Tonight I will go to sleep and rest soundly knowing that if I am kidnapped tomorrow, the local news stations will probably air the story of my disappearance.
With a little luck I’ll make regional news, and perhaps my face will be plastered all over CNN if someone thinks I’m cute.
Almost three months after Natalie Holloway’s May 30 disappearance, she is still getting headlines alongside Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, the war in Iraq and rising gas prices. However, her airtime is not being rivaled by other missing persons that are not attractive young white females.
A pregnant LaToya Figueroa went missing on July 18-later found dead-and would ostensibly be hotter news than the Holloway case. However, the only people who seemingly know about this tragedy are her family and friends.
Contrast that with the public outcry that followed Laci Peterson’s disappearance in 2002. The coverage of that event even crossed into the realm of make believe when Lifetime produced an original movie based on the case. Why are infotainment outlets so interested in Laci and Natalee but not LaToya?
It’s time for the American public to take a serious look at reality. Ask yourself why you are engrossed in the Holloway case. Is it because you actually knew this young woman? Have you shed any tears? Have you donated any money to the reward fund? Have you flown to Aruba to assist in the search? Or have you been stationed on your couch the whole time?
With years of “Law & Order” murder mysteries under our belts, it is not surprising that the vast majority of the viewing masses sit in front of their televisions waiting for each new development in the case to play out. I’m sure that if you are a parent of one of these missing women, you are happy to see their names on the news day in and day out, hoping for a break in the case. But what about the other people unaccounted for? Where have they gone? Why don’t we see their names on the nightly news?
It’s a tragedy to lose someone that you love, regardless of who they are. Why does the American news system make these young women seem like they are the only ones who matter?
A newcomer to the United States might think that the only people who ever go missing here are young, white women.
In reality, the majority of missing persons are male according to www.msnbc.com. In reality, Natalee’s mother is mourning no more than Tamika Huston’s parents. In reality, Chandra Levy will be no more missed than the other 47,000 plus missing adults. In reality, the tears shed for Lori Hacking will not outweigh those shed for Shelton Sanders. So the real question is, “Why isn’t the media marching in lock step with reality?”