Missing Person’s Disparities based on Race

I read a very disturbing article this morning onmsn.com. It details which missing persons cases get media attention. The prime example is that of Jessie Davis and Stepha Henry. I reported on Jessie Davis in this blog, however, I was not aware of Stepha Henry at the time who had been missing for two weeks longer than Jessie Davis. Stepha is black, Jessie is white. The article Missing People Face Disparity in Media Coverage asks the following question:

Why does Stepha Henry get less coverage than Jessie Davis?

“The answer is pure unconscious racism,” says the Poynter Institute’s Clark. “But it’s not just race. It’s also social class and gender.”

I’m sorry, but there is NOTHING unconscious about this form of racism. It’s crystal clear that more value is placed on a white woman than that of a black woman. The article goes on to discuss that not only race but social standing etc. play a part. However, in this case, that’s not true. Stepha Henry was an honors graduate from a New York university and a good, responsible adult. How can we as a society let this behavior fly? Why is the only reason I heard about this case at all because someone finally noticed and said hey – this isn’t right. At least tell me about the case so that I can choose to listen or not. Our prayers go out to you Stepha and to your family!

If you have any information about Stepha Henry please contact 1-800-CRIME-TV or at the link posted above for America’s Most Wanted.

Sherri Shepherd & Whoopi Goldberg are in?!

Ok, according to TMZ who quotes the LA Times, Whoopi and Sherri will be offered the hosting gigs at The View! Sweet – it will be great to get the view from a demographic that’s not all Caucasian. Especially since Sherri and Whoopi seem so open and about their lives.

Now the View really will be diverse! Woo hooo!!!! Congrats ladies!

Sigh… “Cavemen” Sitcom Might Be Racist!

So, my favorite entertainment reporter Lisa DeMoraes of the Washington Post is at the Summer TV Press Tour. Today ABC is up and after a lot of drama and uncooperativeness (is that a word?) we finally get to the pilot for the new sitcom Cavemen. Where do I begin? Ugh… I watched the clip ABC provides and I’m offended. Apparently the “Reporters Who Cover Television” are also a little offended. Lisa reports:

Eight white men onstage told TV critics, columnists and reporters that the new sitcom “Cavemen” — in which the cavemen are depicted as great dancers, naturally athletic and able to drive blondes crazy with their sexual prowess — is not, as one critic suggested, “the series about black folk that ABC was too scared to make.”

The execs then say:

“We’re aware that the pilot seems to lean a little bit more in that direction,” Gordon said. “But in the episodes that we’re sort of coming up with now, we never saw them as, again, a stand-in for one group.”

Hmmm, when I watched the clip there were fairly light-skinned (almost white looking) cavemen, saying things like don’t use Cro-mag, and the other caveman saying it’s ok if we use it. Then they go on to reference macaroni and cheese and start singing an altered version of Sir Mix A Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” Again I say UGH! Is this the new blackface? Are black people to be likened to cavemen for a whole season? Why not just throw in a bucket of chicken and some watermelon to round out the stereotype? Oh wait, then you’d also have to add the criminal element and some baby mamas!

ABC, ABC, ABC! How dumb can you be?  Check out the clip for yourself and let me know what you think!

Sprint – Biting the Hand that Feeds it?

Last week on Good Morning America they did a story on Sprints new strategy of:

disconnecting more than 1,000 subscribers for calling its customer service lines too often and making what the company called unreasonable requests.

They went on to say that:
“These customers were calling to a degree that we felt was excessive,” said Sprint spokeswoman Roni Singleton, adding the company needed to cull its customer base to improve services.

“In some cases they were calling customer care hundreds of times a month for a period of six to 12 months on the same issues even after we felt those issues had been resolved,” she said.

Call me crazy, but if these people continue to call, since that’s why customer service is there, maybe you haven’t solved their problem. Or maybe it’s a problem very similar to the first problem. Wasn’t it generous though for Sprint to waive final balances and give customers 30 days to transfer numbers? Hmm, that’s all fine and dandy, but what about the cost of the phone? It’s not like phones are cheap these days and you can’t use the phone with another carrier. Maybe some of the cancelled Sprint customers will speak out so we can hear their side of the story.

More Disturbing Signs of Our Society

I wasn’t going to post this article because it’s depressing. I try to keep this blog a little lighter, but in this instance I’ll let you decide whether or not to read on.

The story is that of an immigrant, single mom and her pre-teen son. They live in the projects in Florida and were severely beaten and traumatized. The mother was beaten and gang-raped while her son was beaten in another room. Then they were brought back together for the mother to “perform” the unthinkable on her own son. Only two of the suspects have been caught.

There’s not a lot I can say about this story except that I don’t know how or why people think like this. Not only is it a violation of the worst kind, it’s repetitive and all around sick. Did none of these boys think of their own mother, sister, grandmother, niece, girlfriend when they were allegedly performing these acts? What kind of people do this?

My prayers are with the family that was victimized in this horrific way.