Gabby Petito

[JimMIA]

It plays into "missing white woman syndrome." That is what is offensive.

I can understand some feeling that way, but personally I think both sets of parents are much more focused on the safety of their two children. I'm sure they were trying to imply "This could happen to ANYONE'S daughter!"

I'm much more offended by the treatment of Haitians trying to enter the US vis a vis other nationalities trying to come in. Why are they being treated so hostilely by our own government compared to people from Central America? To me that's much more of an affront to human dignity than someone's hashtag.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We can discuss the societal neglect of minorities in the US. It's been awful for years. Jobs, housing, schools, medicine, you name it.
I was just having a non-judgmental moment for some (what I believe are) weary, terrified parents.

I don’t think anybody is denying the parents the absolute anguish they are in right now, including the poster you originally quoted. But I happen to agree with them that it’s a cringeworthy hashtag, even when giving the parents the grace of understanding on why they used it.

 

[Marrila]

I don’t think anybody is denying the parents the absolute anguish they are in right now, including the poster you originally quoted. But I happen to agree with them that it’s a cringeworthy hashtag, even when giving the parents the grace of understanding on why they used it.

I don't know why they used it. I don't know if it was their idea. They haven't said.
As I mentioned before, it's not something I would choose.
Anyway, I'll leave responding to the semantics discussion here.
It looks like their daughter disappeared under very suspicious circumstances. That's the main reason I've been following this.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I don't know why they used it. I don't know if it was their idea. They haven't said.
As I mentioned before, it's not something I would choose.
Anyway, I'll leave responding to the semantics discussion here.
It looks like their daughter disappeared under very suspicious circumstances. That's the main reason I've been following this.

I will respect your decision to drop it and I will do the same. However it isn’t a semantics discussion. And classifying it as such is part of the problem.

 

[GreatLakes]

Right or wrong the attractiveness of the missing person is proportional to the coverage. It has been since the dawn of television.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I admit I am probably overreacting a little. I recently was present in a situation where one young person was described by an adult as the "perfect All-American boy" to the young man's parents, right in front of the parents of another young man who had just accomplished the same feat for which the first young man was being praised. The first young man is white, handsome, and very popular and the second young man is brown, first-generation American, and quiet/reserved/"nerdish." The parents of the second young man definitely picked up on the difference in which their similarly-accomplished son was perceived and I felt terrible for them. Their son was an All-American boy just as much as the other boy. I think more than anything I was angry with myself for not saying anything.

I do understand that this girl's parents are living a nightmare and I understand that they would do anything to help get their daughter back home safe and sound. If I were in their shoes I might do the same thing, but I still find it cringeworthy.

I Don’t find it cringeworthy. I do Anything to get attention and keep that attention on a missing child. I can’t imagine Any parent not doing Everything but I think their power to get their child returned so honestly, I think it’s Nonsense to ever Judhr the parents for a hashtag as they are likely dying a little every minute that passes. I’m just Sick of the people that need to
Be “ correct” Pathetic imho.
I pray you Never experience ANY type of scare like this scenario or medical related with ur own child.
We re ALL entitled to an opinion … so I’m happy to Agree to DISagree.

 

[Judique]

Why are you acting like no one else knows anything? We aren't stupid.

Being uninformed is not necessarily stupid. I'm not up on the nuances of the law and I appreciated @Stratman50th 's information. It clarified the differences for me.

 

[neverlandsky]

Plus statistically speaking caucasian females who go missing gain way more media attention and have way more resources devoted to them compared to minorities. Especially if there’s that girl next door / American darling look to them. Hence the #tag. Plus Kaylee’s law, Megan’s law, Amber Alert, Code Adam, etc. It’s extremely sad to witness that not all lives are valued the same. We all know this. It’s just more in your face nowadays due to mass and social media.

This case was picked up by the mass media due to the entertainment value it has. Missing Girlfriend. Murdered couple case nearby. Boyfriend arrived home with Girlfriend’s vehicle without her and immediately lawyered-up. Girlfriend’s mom saying last text wasn’t her daughter’s. Investigators rolling back the timeline to find out there’s an incident on Police Body Cam with Boyfriend & Girlfriend. Now Boyfriend has supposedly been missing since Tuesday. It’s a rabbit hole of so many unknowns.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

People were talking about this at work Thursday/Friday... I was like this weekend I will have time to look into this. I spent some time today researching it. I also watched most of the bodycam video (I did skip over some parts that seemed to drag). I am very puzzled by it for sure. To me, he seems harmless. He seems like a tool for sure, but I don't think he killed her. I know there are a lot of people saying this trip was a premeditated plan to kill her etc... I just don't see that from him. I almost think she has done something to herself, or she just ran off. It would not surprise me if this was just some big stunt either.

That said... somebody who was so involved in social media to go silent for this long. I do fear something bad has happened to her.

I am NOT an expert, just opinions, observations.

 

[hopemax]

In my casual (people on forums I am on are discussing it) following, I also don't have a feeling of premeditation. Given that both seem to have untreated mental illness, the fighting, I am leaning toward an unfortunate escalating set of circumstances. Option A: They get in a fight that results in her accidental death. Or a fight that ends up with either of them running off (options B & C), or maybe he intentionally left her somewhere (option D). He assumes she'll get back to the van eventually (or returns to where he left her, but she's not there). Time passes, and she doesn't come back (or if he was the one to run off into the wilderness for a few days (if that's how he's handling the situation by running off in FL, he could have done it then too.), she's not at the van when he makes it back. After several days, he realizes she hasn't been in touch with anyone, and then knows enough about how this looks, panics because he doesn't know what happened (exposure, she injures herself, meets the wrong person, etc), leading to all the weirdness.

 

[Bella Paige]

And his case was Over turned. Cross T’s and Dot I’s. Prayers for Gabbys family … they are in a living hell

Not quite true. The Supreme Court of California upheld Peterson's conviction, but overturned his death sentence because Peterson's trial judge had dismissed jurors who opposed capital punishment without asking them whether they could put their views aside.

 

[Pink Partridge]

It plays into "missing white woman syndrome." That is what is offensive.

What is stopping the family of a black missing woman/child of using #americasdaughter ?

I don't find it offensive at all. Perhaps cheesy, because I would never think of any Instagram influencer as #americasdaughter. Not my style. But people across the nation are indeed holding vigils and worried about Gabby.

Maybe (just maybe) they weren't thinking about the color of their daughter's skin when they used the hashtag. Their daughter has most likely been murdered and the body may never be found. Do you think they care about offending someone by using the word America and Daughter in the same sentence?

 

[PinkPixel]

She admitted that she didn't drive the van. She was upset and he withheld the keys so she wouldn't drive away in an angry rage. His explanation that they walked away from the van because they both needed to cool off is reasonable. Driving while arguing is dangerous, as evidenced by what the cop witnessed before pulling them over (speeding, swerving, etc). In an explosive argument, the last thing either person should do is get in a car. He had the keys and she wanted them so she attacked him and hit him with her phone. I'm sorry, but you cannot just overlook that. It's assault, regardless of whether he drove her to it or not. If that's the case, they are both at fault. This is clearly a toxic relationship where both parties are contributing to the dysfunction.

She admitted that she didn't drive the van. She was upset and he withheld the keys so she wouldn't drive away in an angry rage. His explanation that they walked away from the van because they both needed to cool off is reasonable. Driving while arguing is dangerous, as evidenced by what the cop witnessed before pulling them over (speeding, swerving, etc). In an explosive argument, the last thing either person should do is get in a car. He had the keys and she wanted them so she attacked him and hit him with her phone. I'm sorry, but you cannot just overlook that. It's assault, regardless of whether he drove her to it or not. If that's the case, they are both at fault. This is clearly a toxic relationship where both parties are contributing to the dysfunction.

The car was in her name. She owns it. She can agree to the liability of letting someone drive it. My husband drove my car and so did my boyfriend in college. I didn’t give them the authority to treat me as a child. He can’t withhold her property. Period. But wow. I can’t believe the misogyny behind these replies. He grabs her face and get a scratch when he tries to control her? Incredible.

 

[JimMIA]

Fox News is reporting that a body has been found in the area near Grand Teton NP where authorities were searching. The county coroner has arrived at the scene.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Fox politically, they are usually pretty straightforward on non-political stuff like this.

Link: https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/gabby-petito-search-missing-woman-brian-laundrie

 

[DVC92]

What kind of world view is this? Do you identify as a Republican? Liberal? I’m genuinely curious. I really wonder who can twist themselves in knots defending a man who drove home in someone’s car without them, didn’t report them missing, and got a lawyer. Unreal.

What does this have to do with having a certain political bent? The person you quoted is just clueless for the other reasons you set forth.

 

[mom2rtk]

Prayers for Gabby's family as they wait for answers.

 

[Marrila]

Fox News is reporting that a body has been found in the area near Grand Teton NP where authorities were searching. The county coroner has arrived at the scene.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of Fox politically, they are usually pretty straightforward on non-political stuff like this.

Link: https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/gabby-petito-search-missing-woman-brian-laundrie

This has to be such a difficult time for her family. Thoughts and prayers are with them.

 

[mom2rtk]

If Brian did something to Gabby and his family hid his disappearance, I hope they're prosecuted right along with him.

 

[JimMIA]

The FBI has scheduled a press conference for 6:00 PM.

 

[Marrila]

The FBI has scheduled a press conference for 6:00 PM.

Thank you for the updates. Continued prayers for her loved ones.