Comments on: How Many Killings Equal One Public Outrage?

By: oliviak

oliviak — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:22:26 +0000

Being from a predominately African American and urban community, i can be the first to provide testament, that i bear witness to the lack of media coverage in urban communities. In my community, African Americans, often get murdered, raped, and robbed, without anyone getting prosecuted, or even arrested. This is partly due to the fact that the news stations rarely come into these neighborhoods and cover these stories.I can only assume the reasons why the media rarely covers these stories. One reason may be due to the fact that most Americans that follow the news, pay little attention to the lives of the inner city ghettos and its ailments. Another reason may be due to the fact that if it doesn't pertain to middle class America, the rest of America could care less. This is sad but true. America has manifested this idea of African Americans as being barbaric and animalistic. They have become used to the fact that African Americans shoot each other, and commit other acts of violence on one another. Most Americans look at the crime that occurs in inner city America as something of minute importance. Most americans feel as though, if their "kind" isn't involved in the crime in the inner city, then they have no point in caring or causing an up roar.

Moreover, crimes in inner city America persist because of the lack of media coverage. If the media would cover these crimes, then maybe criminals could get prosecuted and the crime level could drop. With out media coverage criminals continue to walk around and commit these crimes. Without the help of the media, crime rates are drastically affected. and continue to rise.

Further, and if the media covers a story, African Americans are portrayed on a bad light. African Americans are often portrayed stereotypically.For example, in the early 1990's , a white man claimed his wife was killed and he was attacked by a black man. A lot of anger towards blacks surfaced. Throughout the case, the black community was suspicious of the truth in the man's story and he was later found to have committed the crime himself.

On the specific issue of missing people in African American Communities, there is a low reporting rate of this. According to the National Center for Misiing and Exploited Children, approximately 300,000 children under the age eighteen are reported missing annually. Of those, thirty-three percent are black, despite being only thirteen percent of the national population. The FBI reports that minorities make up a larger portion of missing victims than the national population. For example, in 2005, Holloway became a household name after she disappeared on a school trip in Aruba. However, a year earlier, one African American man was trying to gain media attention for his niece, Tamika Houston, by having family members help distribute flyers, he also held a press conference and created a website, ultimately, the story was mainly ignored by mainstream media. This case is not an isolated incident, this story is just one of thousands.

By: mew5071

mew5071 — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 05:06:15 +0000

My 22nd birthday is on Monday, which I completely forgot until one day ago when my girlfriend so politely asked me what restaurant I would prefer for my birthday dinner. This uncharacteristic slip up put a lot of things in perspective for me. Just a year ago, I was strategically planning out my strategy for the perfect night to ring in the precious 21st year of my life. My key to alcoholic freedom and utter independence in current society. This semester is actually going to be my last ever at Penn State University. For some reason, the true meaning of that fact never hit me until it actually arrived. Suddenly friendships and everyday luxuries become more than what they were originally perceived to be. You realize that the decisions you will make will affect the very way your life will go. Every decision suddenly seems as if you have come upon a fork in the road and must choose the next land to venture. Suddenly you begin to view how girlfriends would seem as wives and mothers of your children..this is a very odd reality of this age.
I have found myself taking an interest in the lives of those around me, such as my younger brother and older sister. Suddenly I see them as the two people who will have the greatest grasp of my past as I begin to age…another terribly odd reality of this age.
I have began valuing my parents and all of the sacrifices they have made for me throughout my life, beginning to realize that I must take the reigns of my life and steer them in a direction that will benefit them in a way proportional of the way they have benefited me.

By: BreezyGal

BreezyGal — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:54:00 +0000

I had heard previously about the story in Ohio of the man killing all the women and hiding their bodies in his backyard. The amazing thing about this story was that people had complained about the smell for months, yet nothing was done about it. It shocked me to hear about this second story and once again the lack of media attention. It just goes to show what people can get away with if they target the right audience. "No, Mr. Serial Killer, kill the black bitches, no-one will ever find out. Seriously, Never." But don't kidnap a white lady who is taking a stroll around her 'hood. Not only will the police be tracking you with all types of electronic gadgets, a reward will be offered for her safe return within minutes of her abduction. It's saddening the America I have grown up in has come to such pathetic markers for what they will and will not condemn. This story was just about some dead black prostitutes who most likely overdosed in an alley and were unclaimed in a morgue. It sickens me to say this but there is a very small point there. After all, what benefit did they share to society by selling themselves on the street? They damn sure did not feed their kids with the money they earned. And after all, they do have 3 or 4, maybe even 5 kids. And they probably have 6 different dads anyway, so now we really shouldn't give a damn. But, this girl went missing from college, and this one was a contributing (legally) member to society. So let's find them! As soon as possible! Now please! Let's offer 20,000 dollars for just one safe return. Let's offer 20,000 dollars six years later for numerous safe returns! Why do we believe benefits/aid should come only as a result of who we are, what we look like, and what we do. What happened to just helping people? Just people? Not white, black, brown, yellow, and red? Not fat, skinny, tall, short, blind, or deaf? What can we say for ourselves as people when we hear something like this and go about our daily existence? What are we doing? I count myself lucky to be in the company of a university. I do not have to be haunted by the nightmare of being hunted in the street like and a dog then buried like one in somebody's backyard. I'm glad I'm in college, so one day if I do go missing, they can speak of the time I spent here on campus. I just hope they don't post a picture of my Identification Card. Because, then no one in America would give a hot damn about me. "Just another nigger who couldn't handle the pressure and ran away." Most people black/white alike would think or say that, The funny thing is, they would do this based on my black face alone.

By: embot

embot — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:41:51 +0000

Reading this article I was surprised at first as to why this story hadn’t been reported in mainstream media, especially because of the longevity of the killings. However, after you put down the article and start thinking about what most media outlets report, it becomes pretty clear why this isn’t breaking news on CNN or FOX News.
When you think about the unbelievable crimes reported in mainstream media the common trend among the victims is that they’re white, middle-class, educated, females. Why are these the crimes reported? Because think about the people working at a news station. There are very few people of color working the news, and probably none who are poor and uneducated. Not only that but the stories reported are the ones that news people think the public will care about and tune into hear, and the public wants to hear stories about people that they can relate to (middle-class, white etc), which means that we have countless stories about stupid things like “balloon boy,” but a tragedy like this goes unnoticed.
So, why is this? Why don’t people care to hear about these stories? Probably one of the biggest reasons is that a lot of people will try to tell themselves that these victims did something to “deserve” what happened to them. For some reason people can’t accept the fact that tragedy can happen to anyone, in any social class, of any race. Instead, they choose to think that since this victim was poor or had a criminal record, she must have brought whatever happened to her on to herself. When you justify a crime in this way, it no longer becomes news worthy; it no longer seems like a tragedy, just a case of karma.
This way of thinking is bullshit, because people would never say this out loud. They wouldn’t say that a murder victim got what they deserved, but they’re thinking it just the same and that’s what helps relieve their guilt for not caring. I guarantee if in the same day a little girl from a wealthy, white, neighborhood and a little girl from the projects were kidnapped, we would only hear about one of them. People today have become so skilled at holding two contradictory convictions in their head at the same time and unfortunately more people will suffer because of it, because people just don’t care enough about people that are different from them.
So what should media do? Should every report of gang violence, drug violence, school violence be on the news each night? That’d be a little impractical, but what should be done is that significant crimes shouldn’t be swept under the rug because of a victim’s background. If you have enough time to dissect every nuance of the “Octomom” story, then you sure as hell better make time to report a tragedy like the one in North Carolina

By: ilovesoc

ilovesoc — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:07:03 +0000

I do find it ridiculous that it took police and national television that long to bring attention to 10 to 11 rape and murder victims. At the same time, it's even more mind-bogglilng that ONE murdered white woman in Georgia could make breaking news immediately after the occurance. It just goes to show you that we do still have underlying racial feelings and judgments that people (mainly the media) choose to ignore or wave away. It's only been about five decades since the Civil Rights Movement, but that should have been enough time to progress as a country and our attitudes as a whole. White people, especially those with a decent standard of living, are the power house of the media and American culture, so naturally, when a white person has something done to them, (especially by someone of a different race), fingers are automatically pointed and assumptions are drawn. The issue that has been going on in North Carolina does not surprise me by any means, but it does sadden me a lot. It just makes me wonder when our country will ever put skin color aside, and really focus on the real issue at hand. Hopefully soon…

By: blopdyke

blopdyke — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:58:50 +0000

The police should have communicated better with the state and government officials. The government, once they found out, should have done something such has get the media's attention. The media, once slowly finding out about the story should have taken more interest instead of putting the story on the back burner. I will admit if these women were white, I am almost positive the media would have taken quicker interest. The town people with the best intentions are forgetting that most people who see flyers ignore them even if there is money for information especially if the pictures are people that look like they should be in prison. People make mistakes, but what society should do now is help the best they can and help lay this horrible crime to rest. We are all people, and we all deserve the same treatment.

By: blopdyke

blopdyke — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:58:21 +0000

Many of the people in the town say the killings are linked together and that this point is obvious. Well, what is obvious to some is not obvious to others. The cops, I would hope, are trying their best, but what they see may be different the community. So who is right? Well, it depends on what people look for. This article holds bias in that it is geared to make people help, but facts could be tweaked of left out. However, I do not believe it was done on purpose but rather people see what they want to see. If someone believes racism is the cause for this then when they look at the facts that is what they will pin point. If someone else believes the police are not doing their job then they will simple see that when looking at everything going on. With all that said, I do believe the situation could and should have been handling better. Blame should not be given to one thing, but too many people because we are all to blame.

By: blopdyke

blopdyke — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:49:35 +0000

It is hard to believe that something like the women being murdered at Rocky Mount is actually happening and no one has heard about it. Pointing fingers at people gets you no were, but racism and class groups do exist, and it is hard to get around that. Regardless of all this no human being deserves to be murdered no matter what race or class. These women had disadvantages, but it is not entirely the media's fault for not picking up on the story. People are murdered all the time and usually only people in that county know about it unless the person happens to be rich, famous, or important in some way. Even then, maybe the whole state knows about it, but rarely the entire country, unless it is a serial killing.

By: LADY Z

LADY Z — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:57:14 +0000

ok so I didn’t hear about these murders but I do find it very strange that hey have not mentioned that there is a serial killer on the loose. I mean bad community or rich this is not the way to be treated. If I lived in that area I would be outraged about how law enforcement has decided to handle the deaths. If I was one of the victims family member or friend I would be very angry at police and I would not think that they are doing anything to help find the killer. These women I believe were not mentioned in the media because of there lifestyles. They might have been prostitutes, uneducated, or whatever but they had families just like you and I do. It is amazing to me how human beings can treat one another. I wonder how the stories would have been portrayed if the victims were white. Not every victim that dies can be portrayed on the news but that is a story that needed to be heard by people. I mean 10 fucking women dead yeah I think we should have been informed earlier or maybe if the law enforcement in town had shed some light on the problem then they just might have saved one of the victims life’s. Another thing that comes to mind is that are they saying that these women were disposable. Less prostitutes on the street. A life is a life whether the person decided to do good or bad with it. it does not mean that they deserved to be murdered. I would not even wish murder on my worst enemy. Then to make matters worse the murders have been going on for awhile now. How can law enforcement be so careless and 10 deaths not 1 not 2 BUT TEN that a lot of fucking dead women. Now that I think about could the killer be someone of high class among that community or could it be one of there very own cops. Usually when you hear about missing people it is usually a white middle class educated women or a child. You never hear them say breaking news black women missing from her home was last seen at so and so any info call police or the tip line at so and so. I am upset at this. This just goes to show you that the media only shows us what they want us to know about the world. I just want to say that my heart goes out to the victims families. These women may have been doing wrong but they were someones mom, sister, cousin, aunt, and friend. I just hope that they do find this sick son of a bitch as soon as possible and I hope that the law enforcement down there gets their shit together because I sure if it was ten white women this shit would have already been solved and the killer would have been rotten in jail or even executed by now.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:04:17 +0000

This story goes back to so many issues that we have. The media only shows what they want and they filter everything out therefore making everyone unaware of such important news such as this. The other issue is that everything in America is about money. You can guarantee that if this was in an upper class neighborhood this would have been breaking news on every news channel! This makes me feel so sorry for the families and friends of these victims. Supposedly everyone in America is equal right? So why aren’t we making people aware of this issue and completely disregarding the fact that they were lower class black women? I do understand that everything is run by money and without the money nothing happens. But these are people that are being killed and money should have no effect on whether or not this story gets recognition. Obviously the media is not worried about the fact that a human being as gone missing, they do not actually care. It all just comes down to how much they are getting paid to air the story. As I really think back on the news that I have watched through the years I cannot seriously remember one example of a black man, child, or women that has gone missing shown on a news channel. Maybe this is me not watching enough news but really that is absurd to think about it! I am sure that are just as many cases as black people going missing than there are white people so why don’t we hear about them? Once again it all comes down to race and class. Maybe the fact that they had occupations that are normally looked down upon had something to do with this story going unheard of. I do not exactly have a straight answer for this but how can someone not have the compassion to air such a tragic story to the nation. I know I am not the only person who cares about this and if this story would have been aired a long time ago I have a feeling that the good people of the United States would have been interested in helping. I think that even if these would have been lower class white people the story still would have been aired on the news. It is so sad that everything has to go back to race. I hope that one day the people of our country can look past race, social class, and money and focus on the real issues. The real issue is that these women were not given a chance to live and were taken away from their family and friends not they were poor and black.