Another blond white girl goes missing; MSM breathe sigh of relief.

[Berry Cool]

They are lucky. After all, there is only so much more that can be milked out of the John Mark Karr saga.

A teenage girl in Arkansas disappeared after phoning her mother to say her car ran out of gas and she was walking to a gas station.

A body has been found in a wooded area. No positive identification yet, except that it's a white female.

Whew. Now they have something to talk about besides all the bad news for the president and how the latest "Islamo-fascism" spin sank like a stone. And how bad Rummy has been bashed.

If I didn't know better, I'd think the girl had been kidnapped by someone from Fox News.

...Naah.

[Ilsa]

1. Yeah, they probably are relieved.

If I didn't know better, I'd think the girl had been kidnapped by someone from Fox News.

Yeah you gotta wonder, huh?

I only hope the family of the white woman whose body was found, and the family of the missing girl, whether or not they are the same, can find some peace. What a horrible story and a horrible reality for someone to live through or die from.

[Berry Cool]

4. Indeed. It has got to be a very personal and very private hell.

And my distaste at the tendency of the MSM to jump on the latest missing white girl/woman story is meant in no way to discount the agony of any of the families of those who have suffered such a situation or the loss of someone to violence, or the suffering of the victims. It's just sad that crime victims who happen to be white, blond, young and pretty get such a disproportionate amount of attention (to the point at which many families must be hounded like crazy) while others are not cared about at all.

I found another story in the headlines today interesting: the tragic fire in Chicago, in which children died. Supposedly started by a candle, in an apartment in which the electicity had been shut off for a month. No smoke detectors there either.

Now, why do you suppose the electricity was off? Could it be because someone couldn't pay the bill? Could it be because someone fell through the cracks of "compassionate conservatism" and was expected to be self-reliant? Could it be that using candles for light was the only "self-reliance" someone could think of?

[Ilsa]

12. I heard that story about the fire and it broke my heart.

I was wondering how a family with children was living without electricity, how they were managing to eat, keep food from spoiling, and manage on those really super-hot summer days that even Chicago gets in July and August. I was wondering why "the system" couldn't help them.

And I hope my post didn't sound like I was suspecting you of ignoring the tragedy of the "missing white woman". I know you weren't. It is such a truth now with how this MSM chases and promotes stories.

[cigsandcoffee]

2. Some family is living their absolute worst fear.

And somebody is apparently still out there that killed their daughter. It's a story that will touch most everyone with either children or compassion (or both).

And you feel motivated to make a sarcastic post about the murdered girl's hair and skin color? That's repulsive to me.

The media is certainly sensationalist, and their coverage of Karr was ridiculous beyond words. But I can't criticise them for covering what appears to be the murder of a young girl in Arkansas.

[ikojo]

3. What the OP is pointing out is that missing blonde

white women or girls get far more media attention than do missing black children. Is it because the media identifies with blonde white women or girls more than they do with black children? or is it because due to possible class privilege the white families know how to more effectively garner media attention? I've noticed that the media does tend to focus more on missing upper middle class white kids and less on those from less privileged back grounds.

I don't think the OP was diminishing the angst and sorrow this family in Arkansas must be feeling at this time. Just making what should be an obvious observation.

[cigsandcoffee]

6. Sorry, but when I hear they just found somebody's child in a ditch.

...the last thing I'm going to harp on - sarcastically, at that - is her skin color.

There is a time, place, and method to address disparities in our culture. This isn't it, IMO.

[Berry Cool]

9. I'm not harping on it to the FAMILY. I have nothing against the family.

My problem is with the media, not the family. And ONLY with the media who go overboard on this sort of thing at the expense of others.

And again, as with the fire story, I wonder: what is the overall message that will be sent?

Will it be "We need to make our country safer for everyone"? Or will it be "We gotta find this one sick bastard who killed this girl and send him to the chair"?

Granted. If this girl did come to harm, I want whoever did it punished. But at the same time, isn't it sad that this whole business of young women going missing is as common as it is? I know we will always have criminals with us, but can we do anything to make our country safer in general? If all we focus on is "getting whoever did it," we ignore the greater picture.

[Missy M]

5. It certainly touches me....

when it is not even safe in this country to walk to get gas. Sometimes I wonder if there is any hope for this world. Our danger and terror in this country comes from its own citizens.

[Berry Cool]

7. To all: read my second post.

I have all the sympathy in the world for ANY family suffering the agony of a missing or murdered person. What I hate is the way the media sensationalize the disappearance or murder of some people over others.

And about the fire: I can't help but wonder how that tragic story will ultimately be spun. Will the message that comes from it be "No family in America should feel forced to rely on candlelight because they can't pay their electric bill"? Or will it be "Tsk, tsk. These poor people just don't seem to know better than to leave their candles unattended. If they refuse to learn their fire safety lessons, these sorts of accidents will happen"?

[FearofFutility]

10. Thanks for clarifying

I thought your original post was pointing out how the media focuses on something as insignificant as a white, blond missing child who was probably murdered to avoid having to cover bad news about Bush.:sarcasm:

[TheFriedPiper]

8. Watch out for the binary thinkers that will accuse you of being

heartless because you correctly point out that, although tragic, these stories are hardly worthy of national news coverage.

For some people you just have to be one extreme or the other, they just can't see shades of grey.

I used to associate that kind of binary thinking with right wingers only, but it seems to be very popular here too.

[Missy M]

11. Believe it or not us "binary" thinkers figured out what the....

original poster meant. I happen to believe these stories are worthy of national news coverage. I also think the national media did a very good job of covering the tragedy in New Orleans and are still doing it. Another post mentioned a tragic fire in Chicago that made the headlines, as it should have, and that story deserves as much attention. You do have the option not to read or listen to any news of the "white" girls murder.