Why is it that the Columbine High School shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, have become the face of school violence within this country? Yes, they killed 13 individuals and wounded 23 others. They receive national attention because of their actions to this day, almost 10 years later. But what about the rest of those students murdered in America's schools?
From 1999-2001 there were over 38 school murders that received almost no publicity. Why have none of these 38 murders in Americas schools, almost three times the amount of the Columbine shootings, received the attention given to Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold? Maybe its because they lack the sheer volume of bodies stacked up in Littleton, Colorado. Or maybe its because 30 of these student victims were of minority background. 6 of those 39 murdered in schools from 1999-2001 were adults killed by adults in schools, and 2 of those 39 murdered in American schools were kids killed by adults.
The media has a profound impact on what makes the front page of newspapers or the headlines of the nightly news. When whites die, we hear about. When minorities die, they die in silence.
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I totally agree with your point that minorities who are victims of crimes, especially violent crimes, are often ignored in the media. It is as if minorities (including myself) are adequate enough to be presented as perpetrators of crime but not worthy as victims. When minorities, particularly African-Americans die, it is not "important" enough to make headlines. An example is when black females go missing we almost hear nothing about it but when white females do their stories are all over the place.
ReplyDeleteInnocently, I think this could be due to the fact that people (in this case, reporters) are interested in stories that are about people who are like them. If most of the reporters are white then they may be more interested in stories featuring someone of their race. I believe that it may even go so far as to fulfill the interests of the network, newspaper/magazine chain, etc. who are most likely predominately white. Sad to say, but if the dominant group wants to see themselves, that's what they get.
I agree with both of you. I also think that the reason why minority killings or missing people are not heavily reported on is because it seems typical. Meaning the media does not want to report on news that people aren't interested in. I think that if people were to hear about a black man killed in a bad neighborhood, people would respond with "Well sure." And, unfortunately, they are not surprised, because this type of behavior is expected in some way. As if people assume, "Well he probably died because of a gang shooting." Assuming, just because he is African American he is in a gang and that is the reason for his death. In the end, the media reports on what people will find newsworthy. In most cases, it is about white people because that is what people want to hear about.
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