Comments on Womanist Musings: Caylee Anthony Is Not The Only Missing Child

I have heard of Tomisha Ross, Camille Johnson, and...

2008-09-15T00:41:32.443-04:00

I have heard of Tomisha Ross, Camille Johnson, and Jasmine Kasner, but then I keep track of Black and Missing,But Not Forgotten. The widget sits on the right side on my blog.
I notice that while these 3 are mentioned, Giovanni Gonzalez, a 5 year old little boy who is in similar circumstances as Caylee, was not mentioned on this post. Giovanni came up missing around the same time frame as Caylee.
There are SO many missing children and persons left off of 'The List.' People seem to be biased against because of their race, age, and financial standing. There is also a lack of media attention on how many children are abducted by family. People don't even take this kind of abduction serious.
Yet if you look on NCMEC, the LARGEST group of missing children are runaways...The second largest is family abductions. Stranger Danger (media hype) is one of the smallest groups of missing children.

So, the way I see it, race is not the only factor.
BUT, it IS there. I try to post my work random, so that I include people from every race, age, and financial standing.
Like Delilah, I belong to Peace 4 the Missing.
(It's kind of how I stumbled on this post)
Peace4 has come up with a great idea: Monday 4 the Missing. Every Monday, all bloggers get together and post for the same person.
It's a chance to change what the media is (not)doing. If any bloggers are interested, please check out http://monday4themissing.blogspot.com/
It's very new...so we could honestly use a few extra people.
If enough bloggers cover the same person on the same day, it is possible to bring this missing persons case up front, where it belonged to begin with.

I communicate with families of missing persons on ...

2008-09-14T18:55:26.102-04:00

I communicate with families of missing persons on a daily basis, and while I agree with your entry 100%, I'm not so sure it is always a racial issue when people go missing unnoticed. Almost 1 million people are reported missing in this country every year according to FBI statistics.

From what I have seen it is a mainstream media issue that perpetuates the sensationalism of one particular case while all of the others go unnoticed. My site has members of all ethnic backgrounds and most of them have similar stories about trying to get their loved ones noticed as much as the ones that the media feels worthy of reporting.

I have been in contact with friends and family members in Miami where a young Hispanic mother has been missing for 15 months. We have blitzed the media and police department and elected officials all the way to the Governor and States Attorney to no avail. Just this week a local paper had the balls to report the story.

The stories go on and on and the feeling of helplessness is overwhelming sometimes because it is so hard to make any headway.

Thank you for this entry because it is hitting the nail on the head for so many families. It crosses all racial and gender lines when a loved one is missing.

http://peace4missing.ning.com
http://mothersarevanishing.blogspot.com

Considering that most sex offenders were sexually ...

2008-08-19T17:48:49.254-04:00

Considering that most sex offenders were sexually abused as children, I agree with you. Back to the topic, though, racism is institutionalized--black kids aren't valued as white kids, black Barbie dolls are not as valued as the white versions. It is when our government agencies get "infected" with common people rather than people chosen for honor-related and integrity-related reasons that causes this problem, I think. If we paid cops and government workers more and the field was competitive instead of underpaid, wouldn't these problems lessen? Same applies to schools, black kids usually get less attention from teachers than their white peers. What if classrooms weren't overcrowded and teachers were paid a livable wage?

Something that I learned in a psych class was that the best way to change attitudes is through changing behavior. That didn't make very much sense to me at the time, but it makes a lot more sense if taken in the context of social injustices. So what is the best way to change behavior when it comes to this problem of minority children being undervalued? That is the real question.

@USpace it is not a matter of not hating. It is a ...

2008-08-18T00:33:31.286-04:00

@USpace it is not a matter of not hating. It is a matter that I personally cannot and will not take a position that advocates rape or violence against any person regardless of their action. Lock them in prison for life yes but violence I cannot support it.

Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed that you would hat...

2008-08-17T23:25:49.288-04:00

Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed that you would hate sub-human, raping scum and not wish them the ends that they deserve. Evil can not be defeated if it is not hated and reviled to the maximum.

I also wasn't "advocating" anything, I was just saying that's what would justly happen to them if they were given a Life sentence, and that as long as they were guilty I would be very pleased to read of such outcomes.

@Uspace I understand that you are upset as a paren...

2008-08-17T11:05:46.378-04:00

@Uspace I understand that you are upset as a parent. I too share your rage at people that rape children, however womanist musings is not the appropriate space for you to advocate the rape of any person regardless of their actions It is also not place for you to advocate for the death of any individual those are violent acts which are never supported here This is meant to be a safe space and such thoughts contradict that. Consider this your one warning

.The media is mostly run by Liberals and Democrats...

2008-08-17T03:10:35.219-04:00

.
The media is mostly run by Liberals and Democrats, the party of racism. Child rapists don't deserve the mercy of Death Row and a state execution, they deserve Life in Prison without parole and special protections. This way the other inmates will have many chances to gang-rape the scum every day, and then torture the vermin to death when they are sick of him.
.
Finally the Supremes got one right with the DC Gun Ban issue. Hopefully, knowing that more homes may have guns, more raping and home-invading monkeys will cease in this behavior or be blown away as they well deserve. The world will be MUCH better with more of this scum dead.
.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe feels
sorry for child rapists

when they are murdered
in cold blood by other thugs

.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
KILL the raping monkeys

even if they prefer death
over life in prison

.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
you may not defend yourself

guns are for criminals
just hope police show in time

.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
prosecute citizens

when they kill home invaders
threatening their families

.
absurd thought -
God of the Universe thinks
women shouldn’t carry guns

their attackers and rapists
don’t deserve their brains blown out

.
Philosophy of Liberty Cartoon
.
Child Rapists Deserve Violent Death in Prison
.
Help Halt Terrorism Today!
.
USpace

:)
.

sigh I live in Florida, about 45 mins out of Orl...

2008-08-14T23:23:12.720-04:00

*sigh* I live in Florida, about 45 mins out of Orlando. Unfortunately, the FOX channel especially seems to want to bring us the drivel of what's happening in this case on an hour by hour basis. I don't mean that to sound harsh but like you, I know there are so many other missing people in this country, and probably 100's if not 1000's alone in Florida.

Caylee is GONE. Her mother waited 30 DAYS! to report her missing. That's why Caycee sits in jail today.

As much as the majority tries to convince us we are no longer racist...we are.

I did happen to live in Charlotte, NC which was so much better at highlighting missing children/people of other ethnic backgrounds.

You'd think Florida, with all it's diversity would do the same.

http://by-la.com

This is a great post. Thanks for addressing this ...

2008-08-14T02:08:01.689-04:00

This is a great post. Thanks for addressing this issue.

Ebony, we do have Amber alerts. One (sad) telling ...

2008-08-14T01:11:26.652-04:00

Ebony, we do have Amber alerts. One (sad) telling fact is that a number of people commented about how surprised they were when a not-so-long ago alert was about black, teenaged boys.

Amber Alert for boys? I didn't even know those were issued for boys. But come to think of it missing boys aren't front page material that often. And sadly I have to admit that every Amber Alert I've seen (Im in Eastern North Carolina if you're curious) has been for a young white girl...

I really hate the missing white woman stories. The...

2008-08-14T00:46:13.950-04:00

I really hate the missing white woman stories. They're harmful to everyone. When the media frenzy directs towards a single disappearance, other people disappear, particularly the faces of women of color. The purpose of these stories is to reinforce the narrative of "innocent" white women being abducted. Usually the narrative focuses upon these women being abducted by men of color. As a result, white women are again told that their lives are most threatened by men of color, while white men, those they know and are close to, are those most likely to harm them. We are once again admonished about the dangers of drinking and going out unescorted, lest evil men of color jump at us from the shadows. And black women are disappeared twice, first abducted, and then ignored.

@ elle"But when it comes down to it, I think race/...

2008-08-13T18:11:24.682-04:00

@ elle

"But when it comes down to it, I think race/ethnicity play a much larger role."

I agree

You are absolutely right--and no one can honestly...

2008-08-13T17:47:31.956-04:00

You are absolutely right--and no one can honestly deny it--missing white children, particularly girls, and particularly cute ones get all the media attention.

It is obviously a producer/editorial decision. In a pure economic sense they are pandering to their largest demographic constituency--and from that I think we can dismiss all the talk of a post-racial America.

There is really not a compelling mystery in this case--the mother is a lying sack of shit--and is somehow involved in killing or covering up the killing of the girl--but everyone is interested in what brought the good looking young white mother to become so diabolical.

But I have noticed with African-American dirtbags--like the woman who steals a baby (or the one who cut a baby out of a pregnant woman) there is no intrigue, much less interest in what makes her tick.

What a lot of this sensationalism also does is ignores the larger problem--that in the vast majority of cases, the fate of abused children is fairly mundane--it is a parent or other trusted adult--and it is just disgusting, not interesting at all.

~Becky

Great post and thank you! I am glad you mentioned...

2008-08-13T16:21:31.766-04:00

Great post and thank you!

I am glad you mentioned about how the news does not report on Native American women and sexual assault/rape. Much of the mainstream news in the USA never reports on Native Americans nor specifically Native American women. Just from looking at the local newspaper in the metropolitan region I currently reside in I have come across about 3 or 4 stories about Natives Americans in the past few years! The local newspaper that is published near the reservation my relatives live on has reports on tribal government, events, ceremonies and celebrations almost every week. Despite the reports and stories being different from region to region it should still not be biased in news reporting. We have a long way to go!

This is exactly why I began using my Wordless Wedn...

2008-08-13T15:38:01.488-04:00

This is exactly why I began using my Wordless Wednesday posts to highlight those who are Black and missing but not forgotten!

@Ebony I think absolutely money plays a part in de...

2008-08-13T14:21:20.124-04:00

@Ebony I think absolutely money plays a part in determining who is "important," who has access to the media, etc.

But when it comes down to it, I think race/ethnicity play a much larger role.

@Ebony I can remember an amber alert for a missing...

2008-08-13T13:07:10.164-04:00

@Ebony I can remember an amber alert for a missing Asian girl but that is as far as it goes in terms of color.

Thank you elle for letting me know.This next quest...

2008-08-13T12:54:15.748-04:00

Thank you elle for letting me know.

This next question is for everyone.

I wonder if money also has a part to play in it, because sometimes when children go missing a reward is offered not in all cases but in some, the same thing with other crimes (murder, robbery, etc). Rewards aren't always offered . A friend of mine her cousin was murdered last year and she was asking me this same question because her cousin's case was the only shooting case at the time that involved a 50g's reward for tips on the murder.

Ebony, we do have Amber alerts. One (sad) telling...

2008-08-13T12:40:31.830-04:00

Ebony, we do have Amber alerts. One (sad) telling fact is that a number of people commented about how surprised they were when a not-so-long ago alert was about black, teenaged boys.

Also, i'm not sure if anyone is familiar with the ...

2008-08-13T12:29:38.791-04:00

Also, i'm not sure if anyone is familiar with the term amber alert when children go missing in Canada. Im not sure if the usa has the same term, but I don't ever recall seeing a child of colour be reported missing under an amber alert. WHen an abmer alert is brodcasted, it will pop up on the bottom of the tv screen or the news station will go into the "breaking news" section" to inform the public about the missing child. Also the amber alert will be displayed on the boards on the highway that update drives on traffic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_s...

2008-08-13T12:24:51.153-04:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome
This link explains it all, its called the missing white women syndrome.
"We do not love our children any less than white families. Yet when one of our children disappears resources are not devoted to finding them and this often leads to tragic results."
Everyone claims to love children but they only care when those who "look" a certain way go missing or get abused, or get mistreated.
And the news and media proves this on a daily basis. And all I do is shake my head in disgust.

Thank you for this post. I had never heard of the...

2008-08-13T12:03:15.244-04:00

Thank you for this post. I had never heard of the other missing children. In addition I had never heard that 1 out of every 3 N.A women are raped.
It is shocking to me with our melting pot society where white is no longer the majority...that there are still so many injustices.