in the world. Although I am upset, I can not say that I am surprised. Although, some of my situations or experiences aren’t as drastic or can be compared to these deaths that have been occurring for almost to decades, I have had experience with this type of inequality. For example, when I was in high school and anything happened, it was no surprise to see that the police or security guards at the school would be more hurried to take care of the students that were from that neighborhood or that were white. I sometimes believe that its not something that these security guards or police do on purpose but it is something that is embedded in their minds.
Now on the subject pertaining to these women, I believe that it is very disappoint and an outright shame that the government, the police force and who ever is suppose to protect the people, allow something like this to happen to these women. If all people are created equal, there should be equal justice given to everyone.
I watched the video along with the article and I wonder why is it that class and race plays such a huge role in society. It plays such a huge role that peoples lives are being taken and there is nothing that these people can do about it. It hurts that in many cases I could have been that random black female from a neighborhood like that, struggling to make a living, someone could have killed me and there would be no proper investigation or that my case would have been just swept under the rug and regarded as a lost case and not considered worthy enough for the police department to go the extra mile to find my killer.
Another thing that I found wrong with this information is that there was not enough money going around to help this case. I understand that these families do not have a lot money to help with the search of their daughters but why is it that the government is more willing to provide monetary support for white or middle class victims than they are for black or lower class families. Is the government basically telling us that some lives are more valuable than others? Every time I think about it, it results in a “shaking my head” moment. Its hard to even force my mind in that direction because it has become a point in which I don’t want to believe it.
I also noticed that these crimes have been carrying on for 20 years. I find it funny because the police department is quick to put people in jail for many years without substantial evidence but are not willing to go the extra mile to defend the lives of American citizens.
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This travesty is to be found all over the U.S. Black women go missing and no one other than their immediate families know about it. For ex., every so often the evening news will send out the alert of a rapist or near rapist on or near a college campus, ALWAYS a big white university like. “Three women were accosted! Be on the look out for a blankety blank rapist near the corner of, wearing, last seen, here’s a police artist’s rendering of him, etc!” The reports will air one to several days. Whenever I see those I wonder how many rapists actually RAPED black women on the South or West sides of the city where most blacks live…. and are still on the loose…. that NO ONE alerts us to. There have been so many cases of serial rapists in black areas of the city that either never make the news, or make the news only AFTER the rapist(s) are caught. Only in one instance can I recall the networks covering a pair of serial rapists on the BEFORE they were caught (if ever), and that was when a community group took to the streets protesting lack of coverage to “alert” black women in the area to the danger, and to protest the police not apprehending them. And these were uncommon rapes. They were 2 men raping women in partnership! Dozens of black women had fallen victim before community leaders recognized the pattern and took action. Only then did the “news” find it fit to broadcast. Yet, and yet, let one white student an (where the white folk live)get “almost” raped and poice sketches are on the air that very night. This story shows just that and it is very unfortunate but when will African Americans or minorities for that case get the same coverage? I seems as if the media is putting a cost on the peoples life and the truth of the matter is there is NO cost a life is worth more than money and everyones should be treated equally whether black or white!
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It is very sad that the national media did not give any attention to these crimes in Chicago or in North Carolina. The media has a lot of power and for them not to publicize the possibility of a serial killer driving the streets of this small North Carolina town is sad. The excuse that the Nancy Grace show gave them for not putting the story on her show is ridiculous. Just because that you have to keep up with the latest news doesn’t mean that you have to disregard the other potentially serious crimes as well. They could have very well included the serial killer story in their next episode.
The local police should have given this crime the attention that it deserved from the beginning and maybe they could have caught the killer before he murdered more women. It is true that the media and police pay more attention to crimes that involve white people than they do crimes that involve colored people. Whenever I hear the story about the Jon Benet, I feel that the media attention and the movies that were made about that would not even exist if Jon Benet was black or of another race besides white. The history that these women should have not been taken into consideration once they were missing. Especially the fact that the cops said that they will return once the drugs are gone from their system. It was completely uncalled for and it shows that they really don’t care about the people that they are supposed “to protect and serve.” I hear about crimes everyday that have been committed against black people that no one seems to care about, but then the same crime occurs against a white person then the whole world and their mother will hear about it by the end of the day. If the media took control of this story and publicized it then there is a greater chance that they killer would have already been caught and more women not be dead right now. Hopefully things will change in the future where race does not depend on if the media will publicize crimes or not.
You would have thought that things like this would have changed since the 80’s or whatever, but yet it still is. This just goes to show that the corporate America still has such a big control of the American people hear about. I know many people who do not like Fox news because it is so biased due to the effect of its owners. When the news is based on discriminating factors then how can anyone really trust anything that they hear on the news or the papers?
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This story is pretty tragic, and sadly it isn’t really a new type of story. Things like this happen all the time and never get the attention they deserve, while a very similar event can happen somewhere else to a white person and it’s regarded as a nationwide tragedy. It’s really unfortunate for us as a society that we regard a drug addict’s death as less attention-worthy and sad than an attorney’s wife or a child who fell down a well. Certainly the child and the attorney’s wife probably had better lifestyles and were more productive toward society in the first place, but that doesn’t make them any more or less valuable than the drug addict.
I think that the case here is just another classic example of sociological judgment on the behalf of the authorities and a public outcry that’s too late to make much of a difference in any case. All we can do now is talk about how unfairly the families of these women were treated and how little justice was actually served toward them when it could do them any good. I really hope that they catch the despicable person(s) who perpetuated these actions, but it seems as though it’s a little too late for any kind of prosecution to help them. All that we can do now is try to provide closure to the women’s families and put the people who killed these women in jail.
The fact that all of the local white officials fail to attend the vigils for the missing women is unfortunate. It shows that the racial/social disconnection between us is still alive and thriving, especially when, for example, all of the officials were in attendance for a ceremony held for a prominent white woman. One of them even complained that had he known about it he would’ve been in attendance. This really just shows me that the official is out of touch with his community. If local black people knew about the situation and made the effort to attend the vigil, the official should have known about it. His lack of information merely shows that he only chooses to associate with a certain part of the whole set of his constituents.
I really hope that the guy(s) responsible for this are caught, but it wouldn’t surprise me if nothing came of this, even with the added publicity and donations that it’s receiving. It’s a very sad situation and sadly there’s probably a dozen other cases like this (perhaps a little less with regard to magnitude) happening right now somewhere in the world, where a minority has suffered a fate similar to a majority group member, and has been less than noticed. What is the answer to this problem? I don’t know, people need to change the way they think about minorities.
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I have always heard about the different views on different privileges between class and race and there are so many different arguments and ideas behind every side. One side that I don’t think gets a lot of press is the difference in what we determine what is and isn’t a crisis between classes. Especially in comparison to middle and upper class white society versus lower class minority society. When there were crisis such as columbine and other tragedy’s that became national attention, people were shocked and scared because they could never imagine this happening, something this terrible. But the truth is as much news coverage as these tragedy’s got there are so many more killings, or shooting, or tragedy events that occur in poor areas. It go’s back to the idea that people feel that certain people are worth more than others. That they deserve more or are more entitled to the better things in life. It has been a problem if the most common problem through mankind. Ever since there have been society’s and civilizations there have been groups of people that had power and would hold back any other group that opposed them or threaten them. It is one of our worst traits. It still occurs today, the example of overshadowed violence is a sad but true piece of evidence that it is still going on today. We as a society will never come together and be able to truly accept everyone and live in a peaceful world until we are able to stop trying to undermine others and prove how and why we are better than most. We have always had the mindset that it’s a me first world, we are trained as little kids to adults that we should be the best and that we are better than our competition. It is almost a sickest how people are s competitive to the point others rights and freedoms are taken from them for the benefits of others. I cannot say that I do no enjoy the privileges that I have and that I have had throughout my life, something I must attribute to my white upper class family I was born into. It is something I have no don’t taken advantage of and enjoy. It is something I am only starting to see at what price I had what I had and for what reasons I was given more than others in society. It something that I am aware of and something I want to be a part of a change but it is something I still do not fully understand. One thing is true though I know what I had growing up and I am learning how some are deprived of things I would take for granted and that is something that America needs to change.
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Before reading this article I guess I never really sat and thought about the fact that all of the women that were widely reported in the news were all white. I never really took race into account because I focused more on the fact that these women were missing and that in my opinion was more important than their race. Now that I do think about it the only case that I remember being highly televised regarding a missing person and a black person was the one from a few summers ago where a pregnant woman was missing and it turned out that her murderer was her black (married) boyfriend and father of her unborn child. I feel that in situations like this race should never be an issue. However, after reading this article I’m starting to wonder if race really does play a factor in determining which cases we the media chooses to cover.
I’m sure (or at least hoping) that these cases were at least on the local news in that area. But after reading the article about the women in North Carolina there are so many questions to be brought up. Like why haven’t these cases been broadcasted on big national networks like CNN, HLN, and Fox News (who am I kidding with this one)? Who determines which cases get airtime and which ones do not? Lastly why not all or none? It’s just not fair to these victims and their families. Since these victims can be all somehow be linked to each other I feel that if as many police officers were involved as the amount involved in the Laci Peterson, Chandra Levy, and Natalie Holloway this Rocky Mount town would have been able to rest well rather than continue to worry about their missing family members and friends or who might be next. It is truly sad to see how the media picks and chooses what they show us especially since it is regarding the same topic just different social classes and races. I feel like there is nothing that we can really do about things like this unless we are the ones determining what gets media time and what doesn’t. I know it is good to be informed about things going on in this world but things like this makes me want to just crawl under a rock and back into my world where everything is perfect and racism doesn’t exist. As for this rapist who was recently arrested and many bodies were found in his home, WTF is the first thing that comes to mind. As for the victims why haven’t their families filed missing persons report. Then again maybe they did and just like in Rocky Mount the police just chose to ignore it.
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To start everything off, I think the entire article is wrong. From the whole murder incidents to with the media not discussing these topics. My question is not entirely based on the main subject of this article, but it is why so many people get away with murder. It is insane and unfortunate that there are killers who are ‘masters’ at doing it and have killed dozens of people and have gotten away with it. Regardless of what age race or background the incident takes place, it is a serious matter and needs to be broadcasted to the communities. Someone is out there who is slowly taking away every ones lives and if no one is aware of it, they will continue to do so and more families will be hurt. Now on this article, the message that I get is the media is blatantly racist. If these murders were to happen to white people, the media would have more concern and proactive with broadcasting it versus what they did with the African Americans and broadcast it six murders later. A clear example which I find suspicious and awkward is when the Nancy Grace Show was cancelled. I understand that a white girl went missing, but in my opinion I think it is less important that five people who were recently murdered. Like I mentioned earlier, if it were a black girl missing I would be under the impression that they would not cancel a show just to talk about a missing girl. If they thought that her going missing was so important, they could have made a breaking news alert and kept the message scrolling along the bottom of the screen. That would be more considerate and beneficial towards both of these horrific cases. It is also interesting to see how fast people are to donate money. Of course when ten girls were murdered, no one would ever think to donate money or support any of the suffering families. However, when people go missing, they instantly feel sympathetic and are willing to pay money right away. And by the way, I find that absurd because eventually they will be found again. It is not like they are dead. There is honestly not a worst feeling than having someone close to you die and to not have anyone support you hurts even more. Especially if they hear someone else is missing and people are donating and supporting the worst family, it is not the greatest look. In my eyes it is interesting to see how the tables turn when race is involved. I personally think deep down inside, even unintentionally, people will remain racist. No matter what, I feel like white people will always have people behind their backs no matter what the situation is. As of now they appear as the power race and are doomed to be the best race in the world.
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I found this story interesting for a few reasons, including the fact that it happened in Rocky Mount, NC in which I spent some time when I was younger. That initial link out of the way, I found this story to be interesting because it reveals the true entangled complications between race and social class. I personally feel that this story had a little to do with both issues. It is likely that this story did not make national headlines right away indeed due to the race of the victims, but it is just as likely that it was because of their social class. I remember to some degree, learning about a case involving a group of white prostitutes being murdered serial killer style in Boston in the mid 1990’s that received no national media attention as well. This leads me to believe that social class did have some role in this case, as it seemed as though many of these women had problems with drugs and run-ins with the law. On the other hand, you have to dig deeper into this problem and start to wonder if their social class was directly affected by their race. In other words, were these women more pronged to this type of lifestyle due to the shortage in opportunities they had been given by society due to their skin color? In my opinion, this is the heart of the race v. class issue. It is easy for some to write this story off as being unimportant in the eyes of the national media simply due to the lifestyles and social class that they lived in. But, people that are quick to write this off are unfortunately the people that simply do not want to think deeper into this problem and to start with the roots. These women became targets seemingly due directly to the types of lifestyles that they were living, so if society had granted them the opportunity to live life in a higher social class, would these women then still be alive? If not, would the story still be as unimportant to the national media? It is hard to say, and hypothetical predictions do not get us far in the real world, but in my opinion even a group of black women of middle class or higher would have most likely still seen a lower response in national media coverage than if they were white. But, oddly enough this leads us right back to the web of entanglement surrounding race and class. The question then becomes, are black women of middle class the same as white women of middle class. Unfortunately the answer seems to be no, so it must be a race thing right?
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It is unfortunate to witness such discrimination over race and social classes. There could be multiple factors that contribute to the reason why stories such as the one in North Carolina get less coverage than some of the famous missing-person cases. The more obvious factor is the race and stature of the victims. The speculations in the article point out many good points and opinions. Do I agree with them? For the most part I do. I strongly believe that because these victims are black, uneducated, and not middle class brings them to the situation they are in now. The media refuse to give these individuals the coverage and help they need to stop this serial killer from continuingly kidnapping women in their neighbor. It wasn’t until the fifth killing or so that finally caught their interest and willingness to look into it. I believe the media is very corrupt and are interested only in the news that will attract attention. This causes discrimination between people and the news that are “worth” their time. They may also think that stories such as these do not spark much attraction because of the economic situation of the families. This is a very crude judgment for them to make and makes me mad at how corrupted the news can be. For them to avoid this situation for so long just disgusts me.
The findings and research presented in the article makes the media look even worse. What really caught my attention was the amount of time it took for rewards to come up. With the case of Annie Le, it only took three days for the university to offer a $20,000 reward but to earn the same amount of money for ten Mount Rocky women was six years. That statistic alone is very shocking to me and I am sure to many other people. How can one person’s life be more important than someone else’s? How can location, race, stature, and wealth contribute different opinions on the value of life and death? I am aware that there are some people that are less fortunate than others and there are forces outside of their control that put them in the position they are in. But this does not mean that they should be less regarded than anyone else. If an individual seeks for help, it shouldn’t matter who or what they are. Help should be sent if possible and I believe the media didn’t do that in this case. The media is not the only corrupt system. Even the police decided to ignore reports from Cleveland women of people missing and instead insulted them. This is something that contributes to the growing hatred and discrimination between race and differences in this nation.
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Reading over this small article, I cannot help but the, wtf. This is one of those things where you have to sit back and think, “Wow, really? Did that statement really come out of a public server’s mouth?” There are many ways of tilting your head at this one, but what gets me is the fact that they are blatantly ignoring an entire class and race of people. The fact that most of these women were in the same socioeconomic class, raises an eyebrow. There is a very good point made in the full story by Sam Sommers, the white, the educated, and the wealthy were all the most profiled by the police and had in depth investigations done. When we look at the cases in Rocky Mount, they were just pushed aside like nothing was even occurring. Little do they know that ten helpless women were being tortured and murdered right under everyone’s noses. These officials involved in the case who for some reason felt a need to put it off for so long should be fired. This is absolutely ridiculous. Where do they get off at deciding who lives are worth a fight and who’s are not? I know of I was a family member of someone hurt in these case I would be infuriated beyond belief. I feel so badly for the families who were involved on this and had to sit there and basically be told “Hey, your shitbags, get over it”. I even put blame on the town for not caring enough for each other to raise awareness on what was going on. The town should have realized the issue at hand and how many disappearances were going on, but instead they to just did not care. They thought they were just druggies, or prostitutes running off, but really there was a much, much more sickening series of events taking place. This just shows how people in society today will turn their backs to people because of the color of skin or the amount of money in the bank. It is terrifying to believe that we now only solve crimes if you fit a certain “standard”. All men and women are created equal, so when something happens and people need help, they should still be treated as equals, no matter what their race or class. It is strange the news that the media puts out there these days. People care more about what the hell Chris Brown or Kanye West or Brittany Spears are doing than people who are just like them in even deeper troubles than these high profile people. People need a reality check on how to handle situations, this was not the way to handle this situation, and I hope they find that how in a harsh way.
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The role of the police was to serve the community and protect the public from harm. They are suppose to attend to all the needs of the public especially those who are at greater harm. But the police were not the only ones at fault in these situation. In this situation, the media should have played a report on this issue because it is a story about the risk of the community. There were a number of people affected by this and this should have been a story talked and discussed about.
The media plays stories that are at interest of their companies rather than their public’s interest. The race issue is a definate reason why these media companies do or do not play the story for the public. The use race as either the meaning behind the story or the reason not to play the story. People are at harm and therefore they should have been there to have a story there but they didn’t because their concerns are barely ever the concern of the public.
I am a media major and I am sure that media is no longer localized and there to report on stories to public interest and if they do it is always one-sided and not throughly investigated. This is a prime example of the media doesn’t live up to the expectations of what they were intented for. This story is just one of a million where the media plays the biggest role but doesnt play their only role.
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The question Sam wants us to ponder is how much is a life worth and why one life is worth more than another. I now understand how much class and race are intertwined. As much as I don’t think there is a straight answer, I still wanted to try and think of something to even approach something close to one. Everything I came up with related to race, and the stereotypes surrounding them. Someone may be considered “worth” more than another because they can contribute more to society or help a community. Someone who would be considered worth less would be someone who is thought to bring down the society, or be a detriment or drain, as they love to say.
This serial killer seems to be a perfect example of this based off of the idea that the women he killed/kidnapped were chosen because he contracted HIV from a prostitute. It doesn’t say in the article if these women in particular were connected to any prostitution, but it did say they knew each other and lived in the same neighborhood. The reason why these women were targeted may not be true, but considering the neighborhood and town in which this happened, it isn’t necessarily far off either.
It is unfortunately very common for such a terrible thing to happen in a poorer neighborhood and for it to go unnoticed for a long time, if it is ever exposed to the larger community or state or nation. I still wonder why they do not put such things on the news; maybe it has some relation to it being a poor neighborhood, not thinking such things are big news. Is it discrimination against a town with 50% black people? After spending time in neighborhoods where crime is common, some people have become desensitized to it. The kids may be used to it, or expect to fight or be hurt. From an episode of Tyra Banks’s talk show, there was an eighteen-year-old prostitute on the show who had been raped sixteen times and knew she wouldn’t live past the age of twenty-two. It was heartbreaking, because as she spoke about being assaulted in the past and how she thought she was going to die, she smiled and laughed. It wasn’t the first time I had heard that you have to laugh to keep yourself from crying, because you do what you have to do to make money or support and help your family.
It seems that some people within these situations have accepted it, and like the young boys you see in the movies like Menace II Society and Boys In The Hood, they know the risks of getting involved in dangerous ways to get money, but they see how much easier it is to get some cash rather than working a legitimate job and be paid hourly.
I know the media helps only to perpetuate this. You may watch the news that has sad things that happen, but if they showed trouble that occurred in poorer neighborhoods every day, they would only show that, and without a balance of good news and bad, there would be a much different perception of this country, and everyone knows how important image is to the United States.
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The fact that these killings have not been much more publically talked about it really a big shame. It is obvious that if these killings would have been much more highly publicized if it happened to be middle class white women instead of black women. The families of the women who have been slain deserve better, as they have suffered just as much as if it were a white family. This to me seems to be a clear indication of how things continue to work in this country. Because these women are black and lower class, it is seem as something that is more common and less of a big deal, which should clearly not be an assumption made by the public and especially by the media. The media can be seen as biased in many different issues that are national news, and this should have been a much bigger priority than it seems to be. Any sort of crimes of this magnitude should clearly be a huge issue, yet we have not seen the sort of outcry that is probably necessary to find this killer and fix the problem. To me, this is not an issue of blatant racism, however it does show the view of black people and lower class people that most of the country has. I think that even if the women were white and from the lower class, the coverage would not be anywhere near as much as it should be, as people tend to dismiss crimes more among lower class people as part of life, as it is seem as something that just goes along with the territory. This is something that can be seen in all aspects of this country, as lower class people clearly start with a disadvantage compared to the rest of the country. Like the example that Sam did in class where everyone starts at the bottom and the white person would make it to the top first, we really must examine where everyone starts from, and lower class people, especially those who are black, clearly start with a disadvantage in many aspects of life. This is something that really needs to be examined in our culture, as everyone should have equal opportunities to make something of our lives. The sad part is, that these women who have been killed no longer have that opportunity, as their lives have been cut short prematurely due to the horrific actions of one person. We all should view each other as equals and it is really sad to me that these women will never have the opportunity to prove what they are capable of, part of that because they were of lower economic class, and because of their race.
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First off I really want to say that I feel like this blog entry discusses something that I have definitely always known and have often thought about. Far too often in the media you turn something like Nancy Grace and you will hear about some girl that went missing and how everyone in the country should be looking for her. This saddens and angers most people and they rally together to try and find this person. For example, when Natalie Holloway a pretty girl from a wealthy suburban family went missing it created a frenzy in the media. Images of Natalie were plastered on nearly every news station; the story received major international attention, many people sent money to help in the search effort, they even made a lifetime movie about it. Even though this is a sad situation, and I do feel sorry for Natalie and her family, what a lot of people do not seem to realize is that there are certain criteria that have to be met in order to receive that amount of attention. These criteria involve some of the worst isms in our society classism, racism, and sexism. Let’s first examine the sexism that is often seen in the choosing of which missing person to display. From when we are very little we are told stories such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel, where a damsel in distress is rescued by her prince charming. Because of this it is much easier to show a woman who is in danger rather than a man. The next ism that we can look at is racism. This is obviously a simple one, if there are two women who are both missing and one is white and the other black, the media are often more likely to choose the white woman. Why is this, because most of this country is white, and most of the money is this country is held by white people. When people turn on the tv they want to see someone who they can relate to, it is often much easier for white people to relate to other white people. The fact of the matter is though, that this is racism, you should be able to relate to someone no matter what color they are. However, there are still very many people who still find it much easier to relate to someone in their race. The third ism is in my opinion the most important one, classism. Though there is still a lot of racism in America, it would be easier to tell get people to care about a pretty young black girl from an upper class family, than it would to get them to care about a poor white male. This is why that Asian Yale student received so much press.
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How many times does the people of America have to show the world that they don not care about black people. Every time something happens to someone of a white race the media televises it as if the president had just got murdered. For example, the OJ Simpson trial. When he was on trial for killing his wife the cover all the details to the “T” it had to be on the news every single day even after their trial it was still in the news. Now I am not saying not even a little bit that it should not have been televised but I would like the same coverage for black people who get kills by there famous spouses or other people in a manner that this guy killed his victims in Cleveland.
Why is it that every time never fails the cops always are in the wrong when it come to big things like this? If I am telling a police officers that my daughter, son, aunt, niece, nephew ect. Is missing I expect them to go out and look for them the hardest they can because that is the job. That is why the public people of America is paying taxes so that they can protect and serve their people. If they did not want that responsibility then they should have gotten another job but since they didn’t and choose this specific job then they should do it well. I will be damned if someone have the audacity to tell me that my child or whoever will be home after the drugs are gone. What type of discriminatory stuff is this? People these day are so full of themselves they do not know what to say or do in these situation.
Now I feel as though the people who lost their families and told the cops that they were missing should get some type of compensation out of the mayor of Cleveland because it makes no sense what so ever for someone that could have been fixed and token care of get out of control that quickly with that much damage. There were 10 to 11 women who gotten killed by a black man, I mean he buried them or hide their bodies somewhere and the police and or FBI agents were so slow to the scene.
Now if this would have happened in another part of the country where there nothing but white people we would have heard of this story all throughout America on CNN or ABC world. And to me that does not make any sense seeing as though we are all people living in the same predicament. Please someone show these people that it is time for a change that people other than whites are just as equal as whites are.
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This incident of the lack of media coverage and overall concern about the death and missing persons of the girls is completely race and class related. I agree that if these women were of a higher social class and or white, then there would have been much concern for these victims. I can’t believe that the missing of 10 women would not be reported to the public. Not only is this news horrifying to the victims family and friends, but what about the entire community who is in potential danger. Why wouldn’t the police and authorities not be concerned about a serial killer in their community who can potential hurt their own family and friends and hurt the confidence and morale of the community. The article makes clear that of course there can’t be coverage over every negative occurrence, but the fact is that there are many huge coverage of white women who are perceived to live positively lives who get the media attention and monetary support. But in the case with these women who are minorities and have public accounts of drug abuse and prostitution, 10 missing women sadly couldn’t hold near the same support of missing white women. Even if these women did live difficult lives that resulted in prostitution or drug or alcohol abuse, does not disregard the fact that all of the women’s missing cases should have been attended to more, they are people too no different than anyone else. When I think about it, I only know stories of white women being missing or if they were killed; I can’t think of a single huge storyline where the person was black. When I even think about the coverage the black people get in the media, the first thing that comes to mind is their involvement in crimes whether they were the one committing the crime, or it was black on black crimes with the black person of course being killed. If these stories of a missing black person were brought up in the news media, I’m pretty sure that their air-coverage would be short and would be soon forgotten. It is scary that they speculate that the killer might be someone in law-enforcement or in the military. If this is the case, then I feel like this would be worse than if the person was just an average citizen. A killer who could hold such authority cold have the power to keep the murder suspect hidden and keep the missing women on the down low. In the article, when it mentioned about how the story of the missing and murdered women were going to be shown on the Nancy Grace show, but then was cancelled. Even though Nancy Grace said that the cancellation was not because of any race issues, I feel that it is easy to speculate that this was the case.
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This story is horrible. I don’t understand how society can let these kinds of stories slip through the cracks. I understand that people in today’s society want to relate to the people and the stories in the media but there are many people who are lower class American citizens. Also, it just doesn’t seem right, if all people are citizens we can relate to each other by that simple fact. I think it’s horrendous that the media, being mostly white upper class citizens defined the media as stories that relate to them. This is why this story didn’t make it to the headlines. However, one murder by one guy should have made the news. Citizens should be warned whether they are rich, poor, black, blue or orange. If people had been told about this story then the other murders could have been prevented. It is said that in today’s world most kidnappings and murders are solved by mass media an alerting the public to look for suspects. Although, lower class prostitutes may not be considered a great asset to society, they have all the rights that other U.S. citizens, which is to be protected under the law. By keeping these stories out of the media, the public was not being protected, as it should be. It is ridiculous that 10 women had to be tortured and killed for this story to gain press and it’s not like I heard about it until now. The mass media of the United States is ignoring so many problems that society races such as racial discrimination and the environment. They are letting issues slip through the cracks to protect their image and jobs. However, they are not doing the people any justice in the long run. Everything will catch up with us eventually. If we don’t tell these kinds of stories because of the victim’s personality or race or class, then we should at least be seeing these stories so we can catch murderers. Although, he might have shown a pattern of killing lower class women, this doesn’t mean after the first time, people could predict that if he killed again, it would be another lower class woman. I just don’t understand how anyone can justify this discrimination in the system. But the truth is people probably don’t. They just try to forget about what has happened. It is disturbing that we are selectively making people aware of issues. If this is really a free country, we have the right to know what is going on. And after one murder, this story and the killer should have been publicized. Now who let it get to ten is even more crazy then the people who decided to not report on this after one. Everyone living in America deserves protection and protection is knowledge. Without knowledge, we cannot protect our fellow citizens in the age of technology.
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I chose to focus on this particular blog because part of what we discussed this week in section was the media. Newscasters these days are more concerned with their ratings then actually talking about the news, and it is appalling. As Americans, we know little to nothing about what is going in our own country, let alone other countries. Of course, laziness is partially to blame, but another part of what is to blame is the media. Even if we want to know the truth about what is going on, either nationally or internationally, we have to search hard to find it, and even then we don’t know for sure it is the truth. Our best bet is to search newspapers from other countries to find the truth about what is going on in America.
We discussed this for quite some time in section and it really got me thinking. Why is it that the media and newscasters have the ability to control what our country knows about and focuses on? For example, when Michael Jackson died that was all that was on the news for at least two weeks. It is understandable that networks such as MTV would pay that long of a tribute to him since he was such an amazing artist, but it should have been the topic of new for two days tops. The same goes for the balloon boy. That is a scandal of course but what it really did was entertain the audience. More people tuned in because they thought it was ridiculous, but there was no real news coverage. We have a war going on and know a minimal amount about it because our media would rather focus on the topics that get their ratings up. Schools have a great deal to do with what we do and don’t know about our own country, but I’m not going to get into that right now.
This story just reinstates what I am saying. First of all, there is no doubt in my mind that if the missing women had been white, the story would have been all over the news and every effort possible would have been taken to find them as quickly as possible. It is sickening to me that something as serious as serial killer in a small town could be ignored, simply because of the race of the town. Obviously, that is not a subject that goes unnoticed, especially by the media. That story should have been all over the news years ago. Something that bothers me about it is the fact that it was ignored will end up being the bigger story. That will bring in more viewers and controversy, and that will be the subject of conversation. The real issue at hand should be the fact that women were missing and killed.
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It is pretty pathetic to see that there are people being murdered and missing in our society and that it’s not a big deal in the media. This is not fair because we are all humans and we all have equal rights. The value of class and race should not be made when it comes to the well-being of people and their lives. Just because these women in North Carolina were Black and poor does not mean they are objects. These are people who have feelings just like the rest of us. These are people who have families and friends just like you and I. It’s got to be extremely frustrating to see the media not making a scene about the whole situation because they feel it is not as important as White, upper class citizens. I can’t even think to imagine what it would be like to be a family member of one of these girls murdered or missing.
If my sister or mother was murdered or missing, and I went to the authorities and received little or no support, this would be totally unacceptable. My expectation would be for the authorities to open a case and conduct a full investigation. Should President Obama or any other public icon have a child missing, the media would be all over it, and the government in Obama’s case, would do whatever it takes to find her. This is typical and unfair because all citizens have equal rights and should be treated fairly.
I am aware that racism is not nearly as bad as it was years ago and that things have been changing. The media however, needs to be more consciences about the general public and respond and react in a fair manner. If a young girl is missing from southeast Washington D.C., she’s needs to be given the same attention in the news as the cars that are getting broken into in the upper class neighborhood in Northwest Washington D.C. Truthfully, this is more of a social class issue than a racial issue. I feel that there is so much crime in lower class areas that newspapers and news channels tend to give them less attention, as if these acts are the norm since crimes can often occur there every day. It is much more unusual for there to be a crime in an upper class neighborhood than a lower class neighborhood. Read the Facts!
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I think it’s really awful that law enforcement and the media are not helping minorities in poor sections of cities when someone goes missing. I also think it is horrible that when one concerned family member went to the police to report her missing niece her concerns were dismissed and she was told her niece would return, “when all of the drugs were gone.” Granted, police officers in these communities probably hear a lot of stories of missing people who are, in fact, not missing at all. A majority of the time their absence is probably due to their drug addiction. The officer who made this assumption should feel terrible for turning away a woman who’s niece turned up murdered, and not getting his police department involved.
In this case, I do have to agree with the people in these communities who were not receiving very much help, if any at all. I think that if these were white women missing in wealthier communities (not from the “ghetto”) news stations from all over would be covering the story, and massive police searched would be taking place. I think a good example of this was the Lacy Peterson case. She was a pregnant white, suburban woman who had gone missing. Granted, the case concluded with her husband charged of the murder of Lacy and their unborn baby. However, people across the nation were edge of their seats waiting for more information and updates on the case. Every news station covered the story. Another example is the Natalie Holloway story. A girl goes on a trip to Aruba with her classmates and ends up missing. No trace of her anywhere. Natalie was a white, teenage girl from a wealthier neighborhood. Again, news stations across the country covered the story and asked for America’s help in finding her.
I do think that if Lacy and Natalie were junkies from poor communities, their stories would not have been heard. Better yet, if they were heard, they wouldn’t be covered nationwide. I don’t think it is fair to discriminate against the different social classes. A life is a life, no matter who the person may be. Every life is just important as the next. There are no lives worth more than others. I know that if I were one of the family members of the women in Cleveland or North Carolina, I would want as much help as possible. Just because one person may not mean anything to you, they have a family out there who is missing them and want them to be found and return home.
I truly believe that American media and society in general is very hypocritical when it comes missing people and social classes. I’m not necessarily saying every single story of a missing or murdered person should be covered on the news (because there are just so many), but I do think that when more than one goes missing or is found (with a killer that appears to have the same M.O.), news channels should cover the story.
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