Gabby Petito and White Privilege

[RocksInMyHead]

Mostly those that turned up dead shortly later.

Cases regarding black girls/young adults tend to get famous for different reasons. Apart from the obvious Breonna Taylor case, the Jazmine Barnes case drew a lot of attention for awhile

What A Case Of Mistaken Identity Tells Us About Race In America

As did the Sasha Johnson case...

Sasha Johnson shooting: Four men indicate not guilty pleas

Not missing persons. Also, one was in England. And I don't recall having my news feed inundated with either story. In fact, I'd never heard of either incident until your post.

Generally speaking though, black on black crime doesn't tend to draw a lot of media attention. Perhaps that's something Joy Reid could consider before jumping to the conclusion that the media/public only cares about "white girls".

Re-read what you just wrote here. If black on black crime doesn't draw a lot of media attention, then it isn't exactly far-fetched to draw the conclusion that the media cares more about "white girls".

I don't know anything about her social media presence. I simply read an article that described her as such...

A timeline of the disappearance of Gabby Petito

Perhaps social media has since removed her content...or perhaps she has pages you don't know about. It's also possible the media is completely wrong.

Media is wrong here. She had very little social media presence, and was certainly not a "star" - at least not yet. It did seem like she was at least taking a stab at becoming a lifestyle blogger of some sort. You can check her Youtube channel (I don't remember it off the top of my head, but it wasn't hard to find). The only video on it is a month old and is about starting the trip that she died on.

She does have a lot of followers now thanks to the media attention, which is likely what tripped up the media outlets describing her as a Youtuber or social media influencer/star.

I'm sorry, but I disagree completely. It's pretty rare that this degree of digital evidence surrounding the case is available to the public shortly after it's uncovered.

The scant details that came out after her initial disappearance didn't indicate that this case was likely to see not 1 but 2 related videos near the time of her disappearance. That's not normal.

It's a bit of a paradox. We know that the videos exist because the owners of the videos came forward/released them and the media decided to disseminate them. Had that not happened, we would have no idea that the videos existed and probably wouldn't know about the case.

I don't think that story has the same level of new video evidence popping up during the search for the victim. A quick look shows that there was only a "last known footage" from some parking lot security camera and that's it. That's not unusual or particularly compelling.

It was also in 1999. Bodycams and cellphones with video capability weren't exactly a thing. Plenty of high profile missing persons cases from that era still though. JonBenet Ramsey? Laci Peterson? Video footage can make a story juicier, but juicy stories existed before video was commonplace.

Imagine if she and Syed went out one day, only he came back, and he provided no explanation for what happened to her. Then imagine if just a short time later, police bodycam footage of the aftermath of a fight/argument between her and Syed surfaced.

I'd be willing to bet dollars to cents that the case would be known nationally within a week.

Possibly, but only if the media obtained the footage and decided to disseminate it.

But there's no reason to believe that it's because she's white. You have to see everything from a highly racialized perspective that makes vast assumptions about a lot of people to jump to that conclusion.

Noticing a pattern in media coverage and questioning it doesn't take a "highly racialized perspective." I don't think that the color of her skin is the only reason why her disappearance was covered, but the pattern suggests that it was likely a factor.

 

[Ana the Ist]

You're thinking of aborigines. Aboriginals is another common name for first Nations people, or Indians.

Haven't heard that.

Do you think it might have something to do with the whole way reservations are run and lack of access news reporters might have?

Matthew Sheppard!!
Or does he not count cause he's gay?

I don't recall him being killed by police.

I like how you talk about his death like it was just another run of the mill death.

As far as wrongful police deaths go....it was.

 

[rambot]

Haven't heard that.

oh! I'm sure you haven't.

. Do
you think it might have something to do with the whole way reservations are run and lack of access news reporters might have?

you do know that news stations have the ability to drive their news vans on any public road and I don't believe they are restricted from reservation land. But please let me know if that's the case.

I don't recall him being killed by police

Now we need parallel situations?

As far as wrongful police deaths go....it was.

very very familiar with police death reports are you?

 

[Ana the Ist]

Not missing persons. Also, one was in England. And I don't recall having my news feed inundated with either story. In fact, I'd never heard of either incident until your post.

Well it was a busy news period.

Re-read what you just wrote here. If black on black crime doesn't draw a lot of media attention, then it isn't exactly far-fetched to draw the conclusion that the media cares more about "white girls".

Lol no...because any police on black violence is covered extensively. Heck, even a random encounter with a racist can get national exposure for months.

It's not so much that the media doesn't care about black victims...it just doesn't care when they're the victims of black people.

Media is wrong here. She had very little social media presence, and was certainly not a "star" - at least not yet.

So she definitely hadn't uploaded videos of multiple stops on her road trip?

She does have a lot of followers now thanks to the media attention, which is likely what tripped up the media outlets describing her as a Youtuber or social media influencer/star.

It's possible. I'm just going off what I read.

It's a bit of a paradox. We know that the videos exist because the owners of the videos came forward/released them and the media decided to disseminate them. Had that not happened, we would have no idea that the videos existed and probably wouldn't know about the case.

I don't see it as much of a paradox.

It was also in 1999. Bodycams and cellphones with video capability weren't exactly a thing. Plenty of high profile missing persons cases from that era still though. JonBenet Ramsey?

Also an unusual case.

Laci Peterson?

Not familiar with that one.

Possibly, but only if the media obtained the footage and decided to disseminate it.

Right.

Noticing a pattern in media coverage and questioning it doesn't take a "highly racialized perspective."

You're quoting cases that are decades old as if they establish a pattern.

I don't think that the color of her skin is the only reason why her disappearance was covered, but the pattern suggests that it was likely a factor.

Why? You think she's the only white girl to go missing this year?

If the media is so hot for this content...how come she's the only one to get this kind of coverage this year?

 

[Ana the Ist]

oh! I'm sure you haven't.

This is still the first thing to come up when I searched for "aboriginals"...

Aboriginal Australians - Wikipedia

you do know that news stations have the ability to drive their news vans on any public road and I don't believe they are restricted from reservation land. But please let me know if that's the case.

I recall protests not long ago where natives blocked those streets off to the public...and to my knowledge, it wasn't illegal for them to do so.

Now we need parallel situations?

You were asking me specifically about black women who were missing persons....as opposed to the Breonna Taylor's of the world who got extensive media coverage for being a different kind of victim.

So yes, when I said find me one white man who has the kind of national coverage for being killed by the police like George Floyd was....I intended you to find a parallel example.

 

[Aussie Pete]

I can't say it's impossible that white privilege exists. That's not something we can really identify or measure it's effects though.

I've never heard a white person say they got a job, earned a degree, got a promotion, etc....because they're white. It could happen subconsciously, but there's no good reason to assume it's happening.

That's not how it gets used though. It's used any time a white person gets treated differently than a black person....as an explanation that accuses everyone of being racist. Imagine if I pointed out that since the Jan 6th rioters were mostly white, and the BLM rioters that surrounded and destroyed police departments were mostly black....and the reason why the FBI has only pursued the January 6th rioters and the BLM rioters mostly had their charges dropped was due to "black privilege".

It's a pretty stupid and extremely racist suggestion...yet that's exactly how white privilege gets used in everyday conversations.

Sure. One of our schools brought in someone who demanded that all 11 year old boys in the class to stand up and apologise for being white oppressors. If I were not a Christian, I would for sure oppress the people responsible.

The Western world is forsaking its Christian foundations. This is the kind of lunacy that arises as a result. BLM is blatantly and publicly Marxist. Amazon has refused to allow a book about this to be advertised.

I'm white. I was raised in a non Christian family. I was dragged around the world. Between the age of 5 and 15, I lived in 14 different places and I was in my fourth country. My father was an alcoholic. I was the eldest of four. Now if that is privilege, I have to plead guilty.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

So she definitely hadn't uploaded videos of multiple stops on her road trip?

Not to Youtube. It's possible she had some on Instagram or Snapchat, but as far as I've been able to tell, she had very few followers on those platforms as well.

I don't see it as much of a paradox.

Why not? We only see video of incidents like this if the media obtains them and disseminates them. There could be thousands of cases with similar amounts of video evidence and no one would ever know.

Also an unusual case.

So? We're not talking about cases that are unusual. We're talking about cases that got national attention without video evidence.

Not familiar with that one.

Murder of Laci Peterson - Wikipedia

You're quoting cases that are decades old as if they establish a pattern.

I was quoting decades-old cases to counter your claim that the lack of video evidence in Adnan Syed's case was the reason that it didn't blow up.

Why? You think she's the only white girl to go missing this year?

Hardly.

If the media is so hot for this content...how come she's the only one to get this kind of coverage this year?

Because it's not that common of a crime? Because she's a cute, innocent-looking girl? Because there was enough video to establish a narrative? Because the stars aligned?

Saying that the media only seems to cover this sort of crime when it's committed against young, attractive white women does not mean that the media must cover all instances if it occurring to white women (young and attractive or not).

Ultimately, most cases like this - no matter the victim's race, age, or appearance - are simply not newsworthy to the majority of the country. It makes sense for it to be on the news in Florida, where the boyfriend and his parents live. It makes sense for it to be on the news where she was last seen. It makes sense for it to be on the news in her hometown. But there's simply no reason why an isolated missing persons case/murder with a clear suspect being investigated in Florida and Wyoming has any relevance to me in Pennsylvania except as something to talk about around the watercooler at work - and yet it's plastered all over my news feed, it's on CNN, it's on Fox, it's on my local news channel, it's in my local paper. It's not something that happens frequently in missing persons cases, but when it does, it always seems to be a young white woman. And I think that's worthy of comment.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Sure. One of our schools brought in someone who demanded that all 11 year old boys in the class to stand up and apologise for being white oppressors.

That's basically child abuse.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Not to Youtube. It's possible she had some on Instagram or Snapchat, but as far as I've been able to tell, she had very few followers on those platforms as well.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...gabby-petito-instagram-youtube-road-trip/amp/

A few hundred thousand views on YouTube, 12k+ followers on Instagram, and who knows what on her Facebook page and other assorted social media.

Why not? We only see video of incidents like this if the media obtains them and disseminates them.

Right, which they tend to do in a missing persons case.

There could be thousands of cases with similar amounts of video evidence and no one would ever know.

That's a pretty big assumption. Since you don't have any evidence to back it up...I'm going to dismiss it as such.

So? We're not talking about cases that are unusual. We're talking about cases that got national attention without video evidence.

Typically the same thing.

Murder of Laci Peterson - Wikipedia

Not ringing any bells.

I was quoting decades-old cases to counter your claim that the lack of video evidence in Adnan Syed's case was the reason that it didn't blow up.

A missing woman killed by love interest isn't all that unusual.

It's pretty typical.

Because it's not that common of a crime?

Did you read the article I posted? It gives a number of missing people.

Since I already quoted it....can you tell me what that number is?

 

[RocksInMyHead]

What did Gabby Petito post on Instagram and YouTube about her road trip?

A few hundred thousand views on YouTube, 12k+ followers on Instagram, and who knows what on her Facebook page and other assorted social media.

Sure, and how many of those followers and views are from after her disappearance made national news?

Right, which they tend to do in a missing persons case.

Do they? On national news?

A missing woman killed by love interest isn't all that unusual.

It's pretty typical.

True - so why is this one getting so much attention? Why did the entire country need to be informed of it? It's not like there was a nationwide manhunt or a suspected serial killer.

 

[The IbanezerScrooge]

There's a whole lot of nuance and circumstance being ignored in complaints about the media covering this case so closely and not other missing persons cases. Is there some element of racial discrimination in it? Yeah, probably. But, this case itself is really different from ones that I've seen touted by those making the criticism.

This case is basically happening in real-time. We learned of Gabby's disappearance and her boyfriend's involvement at the same time and it was happening right then. It was an intriguing mystery from the start because it looked pretty clear to just about everyone what had happened. Other cases such as the geologist in the Grand Canyon whose car was found crashed in a ravine and he was missing or the Asian woman who is just... missing... don't have the same sense of real-time urgency and mystery to them. There's not much to report. The cases are several months old at this point. Leads have been followed and exhausted in most cases.

 

[spiritfilledjm]

True - so why is this one getting so much attention? Why did the entire country need to be informed of it? It's not like there was a nationwide manhunt or a suspected serial killer.

They were in the public eye already and had a following. That and now that the guy has been able to elude capture, adds more intrigue and drama which equals ratings. Also the plethora of evidence that there is, video and testimony and what not as well. That's why. In this case, it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that she's white. It just has a lot of information that can be used.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Sure, and how many of those followers and views are from after her disappearance made national news?

I'm sure I don't know.

Do they? On national news?

Yeah. I'd say that the story already gained traction for a couple of reasons.

1. Even her modest following was likely to spread it.
2. It wasn't just reported locally where she's from, but also near where she was suspected to disappear.

The added audience from these two factors probably propelled it into a national story. They alone would ensure more people reading about it than your average missing persons case.