Reply #26: Good question [View All]

[omega minimo]

“What exactly are people who have noticed this trend supposed to say”?

Yes, we need to identify this and address it. What is being objected to here is the CREATION of a new buzzphrase that shows up on DU and is offensive/divisive.

DU has enough problems with offensive posts that slur women. Why add more?

Trying to be more clear and to identify the issues (without kneejerk cliches) can help in addressing them.

Someone on the thread linked in the OP suggested that another person could be more selective about their news sources and avoid a lot of the frustration with this media imbalance. Those of us who already DO that didn’t know this was a THING until it started appearing on DU in the form of ugly posts and thread titles like:

“Are ugly/older women safer than attractive women?” (title)

"To be blunt, blond white chicks who go missing get covered” (title)

"You're more likely to get coverage if you're attractive than if you're not." (post quote from potentially bullshit article source) (so, the question about whether this whole trend was freeped).

“...until the next dying, blonde white woman story comes along.”

etc. etc. etc.... This Is Bullshit.

You see enough of these posts and you know there’s some hornets nest been stirred up. You see enough of these and you know that This Language Is Derisive Of Women.

We can agree that the media is imbalanced in coverage. I also suggested that EVERYONE’S chain is being yanked and several of us here pointed out it’s the same old same old reason-- TO SELL THINGS.

A classic and painful example of the issues-- media vampirism (no offense to vampires and those who love them) and Repug Fanatic hypocrisy-- was the case of Sun Hudson. A 6 month old African-American boy was removed from a respirator in Texas. His life was ended-- against the wishes of his family-- because they could not pay for treatment!! Doctors took Sun off the respirator while the Terri Schiavo fiasco was going on.

You asked:
“Are you upset that the media only seems interested in missing white girls or are you upset that people are pointing out the media only seems interested in missing white girls?”

Other: To create and reinforce new bigoted memes about “white/blonde/women/girls/chicks” etc. infers that THEY are the problem or somehow UNWORTHY of the attention; AND it deflects attention from the larger issues and the PERPETRATORS. We can discuss this without littering DU with NEW soundbites that direct sex/class/race resentment at women!


Which is why I smell a rat-- unless someone tells me where this trend started, I figger it was born in some Repug’s undisclosed location.