By this time, everyone in America has heard of Natalee Holloway - just the latest in a string of white women who've made front page news and 24 hour cable shows, aka the latest damsel in distress whose misfortunes have gripped America's attention (joining dubious company with Terry Schiavo and that nutty Runaway Bride). Just in case the name doesn't ring a bell, think instead of the 18 year old high school student missing in Aruba and I'm sure the lightbulb will spark up.
As many others have pointed out, there's a complete double-standard being enforced here: if you're a white woman in some kind of trouble, you're instant fodder for the media machine. God forbid though if you happen to be non-white and missing/killed/raped/etc., since apparently, Nielsen families don't get a hoot about your fate.
CNN.com's recent coverage of the Holloway case is even more abhorrent. On their interactive gallery, note what you see: a big smiling picture of Holloway (innocence personified no doubt) but what's truly striking are the bottom photos: we see Holloway's picture again, another white girl, a police car, a white police officer and then pictures of three black men and women. When you click on the first two, you see photos of the first two suspects arrested in the case. The only thing is: both were released on lack of evidence. The third photo is of a black police officer, taking away evidence connected with Joran Van Der Sloot, who is the current suspect and is supposed to be charged soon. Van Der Sloot is white but where is his photo in this gallery?
Maybe this is just a coincidence. Maybe it's just an oversight. But isn't it just a little odd that CNN's gallery would be missing the photo of the main suspect while it's still running photos of two suspects who've already been cleared and released? Let me just speak it plainly: a photo of a white teen surrounded by photos of black men creates drama in our racial imaginations and CNN seems to be cynically exploiting this. As anyone who saw how the Charles Stewart and Susan Smith cases went down - as well as the recent Runaway Bride debacle - blaming Black men is America's national pastime and as Holloway's case shows, the formula is easily exported to Aruba and beyond.
As many others have pointed out, there's a complete double-standard being enforced here: if you're a white woman in some kind of trouble, you're instant fodder for the media machine. God forbid though if you happen to be non-white and missing/killed/raped/etc., since apparently, Nielsen families don't get a hoot about your fate.
CNN.com's recent coverage of the Holloway case is even more abhorrent. On their interactive gallery, note what you see: a big smiling picture of Holloway (innocence personified no doubt) but what's truly striking are the bottom photos: we see Holloway's picture again, another white girl, a police car, a white police officer and then pictures of three black men and women. When you click on the first two, you see photos of the first two suspects arrested in the case. The only thing is: both were released on lack of evidence. The third photo is of a black police officer, taking away evidence connected with Joran Van Der Sloot, who is the current suspect and is supposed to be charged soon. Van Der Sloot is white but where is his photo in this gallery?
Maybe this is just a coincidence. Maybe it's just an oversight. But isn't it just a little odd that CNN's gallery would be missing the photo of the main suspect while it's still running photos of two suspects who've already been cleared and released? Let me just speak it plainly: a photo of a white teen surrounded by photos of black men creates drama in our racial imaginations and CNN seems to be cynically exploiting this. As anyone who saw how the Charles Stewart and Susan Smith cases went down - as well as the recent Runaway Bride debacle - blaming Black men is America's national pastime and as Holloway's case shows, the formula is easily exported to Aruba and beyond.
