Missing White Female Alert

[_BP_]

Oh, the same standard ABSOLUTELY applies to children.  There has not been a single black child who's abduction/murder ever got national attention.  Think about it Hates.

dbgirl, that's how I feel as well, regardless of race, it's always a terrible thing, I don't want to see families go through stuff like that.  But the publicitity does bother me.  That publicity could mean the difference between life and death for a missing person, and with such a publicity imbalance.... 

[_BP_]

Check this out Hates, dbgirl:

Race and the News

Amber Alerts have been in the news for months now. High-profile cases in California, Texas and Utah generated continuous coverage on MSNBC, Fox News Channel, CNN, and the networks.

Tennessee had its first Amber Alert earlier this week. A 4-year old boy was found dead, beaten and burned, in a park. Once he was identified, police realized his 8-year old sister, and 15-month old brother were missing, probably taken by their mother and her boyfriend. Police knew the vehicle in which they were likely travelling, a white, mid-90's Aerostar van.

I'm willing to bet most of you aren't aware of Mariana and her little brother Edgardo. The two are missing, likely with two people who have already killed one child, and we know the vehicle in which they're likely travelling.

Where's MSNBC? Where's Fox News Channel? And don't tell me it's the war on terror. These stations are more than happy to break into terror coverage when they've got a hot police chase.

What makes these children different from Elizabeth Smart? Is it their name? Is it their race? Is it their economic situation?

These missing children, who are in imminent danger, don't come from a rich, white family. Does that make them any less important? These children could be anywhere at this point, and if they're not already dead, they could be dead at any time. Where's the coverage that could help save the lives of these young children?

Perhaps I'm just being a cynic. Perhaps the coverage of Elizabeth Smart and other Amber Alerts was overkill to begin with. I hope that's the case. I hope there's not a more sinister reason behind this lack of coverage. I hope...

[twarga]

Oh, come on.  You GOTTA feel sorry for poor Elizabeth Smart.  The ick factor on that one is sky high!  And you forgot to mention Jon Benet Ramsey... just being helpful.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I feel sorry for all of them.  I don't want to see anybody kidnapped, missing, murdered.  It's just the discrepency in attention that's bothering, like if black lives are just not worth as much.

...or maybe the loss of black lives are not considered by the media as shocking enough to grab viewers?  The evening news rattles off the latest inner-city drive by shooting in 3 seconds flat with no emotion and very little follow-up (unless a child is killed).  The news media is a money-making industry like any other.  They cater to the audience they perceive as those buying the products pitched during the commerical breaks.  

Could that be it?

[jdw112]

When considering the macro, sinister motives, sensationalism, and media coverage tend to go hand in hand, in my experince. Still, I have this idea in my head that the same doesn't apply to children. Seriously. It is possible that I am terribly uninformed. I don't remember the names of the children, so they probably didn't get exactly as much press, but they did have a moment under the microscope. Maybe the problem is that the moment isn't enough. I am in NYC, and I consider coverage national when tales of minority kids from other states, usually far less interesting ones, reach me through the airwaves. 

Edit: Typo

[_BP_]

Oh, come on.  You GOTTA feel sorry for poor Elizabeth Smart.  The ick factor on that one is sky high!  And you forgot to mention Jon Benet Ramsey... just being helpful.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I feel sorry for all of them.  I don't want to see anybody kidnapped, missing, murdered.  It's just the discrepency in attention that's bothering, like if black lives are just not worth as much.

...or maybe the loss of black lives are not considered by the media as shocking enough to grab viewers?  The evening news rattles off the latest inner-city drive by shooting in 3 seconds flat with no emotion and very little follow-up (unless a child is killed).  The news media is a money-making industry like any other.  They cater to the audience they perceive as those buying the products pitched during the commerical breaks. 

Could that be it?

Oh, that could it be Twarga.  Then the question would be, why the the loss of black lives are not considered shocking enough?

[jdw112]

Could it be because of related media issues? It is well documented that the media routinely frames issues relating to minorities negatively. Over the course of years/decades it may have desensitized viewers. People at home are so accustomed to the negativity and loss of minority life that it doesn't raise any concerns anymore.

Edit: Typo 

[jdw112]

This is true.

Could it be because of related media issues? It is well documented that the media routinely frames issues relating to minorities negatively. Over the course of years/decades it may have desensitized viewers. People at home are so accustomed to the negativity and loss of minority life that it doesn't raise any concerns anymore.

Edit: Typo

Not to mention, Hates Sermons, media playing on the entrenched racism, ignorance and fear that is alive and well in America today. It probably didn't take much to numb viewers.

[_BP_]

Very interesting Hates and Lizpendens.  I tend to think that viewers were desensitized to begin with though.  Not to get into a big historical analysis of this country, but it really was not too long ago that whites were posing for pictures with lynched blacks hanging over them.  For there to be a desensitization, there would have had to be some prior heightened sensitivity to the value of black life.  I just don't think that was ever really there in this country.  I am open to being wrong on this though.

This is true.

Could it be because of related media issues? It is well documented that the media routinely frames issues relating to minorities negatively. Over the course of years/decades it may have desensitized viewers. People at home are so accustomed to the negativity and loss of minority life that it doesn't raise any concerns anymore.

Edit: Typo

Not to mention, Hates Sermons, media playing on the entrenched racism, ignorance and fear that is alive and well in America today. It probably didn't take much to numb viewers.

[twarga]

When I was at GW (a million years ago) and taking an introductory psych class, the professor was talking about the impact of violence on inner-city youth.  Well, the discussion progressed to how the families of young kids in these areas cope with their deaths, and this yuppie putz piped up and said, "I don't see how these mothers could be upset about their kid dying.  They live there and they should expect it.  They act so suprised that their kid got shot.  Duh!"  

There are people out there who feel this way, probably more than you think.

[A.J.]

Oh no, who did you kidknap now BP?