What is it about White Children?

[The Mystery Machine]

Media reports a story and it takes off. It has a life of it's own.

Parents are also a part of it with their antics (Casey) or pressure to get the story out there as well. Think of your child missing....you would seek out the media to do anything to get your kid back safely.

I know in Shawn Hornbeck's case they kept on the media to keep the info out there.

 

[Rella Bella]

Did her parents report her missing for those 4 years?
Why did it take strangers... wasnt there a family searching?
So sad. Poor thing.

Her step-father did it, and her mother covered it up.
Click the link below... it's so very sad.
"Precious Doe"

I share the story for two reasons, mainly because I feel little Erica should never be forgotten and secondly as a reminder that we all need to be aware of the little ones around us.

 

[Planogirl]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but many, many children of all races are killed or go missing and most don't get the huge press coverage. I'm not sure what causes the disparity.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I don't know why the national media didn't pick this one up. But it was big news here too.

I think the national media did pick it up. I've heard of this case and another that was mentioned on this thread. It wasn't something that was aired often, but I remember when it aired and the update about finding out who she was. It was the father or step-father that murdered the little girl.

 

[teacups]

Her step-father did it, and her mother covered it up.
Click the link below... it's so very sad.
"Precious Doe"

I share the story for two reasons, mainly because I feel little Erica should never be forgotten and secondly as a reminder that we all need to be aware of the little ones around us.

That is just horrible.
OMG, that poor baby laid there for two days.
I can not understand people. I'd love to have another little girl in the house. I would have given her a great home in a flash of a second. My kids would have scooched over and made room. Why do people do this to the greatest gift they could ever be given?? She was just beautiful. Yes. We should all be aware of the little ones, you are so right.

 

[SeeDisney]

Well, I didn't read everyone's post but I remember I think it was either 20/20 or Dateline did a report on pretty much about the same topic the OP is referring too.

Why is it the media has so much more coverage with white women (the news story was about the adults) being missing as opposed to black or other ethnic group. 20/20 (?) made the comparison with the blondes disappearnace (much more coverage) and then with the black women's disappearance (with the same exact story adn time frame of being missing and hardly any coverage for the black women.

It had some interesting debates going on as well.

 

[PatriciaH]

That is just horrible.
OMG, that poor baby laid there for two days.
I can not understand people. I'd love to have another little girl in the house. I would have given her a great home in a flash of a second. My kids would have scooched over and made room. Why do people do this to the greatest gift they could ever be given?? She was just beautiful. Yes. We should all be aware of the little ones, you are so right.

Because some people are sick. Because a lot of people should never have children. Because a lot of people pressure people to have children that should not. Just a quick read through of truemomconfessions.com and truedadconfessions.com and you will see there are a ton of unhappy parents out there.

 

[komondorok]

I think that as a lot of these stories come across the desk of the media, they look at them, regardless of race, as another victim of their environment. It's sad, but not so shocking, when a child is murdered in a drug and crime ridden neighborhood. It seems people are fascinated though when people who seem to come from what is presented as a good family and background, and yet make the choices they do.

Exactly.

I live in Boulder, so am a bit familiar with the JonBenet case. In fact my DS18 went to school with her.

It was way more about the beauty queen and the implications and sensationalism of the pageant world, the Ramsey's money, standing in the community, and the good neighborhood of mansions where the crime occurred, the fact that the Boulder police screwed up so badly allowing John Ramsey to search the house to find his daughter's body and forever contaminating the crime scene, Patsy Ramsey as a former beauty queen, the multi-page ransom note, etc than it did about JonBenet being a white child.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I will agree that I think it has to do more with the unusualness of hte circumstances and the perceived intrusion upon those places we generally consider safe than race itself.

The majority of these that get reported are from "good" low crime neighborhoods. These are places where people generally feel safe, so it is all the more shocking. Unfortunately, people do not consider poverty stricken areas to be a safe place and so it is unsurprising to them that a child goes missing from those areas. The other time is when the parents are involved. We think of the bond between a mother and a child in particular as being a sacred one. When that bond is betrayed it comes sensational.

With JonBenet Ramsey, a stranger came into their house on Christmas Day. They lived in a "safe" upperclass neighborhood, and this happened on Christmas Day, a time of year that we hold more sacred than other times. It reinforced the notion that nobody is safe. Same thing Elizabeth Smart. Wealthy family who could afford to keep the story in the news, plus a bizarre set of circumstances with the abduction and year on the run and possible brainwashing.

With Caylee it is the sheer amount of time and the unusual actions of the mother that serve as the hook.

I can think of several cases of minority children who were in the news for similar circumstances. Jennifer Hudson's nephew: a relationship to celebrity. Rilya Wilson: missing for several months (like Caylee) with nobody reporting her missing. What was more she was a ward of the state and people felt that the system failed a girl who had already been failed by her family. Very tragic, and if I recall nobody has found her.

Then there is the aforementioned Precious Doe case. I am from Missouri, but was going to school in Virginia when it happened. Again, it was an unusual set of circumstances. Some people were searching for an elderly gentleman who wandered off and found the body of a young girl in the woods. The child had been decapitated and her head was found several days later. The sheer heinousness of the crime, and the fact that nobody reported her missing served as the hook. Her body was decomposed enough that it was hard to get a good sketch. They had a reconstruction artist named Frank Bender do a bust of her. People held weekly vigils at the spot where she was found, and an area lawyer kept putting her photo in papers around the country. I believe it was a grandparent that recognized the artist rendering and connected it with a granddaughter who had not been seen in several years. The parents were guilty of the murder.

So in the end, it seems that it comes down to what is interesting or unusual. What has the most shock value.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I guess nobody remembers the media explosion over Jennifer Hudson's family

 

[IndyBride]

I think it is pretty well accepted that the media is not concerned with proper representation of ethnic/racial groups. I mean if you look at crimes that are reported it is ridiculous! I think something like 600% more crimes that are committed by African Americans are reported on although due to the sheer population discrepencies White Americans actually commit more crimes. The same for Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Rim- you wouldn't hear about an Asian person commiting murder- it's not that they don't- it's just not what people would expect to hear. Not to say it NEVER happens- it just doesn't follow in line with stereotypical thoughts.

Anyway, there were some very thoughtful responses on this thread.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I think it is pretty well accepted that the media is not concerned with proper representation of ethnic/racial groups. I mean if you look at crimes that are reported it is ridiculous! I think something like 600% more crimes that are committed by African Americans are reported on although due to the sheer population discrepencies White Americans actually commit more crimes. The same for Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Rim- you wouldn't hear about an Asian person commiting murder- it's not that they don't- it's just not what people would expect to hear. Not to say it NEVER happens- it just doesn't follow in line with stereotypical thoughts.

Anyway, there were some very thoughtful responses on this thread.

We just elected a black President (I helped) so when is this going to bed put to bed? I think an African American President is a pretty good representation of a certain group don't you?

 

[mjkacmom]

The persons charged with the murder of this child were her mother and stepfather - that might explain why her parents never reported her missing. And the national media DID pick up on this. I am in Washington DC and have heard the story.

My local news is NYC news, and I heard about it, too. Our news seems to be very multicultural here.

 

[TDC Nala]

I think it is pretty well accepted that the media is not concerned with proper representation of ethnic/racial groups. I mean if you look at crimes that are reported it is ridiculous! I think something like 600% more crimes that are committed by African Americans are reported on although due to the sheer population discrepencies White Americans actually commit more crimes. The same for Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Rim- you wouldn't hear about an Asian person commiting murder- it's not that they don't- it's just not what people would expect to hear. Not to say it NEVER happens- it just doesn't follow in line with stereotypical thoughts.

Anyway, there were some very thoughtful responses on this thread.

There's also probably quite a few people reading who'd remember who Seung-Hui Cho was - for one.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

People disappearing, being kidnapped, murdered, etc are all too common occurrences. We can't all get excited about all of them. For a variety of reasons, it appears that some types of cases catch the public's attention more than others. I don't think that it is a plot by the press, a result of racism by the public, or anything nefarious like that.

Thanks, but I never read Wikipedia.

Why not?

 

[dogluva]

I am puzzled by the news coverage of children like Caylee and that little girl from Denver (Bennett) and the number of threads about them.

There was once an “Onion” article entitled (not literal, from memory): “Little Black Girl Abducted and Killed; No One Cares”.

This Onion article was based on a true story: the same day that Bennett girl was reported missing from Denver (or wherever) a young African American girl was kidnapped from her apartment building in Chicago and, later, found dead. No big stories about it, no people standing out in ‘protest’ or ‘memorial’, etc.

You watch: now that the body of the Caylee girl has been found, thousands of people, unrelated to her, will attend (or try to attend) the funeral. I think that is creepy.

I am against any child being kidnapped and killed. I know, in my heart, that all readers of Disney Message feel the same way. Yet, when the Caylee child was found today, we had some dozen new ‘threads’ started about that news. Yet during the period in which Caylee disappeared and today, we had some dozen children (my guess; I know of one in Fort Worth, a black child) who have been ‘abducted’ and, sad to say, killed. No big news story.

Is the Onion’s viewpoint correct: that the public only cares about ‘photogenic’ children? Those who would create some measure of sympathy in the public’s mind? Those children whom are ‘cute’?

I only ask the question.

I agree. There is a little boy in a few towns over from us in MA that has been missing for one year. I have read two articles about it. He is Hispanic. I don't get it either and I feel so bad for that mother. She must be heartbroken.

I am white by the way. I do feel very badly about Caylee but will never understand why only white children get media attention.

 

[MarkFL]

I guess nobody remembers the media explosion over Jennifer Hudson's family

Which lasted a relatively short time compared to other cases. Not to mention Jennifer Hudson is an Academy Award-winning celebrity... one would assume that her story would have gotten media attention no matter what her skin color is.

 

[tchrrx]

Which lasted a relatively short time compared to other cases. Not to mention Jennifer Hudson is an Academy Award-winning celebrity... one would assume that her story would have gotten media attention no matter what her skin color is.

I think it lasted a shorted amount of time b/c it was solved quicker than others have been.

 

[lillygator]

Op I could be reading your post wrong, and I'm sorry if I am... but I get the impression that you couldnt care less about "that Caylee girl" or "That Bennett girl". Did you ever START a thread here about a missing african american child? I'd be just as concerned no matter the race of a child. As for the media... crazy. No idea. Unfair. I would guess in this case the african american population are more than happy not to be in the same ratings as this insane mother, Casey Anthony, mother of murdered child Caylee. I hope the african american poplulation doesnt see these missing or murdered white children as just "those white kids". That is just sad.

thank you - OP why not start some threads on those kids that are missing who are not represented.........

 

[TCPluto]

I am against any child being kidnapped and killed.

Whew!!! I'm glad you got that out there! It is the popular position....