Now, I know that if my daughter were missing, I would move heaven and earth to do what I could to save her. However, I must say that Natalee Holloway's mother may be enjoying the limelight drawn by her daughter's disappearance a bit too much. Is this a search for a missing loved one or a PSA about how to live well the Hollow-way? Every picture shows Natalee in yet another picture-perfect pose, arm-in-arm with someone on her way to fun, adventure and goodtimes. Will she have her prom dress or her bikini on in the next picture? It is almost as if Mrs. Holloway thinks that the value of her daughter increases in direct proportion to the perception of her being a beauty-queen-scholar-cheerleader-popular type. And speaking of value, ONE MILLION is the call tag for finding this young lady alive. She does indeed have friends in the right places. Like the bank.
God help the poor, ugly kids that get abducted. You wouldn't be hearing so much about them that's for sure. For instance, a few weeks ago, three little kids in a slum-ridden Latino community in MA went missing. Just a blurb is all it got in the paper, despite a lengthy article on Natalee's disappearance. And equally small was the blurb a few days later explaining that the children had been found in a neighbor's locked trunk. Follow up: nil. Never was it explained whether the children of that poverty-laden neighborhood were at risk from some insane person wanting to keep them for later or whether they just climbed in themselves and accidentally got shut in. Oh, no. The general public has no interest in discovering that. But we have an unalienable right to learn all we never wanted to know abut some snot-nosed rich kid partying in the Caribbean who got herself in trouble triple-timing the natives. Newsworthiness is not necessarily about informing the public, but rather about what sells. But, that's an old story.
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16 comments:
ditto
Thank you, spotlight. Short, precise and to the point. Did I happen to mention how much I love it when people agree with me?
smooch
Well, don't get too used to it... I'm with you on this one, but just because you happen to be right.
:P
Just HAPPEN to be right? Isn't my God-given talent? Hellooow! Do you even know me?!? I'll have to get you in touch with Bunnyjofan. He'll set you straight. ;)
I totally agree with ya..
gimee a five for this topic..''rasies up hand and waits for BunnyJo to hit five back''
I agree that there is too much publicity about missing WASPS and far too little about UNWASHEDS. However, I don't think we should lack compassion for the victims just because they happen to be rich. Their cash and connections have thus far failed to resolve this case. As for the poor kids that were found in the trunk, it was mentioned that the car trunk lid lacked the device that kept it from closing accidentally and once the kids got in it it would have been too heavy for them to hold open and impossible to lift it up again once it did close.
Oh, I forgot to say thanks for the link...
Thanks for the link!
Now it is said!!!
DCvR: It was the *missing link* on my blog. Ugly, I know. Groaning abounds.
Promethius: Thanks for the high five. Validating me will bring you much good luck in the days ahead.
Mom: This victim doesn't need compassion (since she's mostly likely hanging out in Davey Jones locker), but her family does. It is just hard to conjure up the gratuitious compassion when Mommy Dearest is flashing herself all over every piece of media that exists.
WHERE IS BONNIE BLITHE?
I've never been called the missing link before, I've been called worst things, but never that...
you know, Laur, I am with the opposition on this one. If it were my daughter I would flash whatever I had whenever I could if I thought it might help bring my child back to me. Unfortunately, denial can be a horrible thing and in this instance, her daughter won't be coming home. Deep down I hope her mother can eventually accept that and grieve but right now she is holding out all hope. I can't say I would do any different if it were my daughter. Until I could give her a proper burial and know the truth behind what occurred, I don't think I could let it go.
I don't necessarily think that the media gives extra special attention to caucasian kids more so than any others. In this particular instance, this story has the "mystery" appeal to it and they are using it for all it's worth. I don't believe had Natalee's last name been Gonazalez that there would be any less attention to this particular incident.
Don't blame the mother or the media. Blame your neighbors. Scandal sells and America is most definitely buying.
Remember Pvt. Jessica Lynch? Young attractive white female soldier captured by Iraqi insurgents? The media flipped out over her, meanwhile, I saw ONE report on a group of truck drivers that were captured about the same time. There were two women in that group, they showed a video of them crying and begging for their lives... they were overweight, unattractive, and black, and I never heard if they were released or executed or what. (I suppose if they were beheaded or something, then they would have become newsworthy again.) I'm with you on this one, sis.
Caucasian bias by the media is well documented, although it is not necessarily done with malice. As for it being our neighbors who generate the interest...just another urban myth. The truth is that the advertisers, to a great degree, drive what gets reported. If no one sticks around to watch the broadcast, how will consumers know that more dentists prefer Crest to Colgate, 2 to 1? What does not generate advertising revenue gets edited. Just not enough time in the broadcast, folks. Shame.
How is it an "urban myth" that our neighbors don't drive what is reported? I see it more as a vicious cycle. Surely advertisers must have some idea what we will commit our time to watching thus pushing the stations they advertise on to broadcast more content along those lines. But Americans make it much to easy for the media AND advertisers with our scandal-of-the-week mentality. Just walk through the checkout line at the grocery store and see if you are not inundated with tabloids toiting the scandal du jour....including stories like Natalee Holloway's.
Ultimately, it is our neighbors driving what is reported because they are willing to sit back and let innacurate and biased reporting be spoon fed to them. After all, if it's on CNN it must be true, right?
When my week old daughter was going into open heart surgery, and consequently died, I would have gladly given every penny I ever had so that she could live. My detractors are right on two counts: Americans have a responsibility to boycot, vilify in editorial letters and otherwise raise hell because of the media bias that exists - whether it is a result of trailer trash Americans who dig it when things get dirty or advertisers catering to said trash. Either way, we do have a responsibility and turning the other cheek in disgust does nothing.
I remember in the months after Kady died ruminating on her short, painful life. I remember crying my eyes out because of the tape that kept various leads, monitoring devices and IVs in place. I remember crying over the hair they shaved from her abundant black duck fluff that made her so beautiful. I remember every painful moment she experienced, the least of which was not watching needles being inserted into her body. Far from truly having contempt for the Holloway family, I have actually been in their shoes. I know the tears Mrs. Holloway cries at night and have experienced the dark night of the soul when all hope seems lost and the very core of you sinks into a blackness that is impenatrable. But how many of you would have looked critically at what I said if I didn't present it controversially? Let's face it, controversitality (WTF?) forces us to examine what we really believe. And why. You all should be thanking me. I am accepting monetary gifts, by the way.
love love love
Oh, I just loooooove offers of other forms of payment! And I have a big, hearty "yes" to your comments, as well. It is not that I wish bad things on the Holloways for having been born rich. It just seems unseemly the way Natalee is being flaunted, and it is very evident that by virtue of her beauty, academic promise and youth, her life is somehow deemed more valuable. That her mother recognizes this and is taking advantage of it doesn't make her bad or worthy of the pain she is going through. It just makes her a media hog, albeit a smart one at that.
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