Amy's Robot

The AP picks up a

The AP picks up a story that no one else wants to: the murder of Sakia Gunn, a young African-American lesbian, in Newark has been largely ignored not just by mainstream rights advocates, but (to a lesser extent) by the gay community itself. Some theorize that the lack of attention paid to the case -- as compared to Matthew Shephard or Brandon Teena -- indicates a class- and race-related bias within the gay community.

It's sad but evident: when bad or good things happen to non-white people, the media ignores it, unless white people are somehow affected. It happens every day, and there are one million examples, but here's some anyway:

• Elizabeth Smart disappears and reappears, and she is America's angel for 2 months. Meanwhile, another girl in California -- Hispanic -- is kidnapped and frees herself after a few days and is not even the top story for one full day.
• Mark McGwire's chase for the home run record is the biggest sports story in years. Barry Bonds breaks his record three years later and is (comparatively) ignored.
• The McCaughey septuplets are born, and the family gets a free house, tens of thousands of dollars, the cover of Time and Newsweek, and free diapers forever. A year later, a Nigerian-American woman in Texas gives birth to octuplets. Where's her free house? She gets 300 words on page A4.

In any case, GLAAD, at least, does seem to be taking an active interest in Sakia's story.

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posted by adm at 1:53 PM | #