Why aint we hearing about this?

[Todd]

HAVE YOU HEARD? I'LL BET YOU HAVEN'T

Remember Jesse Dirkhising? In September 1999, he was sodomized and repeatedly raped over several hours after being drugged with an anti-depressant, bound with duct tape and rope, and gagged with his own underwear. Jesse Dirkhising suffocated and died.

Last week, Joshua Brown was found guilty of raping and murdering Jesse Dirkhising. Brown was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the sexual assault. But he also faces a life sentence for his role in Dirkhising's murder. The judge will determine his punishment on Friday.

But I'll bet you probably didn't know about this case until now.

Surely you remember the murder of Matthew Shepard. He was beaten to death in Wyoming--and his death took the news media by storm. According to Andrew Sullivan of New Republic magazine, there were 3,007 media stories about Shepard in the month following his murder. Everywhere there was the implication that Matthew Shepard died because he was gay. And advocates of "hate crime" laws had a field day.

How many stories about Jesse Dirkhising were there in the media? Only 46 stories were published in the month after his murder.

What's going on here? Why the discrepancy in media coverage of these murders?

Brown and Davis Don Carpenter, the other man accused in Dirkhising's death, are lovers. That's right--a gay couple murdered a teenage boy.

Now you see what's going on. The tables have turned and two gay men are the defendants.

This is the main problem with "hate crime" laws. If you're murdered, your life is worth more--and your murderer deserves a harsher punishment--if you're a member of a cherished, protected group. The whole idea of "hate crimes" flies in the face of the principle of equal treatment under the law.

But the national news media are so wrapped up in promoting "hate crime" laws that they can't possibly run a story where the roles are
reversed. The Dirkhising murder case features two gay men as the villains. That's counterproductive to the idea of special treatment for
every minority group under the sun--and so it's not newsworthy.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010323/us/boy_rape_murder_17.html

http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/ed-house-200132720931.htm

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Todd, are you taking stupid pills this month?

There are THOUSANDS of murders committed every year by heterosexuals and homosexuals. How come none of THEM are getting the same press coverage? Huh? Huh? Must be a CONSPIRACY by the faggots and the liberals. Yeah, that's it.

Honestly, your ability to analyze a situation is pitiful. There is no way in hell the "Media" isn't going to run a newsworthy story. Who do you think is running this country? Two people with a secret political agenda?

The Matthew Shepard case is totally different -- And no I won't go into why because this is such a non-issue.

 

[Todd]

straights beating a gay is totally unacceptable but the roles simply reversed make it ok?

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

You see -- if THAT'S the conclusion you make from this situation then you can consider yourself an A-class dope.

 

[bluntforcemama]

never mind....

[Edited by Myst on 03-27-2001 at 04:06 PM]

 

[CelestialBody]

 

[KillerMuffin]

Sex based crimes don't have much national impact Todd. Unless they were particularly heinous, involved lots of people, and had cannibalism in them. The one with little coverage was a sex based crime. There is no introspection in that, "How are we responsible? How can we prevent sex based crimes? Where did the system go wrong?" People who commit sex based crimes are just really fucked up. That's about all the news there is in that.

Hate based crimes are societal. One part of society hating another part of society enough to commit crime against them. It's introspective and it sells because it's something that lives in all of us. Everyone has their hates and the prejudices. Everyone can look at some group of people and say I hate them and wish they didn't exist. When we look at a hate based crime, we look at ourselves. And that's what sells papers and TV, and consequently ad space.

The media isn't a conspiracy. It's a capitalism driven business. They have a product to sell, and that product is news. They are going to market the news that sells, not market the news that doesn't. You read entirely too much into stuff Todd. Maybe you could take up a hobby that occupies your mind in a healthy manner.

Myst, I think you got a little over-excited. Shepard's death was a tragedy, but the other boy didn't deserve to be tortured to death for the sexual pleasure of two sickos either. For hours on end. What made it worse is that this child was 11 years old. At least Shepard could understand why they were doing it to him. The 11 year old boy didn't have that option. Grow a little compassion for people outside of your sphere because you're coming across pretty damned cold there. Death is bad no matter how it's done, it's a tragedy no matter how it's done, and no you can't equate a grown man's beating into a coma with a little boy's sexual torture. Anyway, you missed Todd's point, which is that the Media is creating a vast conspiracy for something.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Thanks KM. Very nicely explained. I didn't have the patience to even attempt an answer like that. The man's an intellectual Vienna Sausage and it's getting on my nerves. Think I'll go back to the panty and pussy threads for a while.

 

[KillerMuffin]

You should have been there when I tried to explain that paying property taxes isn't paying rent to the UN for your own property. I don't think that one got through either. Panty and pussy threads? Sounds less like a head repeatedly butting into a concrete wall to me.

 

[bluntforcemama]

Sorry guys... I knew him personally... but it's no excuse.

 

[LordMagicMan]

in one case the kid affixated.. all they really have to report is involuntery manslaughter. where in the other case it was cold blooded murder. the two are just not comparable

*hope i didnt offend anyone, very touchy subject i am aware*

 

[KillerMuffin]

Snuggles and kissed to Myst. I feel your pain. Not like you do, but I can sympathize with you.

 

[WriterDom]

in one case the kid affixated.. all they really have to report is involuntery manslaughter. where in the other case it was cold blooded murder. the two are just not comparable

*hope i didnt offend anyone, very touchy subject i am aware*

The "kid" was 13 years old. I think that makes it a little more serious than involuntary manslaughter.

 

[KillerMuffin]

And it's asphyxiated.