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Feb 27, 2003 Sebastian Junger's book, "Fire", tells of the terrible allure of forest fires and the men and women who fight them. Imagine the thoughts that must have coursed through the minds of the firefighters who responded to a nightclub aflame in West Warwick, Rhode Island on February 20th. Imagine how trapped and suffocating patrons felt as the fireworks used by the rock band Great White ignited the soundproofing foam lining the walls of the Station nightclub. America is shaken by the tragedy, and is reacting with revulsion as the nightclub owners clash with the band as to whether or not permission was given beforehand to use the fireworks in their act on that fateful night. No such permission was given to the nightclub owners to operate their second-floor dance club "E-2" in Chicago a week earler, when patrons trampled to death 24 victims trying to exit the club following the release of tear gas. So, is it the amount or the color of the victims that have dragged the Rhode Island story onto our newspapers' front pages and constant scrolling blurbs on network and cable news channels, and shoved the Chicago tragedy into obscurity? Announcers have billed the Rhode Island fire as "the worst fire in recent history". I seem to recall a larger fire and building collapse on September 11, 2001, but I may be mistaken. What is it about the Rhode Island fire that network executives have determined to be more important than any other accident resulting in loss of life? What made the nation become riveted to Laci Peterson's abduction, and not the woman who was abducted by her husband from Texas, driven to northern Indiana, and kept under the bed? According to the South Bend Tribune, the young Black woman chanced upon a phone during one of her "releases" from the house and called her mother in Dallas. This mother then drove the thousand miles to a local police station and authorities forced their way into the house, and liberated the terrified woman. How does a triple homicide and subsequent trial not capture headlines across the nation? Because, I submit to you, the victims and defendant are Black. Here's a story oozing "Made-For-TV"--a married man desiring to end an affair shoots, stabs and clubs the girlfriend, her sister and brother to death, igniting the bodies in an attempt to cover up the crime. The house aflame, he shoves the three children of the girlfriend into the trunk of her sister's car, and flees the scene. After a dramatic arrest in a local hotel involving SWAT, he is then brought to trial a year later and found guilty on all counts. Why didn't you, gentle reader, hear of this atrocious crime and trial? Because the defendant didn't have star status like O.J., who only allegedly killed two people. But wait, those victims were White, weren't they? A botched robbery in northern Indiana resulting in the execution-style murders of three people was front page news for a while. The person responsible for giving the perpetrators a code enabling them access to the property was given 60 years for assessory to murder. Yes, the victims were White. When our media becomes colorblind, our news will go far beyond liberal or conservative spin, or trying to figure out what story will garner the highest ratings. It will actually begin to live up to a famous tag line from a cable news channel: they will truly report, and it will be up to the consumer to decide. About the author: Chuck Tyler is a freelance writer and journalist based in South Bend, Indiana. His credits include coverage for the South Bend Tribune (www.SouthBendTribune.com) of a triple homicide trial and a town hall meeting of concerned citizens and local officials for the Herald-Palladium (www.HeraldPalladium.com) following 9/11. Email him at: tyler_1420@yahoo.com ------------ Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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