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OK, this is not PC, but when Black or Hispanic girls are abducted, does anyone care?
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Anonymous
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Abductions and murders seem to only happen to White girls (pretty ones too). At least that's the way the media plays it. This recent case was of a cute girl from Boston was an example. Oh, and BTW, the punishments seem to be most severe in these circumstances.
I had a friend who worked in childhood lead poisoning years ago. The major news stations wanted to do a story lead, so they called her and asked for names of White families that they could interview. When she asked why White, she was told that viewers would drop off and not take it seriously if they used minority families. Since she wanted to get the word out, she complied. |
Anonymous
| Correction: and "girl from Boston as an example" and "a story on lead". Sorry, trying new laptop with funny screen for first time. |
zumbamama
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| I would care. My heart went out to those four girls who died under Banita Jack's care, or lack of care. It's horrendous that the media takes that approach in their coverage and a sad reality. |
Anonymous
| OP, you're so right! There have been 8 poor Black people murdered in my neighborhood since I moved here in 2002 and there hasn't been much public comment except for local memorial services around lampposts surrounded by teddy bears, pictures, flowers. The place is now gentrifying rapidly. If a White person gets killed, it will be major news. |
Anonymous
| PP again -- although I will say I was pleased to hear last week that the police have charged someone in the murder of a young man from out of state who was, according to what I hear on the street, murdered for selling false drugs. I was pretty impressed that the police stayed with the case and made an arrest, given that the victim as far as I can tell didn't even have any local ties (no memorials on the street) and probably was considered a cheat. They could have just let it go and no one would have said anything. Good going, MPD! |
Anonymous
| The lack of posts on this thread I think validates your point, OP. |
Anonymous
| Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think OP was taking an actual poll - only trying to point out what's I think clear to a lot of us. But just in case PP is right...I'm putting my hand up. |
Anonymous
| Op, you're correct. I noticed the media partiality to tragedies affecting white females. I had pointed this out to my white boyfriend (who was also an RNC member) at the time who poo-pooed the idea. Remember Lacey Peterson? Would Lacey's story have made the headlines if it weren't for the fact she was white? Chandra Levy? What about that white high school girl from Alabama who was murdered in the Caribbean islands? You'd think only white people were being kidnapped and murdered if you relied on the media's headlines. |
Anonymous
| I have never ever seen an Asian girl reported abducted/missing. Does it just not happen to Asian girls, or does the media not care about Asians either? |
Anonymous
They don't care. |
Anonymous
| To be accurate, it is not all white women that get the attention. They have to be cute, it helps to be blond, and they should not come from the lower end of society. No men, regardless of race get attention from the media. |
Anonymous
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This is a very timely post. Last night I had dinner with a former Media professional (TV and print) and this very subject came up. She explained the simple truth to me. With the exception of PBS, media is a business and revenues (advertising dollars) are driven by ratings (how many people are watching). She explained that the reason that these human interest stories tend to feature whites is becasue they are targetted towards the majority of the population (larger target audience = higher potential for higher ratings). I guess the thinking is that whites are more likley to sit down and watch a sob story about someone who looks like them and conforms to their impressions of things around them. She also pointed out that it is not a coincidence that when the news (local and national) has stories of minorities as the subject it tends to revolve around the minority as "criminal" or "degenerate" not innocent victim - whites are more likely to watch stories that conform to their existing stereotypes.
She also mentioned that the "victims" that are features are usually "very attractive" - no one wants to sit down and watch and ugly person on TV. The people in media are not stupid so I am assuming that there is some research that supports these decisions - the problem is us!!! Her explantion helped me see things in a differenct light - its still sucks, but at least now I understand it. |
Anonymous
Unless they are suspected or accused of a crime, in which case, god help them! The day that doctor told me that my only child was going to be a girl was the happiest day of my life. |
Anonymous
| Do the minority TV channels cover these ignored minorities in depth, since I am guessing not many white people watch those? Just curious. BET, Telemundo, Univision, etc. |
Anonymous
Good question re BET. i am not a TV watcher so have no idea. BTW, the spanish language channels is probably not a good comparison, as you know "hispanic" is not really a ethic/racial category. |