Missing Pretty White Girl Syndrome

The Natalee Holloway case in Aruba is bringing up claims of racism - some of them justifiable - on Michelle Malkin's site.

Regular readers know I don't think much of unfounded race-card politicking and class warfare-ism. But I do believe that race and class play a role in elevating some of these missing girl stories above others. That is a damned shame. Robinson believes this is an indictment against American society at large. But, tellingly, he says nothing about the hypocrisy of so many diversity-preaching, social engineering champions in the MSM--who, in the end, are "greedy" profit-seekers just like all the other corporate institutions in America they regularly attack.

I'm not sure, though, how much race is a factor relative to others. Would an overweight, unattractive white girl who went missing get preference over a Tyra Banks-look-a-like?

There was a time that I'd have thought "proximity to a major media center" would have been a key factor - and I'm still not positive that it isn't in some way. Kids have been disappearing from small towns forever without a lot of attention - but the Dru Sjodin case was front-page national news for days even though it took place in isolated Grand Forks, ND. But if the Twin Cities media hadn't run the story, would it have gone anywhere?

As for class, I think it may be a significant factor not so much because of prejudice, but because of the more mundane concerns of producing 24/7 cable TV. Missing girls from broken homes may be less likely to have an army of relatives and friends who can fill airtime night after night. (Actually, I can think of a few recent, highly-publicized cases off the top of my head that undermine this argument: the Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde murders).

Whatever the reasons these missing pretty white girl cases get flogged, I find the whole Missing Pretty Girl Sndrome disturbing (and that's coming from someone who works for FNC). I think we should be paying a hell of a lot more attention to Lodi and Tampa and Denver than Aruba.

I'm amazed - and the very idea smacks of equal parts idealism and cynicism - that someone hasn't come up with a "Missing Persons Network" cable channel.

Posted by Mitch at June 13, 2005 04:47 AM | TrackBack