Joy Reid calls out ‘missing white woman syndrome’ amid gabby petito case

[sillynate 6,170]

Brenda Meeks quote from Scary Movie 3: 

Cindy, the news is on! Another little white girl done fell down a well. Fifty black people got they ass beat by police today, but the whole world gotta stop for one little whitey down the hole! 

however I do agree that it’s just a bit too soon to talk about this. Wait another month for her family to cope

[ALGAYDO 35,132]

18 minutes ago, YUJIfushiguro said:

Do u Americans ever get tired of making literally everything ever about race?

When race stops being such a driving force when it comes to inequality, then we would be more than happy to STFU about it. 

[YUJIfushiguro 224]

2 minutes ago, ALGAYDO said:

When race stops being such a driving force when it comes to inequality, then we would be more than happy to STFU about it. 

I mean yeh that makes sense i dont think you should not talk about it at all but apparently nearly everything is racist. i think making nearly everything about race kinda over shadows more concerning racial issues. Not that this isn't an issue but at the same time like other users have pointed out this is a terrible time to be relating it. it lacks empathy and if there are racists out there sitting on the fence i doubt demeaning this case and saying it shouldn't be getting as much attention because POC don't get as much attention is gonna accomplish much. even if that's not ur intention that is easily interpreted especially when her body was  literally just found. 

[edgy 6,918]

not some of y'all claiming this isn't an appropriate time to talk about it when women of color HAVE been talking about this happening to their communities for decades ... you just choose not to listen.

you're just proving her point even further because the only reason this conversation about the disparity in media coverage between missing white women and missing women of color is even happening is because it happened to a white woman.

 

[edgy 6,918]

2 hours ago, YUJIfushiguro said:

I mean yeh that makes sense i dont think you should not talk about it at all but apparently nearly everything is racist. i think making nearly everything about race kinda over shadows more concerning racial issues. Not that this isn't an issue but at the same time like other users have pointed out this is a terrible time to be relating it. it lacks empathy and if there are racists out there sitting on the fence i doubt demeaning this case and saying it shouldn't be getting as much attention because POC don't get as much attention is gonna accomplish much. even if that's not ur intention that is easily interpreted especially when her body was  literally just found. 

in what ways has talking about the differences between how missing white people are treated versus missing people of color are treated hurting her case? please explain this to me, because the body cam video that the police released of her is nearing 10 million views now since its release five days ago.

where is the empathy for the countless of women of color, particularly black and trans, that go missing but nobody knows about it because they don't receive the same attention as a missing white woman does? it isn't about taking the spotlight away from gabby petito because clearly the spotlight is and will still be there. it's about asking why there isn't a spotlight on the thousands of other cases in this country whose lives are worth just as much as gabby's.

[alsemanche 97,803]

I love how everyone is acting like she trashed Petito's case and acted like it's nothing when it very clearly says: 

While noting the inconsistencies in the media’s coverage of Americans gone missing, Reid acknowledged the sadness of the Petito case. “It goes without saying that no family should ever endure that type of pain,” she said, “and the Petito family certainly deserves answers and justice.”

Reid is making very valid points. Countless people of color, and especially women, are brutalized and go missing but no one talks about them and they barely get any media coverage or follow-ups on their cases. And this IS the time to call it out. It does not take away from the case at hand in any way. She's not telling people to start ignoring Petito's case or other white women's cases. We can't keep telling people to shut up and decide when it's the "right time" to speak out about certain issues, especially not when they've been speaking out for ages and no one has been bothered enough to listen. 

[erfaan 2,841]

Although it may not the best timing, it's so true tbh. 

10 hours ago, YUJIfushiguro said:

I mean yeh that makes sense i dont think you should not talk about it at all but apparently nearly everything is racist.

...Because it is. The only reason you feel the need to call this out is because it makes you uncomfortable to admit just how much of our society is built upon systemic racism. 

People that live in countries where everything seems so perfect and equal are blinded. I live in Australia, a country that's known for its "multiculturalism" worldwide yet Australia is actually so racist. 

[Supersonic 49,376]

14 hours ago, ProfessionalClown said:

The difference is talking about gun control after a shooting actually makes sense. It’s not belittling an experience by saying “oh it only happened bc ____”

this is just negating and belittling her case solely bc she was just a white woman. Im not her family so i won’t say how they should feel, but if my friend of sister or daughter went missing and the first thing I heard was “she only got attention because she was ____” I’d be pissed because their life is worth more than a political talking point. Yes I agree, but it’s NOT the time to talk about it, especially on the day her body was found. 
 

it DEFINITELY takes away from the case. It’s basically saying “oh, she only got found now bc she’s white. You wouldn’t do that it she’s a POC. Is her life worth more! Why did she get attention?” When someone literally DIED. She was MURDERED. I would understand if we talked about domestic abuse because this case DEFINITELY deals with that but just turning a death into a political talking point rn makes no sense.

As somebody who is not American... this case seems extremely strange because it has taken y'all by storm and the media seems to talk about it day and night. 

And the amount of energy that is spent on reporting and discussing this case seems extremely disproportionate in comparison to the amount of murder that seems to be going on in the USA just on a daily basis. To an outsiders perspective, it doesn't really seem to be worth reporting on, except for maybe the local news. And honestly I'd argue that this high level of scrutiny is gonna be extremely burdensome for the people who are grieving right now, because it invites nationwide speculation, conspiracy-theories, it spams up the mailboxes of the police because suddenly 50k people claim to have watched the murder first hand and it doesn't give her family the privacy that they might need right now. 

I'd argue: the disproportionate amount of reporting is actually taking away from the case because it blows up a murder to a popcultural reality TV spectacle. Criticizing and analyzing WHY the media (and American society) dispropotionally wants a piece of this story is not taking away from the case. It is trying to shift a converstion towards what society can do, to give similar cases like this an actually fair assesment, regardless of WHO got murdered.

[Guest]

She’s exactly the same kind of heartless idiot who complained about media coverage of police brutality

[ShayCristoforo 10,607]

15 hours ago, PartySick said:

Did they not just pull this girl's body out of the woods?  she's not wrong but this really ain't the time to be dropping her name onto this issue.

 

15 hours ago, Chromatography said:

she’s not wrong, 100% correct.

I think both @Chromatography and @PartySick are right. She's 100% correct, but timing...

[JohnnyVersace 9,277]

16 hours ago, NCgaga said:

Honestly, **** her. There are more missing white women currently in this country than black women. The story caught national attention Due to the unusual nature of the boyfriend’s and boyfriend’s family’s behavior- then, he ran off. There was a huge search for her in Wyoming and there is a huge search for him in Florida. The story reaches across the country. This lady is just one of those people trying to make her agenda an issue. 

literally EW

the cringe! 

 

 

[lavender blonde 692]

Honestly, "white woman missing syndrome" is true af, but I don't think Gabby's case is it. I would rather compare it to Elisa Lam's death. I think that she drew attention of so many people due to her and her boyfriend's internet activity. People watch their videos, analyze their instagram profiles and somehow feel like investigators themself. The same was with Elisa: people read her diary on tumblr and analyzed the elevator video and then discussed their theories. Also the fact that her boyfriend Brain is *pretty* sus is crucial, because it's easy for people to point fingers on him. I don't know, but I'm really conviced that that's a reason why she's got so many media coverage.

[YUJIfushiguro 224]

16 hours ago, edgy said:

in what ways has talking about the differences between how missing white people are treated versus missing people of color are treated hurting her case? please explain this to me, because the body cam video that the police released of her is nearing 10 million views now since its release five days ago.

where is the empathy for the countless of women of color, particularly black and trans, that go missing but nobody knows about it because they don't receive the same attention as a missing white woman does? it isn't about taking the spotlight away from gabby petito because clearly the spotlight is and will still be there. it's about asking why there isn't a spotlight on the thousands of other cases in this country whose lives are worth just as much as gabby's.

i think its a valid question and i agree there should be more spotlight on these cases. however i think trying to have this dialogue in admist of this happening and using her case as an example is extremely rude to the families that are suffering because of this. although the intent isnt to take away from gabby thats what its doing to an extent or that is most definitely easy to perceive just a day after her body is found .  anyway i don't have any right to tell ppl when they should and shouldnt be talking about issues related to there community but at the same time from outside the community i cant help look at it and feel like its undermining there message.

[Sunny21 608]

As a non-white woman I agree with Joy Reid, but I must admit I'm OBSESSED with Gabby's case myself. 

No, not because she's white. It's just that she's so young and pretty with a cute, innocent, infectious smile.

And she looked so happy in her social media posts but so sad in that police video. 😢

Gabby wasn't a celebrity or social media influencer, but she felt the need to create a FANTASY somewhat based on real life... and her van life dream turned into a nightmare. 

I think the public is fascinated because it's almost like a movie, a whodunit, a cautionary tale. Her parents are very vocal and that helps. 

We're drawn to young, good-looking people. She's a blue-eyed blonde, but IF she looked like Amandla Stenberg, my guess is a lot of people would be just as obsessed... 

[YUJIfushiguro 224]

On 9/22/2021 at 5:30 PM, edgy said:

in what ways has talking about the differences between how missing white people are treated versus missing people of color are treated hurting her case? please explain this to me, because the body cam video that the police released of her is nearing 10 million views now since its release five days ago.

where is the empathy for the countless of women of color, particularly black and trans, that go missing but nobody knows about it because they don't receive the same attention as a missing white woman does? it isn't about taking the spotlight away from gabby petito because clearly the spotlight is and will still be there. it's about asking why there isn't a spotlight on the thousands of other cases in this country whose lives are worth just as much as gabby's.

Its less about who has what spotlight and more about how the family would feel reading such a thing. Boiling down some1s missing case to "missing white woman syndrome" and spreading it through media does not help. I think most genuine human beings have sympathy for ANY missing person regardless of identity. although i say that it is incredibly terrible that so many black ppls cases and other races are not given as much notice and i couldn't begin to understand how their family's must feel. I think this honestly just boils down to media outlets appealing to there larger audience which is predominantly white which is sad. I do still however think its abit disrespectful to use this case as reference in pushing there agenda whether it be a good one or not so soon after it occurring.