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July 29, 2005 For those of you who are busy sniping at each other as to whether the concept of pretty missing white girls in the media is a racial injustice, let me be very clear here.... Yes, the concept of pretty missing white girls getting most of the news coverage IS a racial injustice. Welcome to the real world of white supremacy in the media. It is not just prevalent in the news division...how many non-Caucasian actors and actresses have made it big in Hollywood in the last seventy years? How about sports? It is there, too. Do you think most Americans wanted a black Hank Aaron to break a white Babe Ruth's all-time home run record? Not a chance. Look at business, fashion, the arts, politics...we are a predjudiced society. If you want to be really pure here about our bigotry, don't make this a black vs. white argument, because it is not about just the black race. It is also about Hispanics, Asians, Mongs, Chaldeans, Palestinians, Jews and about thousand other cultures. It is just as racist to put the blacks as the downtrodden minority. They need to get in line. When it comes to the ruling class in America, it is about middle-aged, male Caucausians. Period. That is not something I am not happy about; but it is something that is basically true. So, let's face it and try to change it without all of us acting more racist in our dealings with each other. The Natalee Holloway case is NOT about race. It may have had those overtones in the beginning, but this is has become a legacy unto itself. Unlike Chandra Levy or Laci Peterson, this story is not just a crime mystery anymore. It has become the television viewing phenomena that has mesmerized the airwaves for the past five years. This phenomena has made guaranteed it's popularity and made it MUST watch TV. It is the Ultimate Reality Show. I am not trying to belittle any of the indiviidual characters here nor am I, in any way, trying to minimize the horrific tragedy that has probably befallen a lovely young girl with her whole life ahead of her. I am trying to explain why hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people are now interacting with all the personalities they see on their television screens. This no longer a, "Fox News Thing," or a, "MSNBC Report." No. This is the average American who is referring to the images on their TV sets as....Greta, Joe, Beth, Jug, Natalee, Joran, Deepak, Paulus... We are on a first name basis with these people now. These are not just newsworthy individuals anymore. These are our personal friends and enemies. We are INTO this story! It is like being thrown into the cast of, "Gone with the Wind!" and finding ourselves talking to Scarlett and Rhett as though they lived next door. We are not watching this event any more, we are EXPERIENCING it. Every day there is a new development for us to call or email our friends with excitement and drama as though we are walking the streets with Beth Holloway Twitty looking for her lost daughter..."Have they finished draining the pond, yet?" "Did you hear they may re-arrest the Kalpoe brothers?" "If I were Beth Twitty...I would be driving the authorities crazy, too! That is what a REAL parent would do!" "They found a BLONDE hair on duct tape?..what do you think about THAT?"... "Survivor" and, "The Apprentice" are like PBS specials on a cable station in Rockford, Illinois, compared to this blockbuster. Unlike the OJ trial which was AFTER the fact, this mystery has thousands trying to solve it. Playing into this wondrous concept is the tight-lipped style of Aruba's investigation team. Add the FBI, Equusearch, Dutch interrogators, F-16's, emerging witnesses out of the shadows, a courageous mom, a logical stepfather, the possibility of a slavery ring...I could go on and on. But, you get the picture. This mystery will not go away for one reason.... We are LIVING it. So, let's back off on the racial bickering and see this for what it really is....A drama of the first magnitude that is REAL. A Hollywood producer could not have scripted this any better. Just remember...as engaging as this is, there is still a beautiful child out there who has a life. We need to keep Natalee and her family in our prayers daily. They are NOT here for our entertainment; they are trying to cope with the worst days of their lives knowing that the very real possibility exists that they will never fully recover from what happened in the early morning hours of May 30, 2005. Had Natalee been homely or ethnic, there is a strong possibility that we would not be here now. But, we are here and we will continue to be here for a long time. Because this has become our daughter, our family and our mission to do whatever we can to bring her home to her grieving parents through our prayers, our hopes, our letters of encouragement and even our financial donations. We really care about these hurting people. And, THAT is the reality. ------------ About the author: Pat Hurley has won three Emmy awards for writing, hosting and producing television shows. He resides in Southern California. Email: coolhumor@sbcglobal.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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