(Image by Mediamodifier from Pixabay)
“The worst form of justice in pretended justice”.
(Plato)
Dictionary.com defines white privilege as inherent advantages possessed by a white person based on their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice.
Merriam-Webster defines bias as a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly.
So, where am I heading with these definitions? I will get to the point but need to ask you a few questions.
Who is Gabby Petito? Who is Brian Laudrie?
I am sure you did not need to run a Google search to provide an answer to either of those questions. We have learned more about both individuals on the morning, afternoon, nightly and cable news shows almost daily since September.
We know she was a travel influencer and they traveled out west to hike and camp while documenting the trip. We also know there was an incident during the trip and police were called in to investigate and/or deescalate the situation between the couple. No arrests were made, and the couple continued the journey without a warning from the police.
I will not dive much deeper into the situation because it has been covered extensively by the news media. We know where they were before Gabby went missing and Brian decided to return to his parent’s home in Florida. The media set up outside the homes of both families and conducted interviews with them. The media spoke with local law enforcement, FBI agents and experts on finding missing people.
The media coverage for this ONE case was 24/7! We got in-depth and breaking news coverage to let us know every time something new was identified in the case. Bravo to the news media for being so aggressive providing us with these vital updates.
Next question. Who is Jelani Day? I am going to wait so you can go Google his name.
He disappeared the month PRIOR to Gabby but no round the clock coverage to inform us of updates in the investigation. We did not get updates on a person of interest, circumstances surrounding his disappearance or background information about him.
I found an article on USA Today in the News category—it was not listed as Breaking News or a Top Headline. I am happy his story was listed at all but why the disparity in how both cases were covered by the media? Another question I must ask is how many other people went missing during the same time frame, but we heard nothing about them on the national news either. This is what media bias looks like!
People of color are missing right now but there appears to be only one story the media is interested in covering. I am fine with the media covering this case but why do they completely ignore everyone else? It is hard to not see the media bias in the coverage, but the sad thing is multiple networks/outlets are all doing the same thing.
Would we know more about Jelani Day’s investigation IF the media put as much interest in his case as the one we all have been hearing about since September? Don’t answer that—I know the answer!
Jelani Day and all missing people should be afforded the same coverage and investigation we have seen for the disappearance of Gabby Petito—nothing more or less!
I wrote about The Two Americas last summer—this is another example. You be the judge.
Research:
“Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitudes”.
(Public Enemy)
Walk Into the Future 