Plenty of crimes that make national news when the victim is young, white, female, and attractive do not make the national news when victims of a similar crimes is, well, not any of those things.

I have one question, where is Nancy Grace when you need her?

In the movie, “A Time To Kill” (black father kills white male who raped his daughter in the deep south). At the end of the movie the defending attorney asked the all white jury to close their eyes and asked them to imagine what had happened to the little girl. He proceeds to describe her rape in excuriating detail and then at the very end said, “Now imagine her white.” Everyone on the jury jerked. The defendant was acquitted. Yes, it’s only a movie but the writers (more than likely white) very clearly demonstrated what they already know. Whites are unable or unwillingly to put themselves into the place of the “others” when crimes and any injustices or indignities happen. Whites tend to justify, explain away, or obfuscate the reality.

Just as someone else pointed out, if this had been a large black male who shot an innocent or even not so innocent young white male, the aftermath would have been very different. And by the way, this is not the first time a vigiliante took it upon himself to kill someone black. There was a case that happened several years ago. A black male was being pursued in a mall parking lot, persumably because he had stolen something (or maybe he just needed to rush to his car). A white male decided to pursue him and in the end killed him (I believe he shot him). He was acquitted. I don’t know if the jury was all white, but I know on the show in the aftermath all of them being interviewed were white. One white female was very indignant that she when she was asked if she treatef black patients differently than white ones (she was a nurse). I’m sure she believes that. But study after study shows that people do react differently depending on the individual’s race. I would rather deal with someone aware of their bias and prejudice but makes a conscious effort to be fair than someone who *thinks* they are not. One of the white males on the jury started to dismiss the seriousness of an average citizen taking it upon himself to involve himself in something that authorities should handle when a black person is involved. I don’t know how provocative the comment would have been, but I do know the TV show cut off his comment.

Sadly and unfortunately (especially if you are non-white), racism is alive and well and living right here in the good ol’ USA. I know I will die before I ever see any different and I had such high hopes during the 60′s. BTW I worked in a predominately white high school for a six years and, yes, the same old attitudes are indeed still around.