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Ian Blair on Soham and media hysteria with white murders
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
So the Met Chief has caused a bit of a storm with his latest comments. He has accused the media of being institutionally racist (a term that won't be alien to the Met Police, incidentally), and of creating a monumental fuss over the Soham murders.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4653130.stm
Well it's not often that I find myself in agreement with Ian Blair, but I think he was spot on.
- The media is obsessed with the murder of white, well-to-do people far more than it is with people of other races/poorer backgrounds (Chelsea banker last year and that lawyer in North London a couple of weeks ago are two shining examples).
- The Soham murders, tragic as they were, became an absolutely appalling and extremely distasteful media wankfest they likes of which we had not seen since the death of the Queen of Hearts.
The only criticism I'd have towards Ian Blair is that he should perhaps have suggested that it was the police itself that sometimes led the way for the press reported crime (i.e. a black man gets murdered and the police automatically concludes it must be black-on-black drug related, as it did with Stephen Lawrence). But other than that, spot on comments.
I see that the tabloid press is up in arms this morning... :rolleyes:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4653130.stm
Well it's not often that I find myself in agreement with Ian Blair, but I think he was spot on.
- The media is obsessed with the murder of white, well-to-do people far more than it is with people of other races/poorer backgrounds (Chelsea banker last year and that lawyer in North London a couple of weeks ago are two shining examples).
- The Soham murders, tragic as they were, became an absolutely appalling and extremely distasteful media wankfest they likes of which we had not seen since the death of the Queen of Hearts.
The only criticism I'd have towards Ian Blair is that he should perhaps have suggested that it was the police itself that sometimes led the way for the press reported crime (i.e. a black man gets murdered and the police automatically concludes it must be black-on-black drug related, as it did with Stephen Lawrence). But other than that, spot on comments.
I see that the tabloid press is up in arms this morning... :rolleyes:
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His wider case was bollocks as well. The Soham case was one of the nastiest murders in recent years - two pre-teen girls are abducted, almost certainly sexually assaulted and then murdered. With respect to some of the cases he mentioned which didn't get as much publicity they were no where near as evil (though I imagine that the relatives of those murdered grieve just as much).
It also ignores all the publicity over Anthony Walker, or the girls murdered in the New Years eve shooting, Victoria Climbie and a host of other murders.
The media will report based on several things - how much news is happening already, how quickly a suspect is arrested (the quicker an arrest is likely the less the media report), the location (murders in London get much more coverage than a murder in County Down) and also depending on the circumstances of the murder - a man knifed to death on the streets for no real motive in always more newsworthy than someone who's died in an drunken argument outside a pub.
For every murder of a black or aisian which isn't well reported there's also murders of whites which are hardly mentioned.
There was continuous live feeding from Soham, for virtually two weeks on end, even when there was practically nothing new to report. TV vans in the town square, choppers flying above town all day long... I understand the locals were not exactly pleased with it all... :rolleyes:
Ian Blair has just been guilty of saying aloud what millions of people up and down the country were thinking or talking quietly amongst themselves. Just the same thing as it happened with the death of Diana- something that today most people are happy to agree with, even if at the time even the most gentle suggestion that the nation was going OTT would have had you lynched.
And yes, there is well documented obsession with murder of white ABC1s and/or "popular, pretty young women with everything to live for" (especially if they're blonde, for some bizarre reason) amongst the media. Those living in London will be familiar with the Evening Substandard running commentary on the Chelsea banker murder trial. The paper devoted the front page for it virtually every day for the duration of the trial (often with not much to say at all). Compare that with non-high flying, non-City boss, non-Chelsea resident ordinary mortals who also get murdered by burglars. You'd be lucky to find anything bigger than a page 5 two-column mention.
The murder of the North London lawyer a few weeks ago is another such example.
And so it was the murder of that woman in Wimbledon Park a few years ago, which led to an incredible witch-hunt of the suspect by the media, who happened to be innocent after all. :rolleyes:
How many working class black kids do you see on the news for weeks and weeks who hae been murdered? The only report I can recall was the headless corpse that was found and I'm sure if the head were still on the corpse and if they couldn't pin the blame on Vodou/Witchcraft/Satanism (I remember which one it was in this case) it probably wouldn't have been on the news. At the end of the day a life is a life.
There are certain things which tickle the public and largely thats random attacks (idealy by someone quite different) and attacks on bright young good looking kids.
But you're getting two things intertwiened which are completely different. The fact that there was plenty of coverage and press intrusion has nothing to do with race. I'm actually struggling to think of a comparable case - when two young girls were kidnapped and murdered at the same time.
Plus it happened in August which is tradtionally a slow news month so the media do tend to concentrate on smaller stories then.
No Blair was talking bollocks and more importantly trying to tailor the news agenda so it fits his purpose. Out of everyone here I thought you would be one of the less keen about the media reporting as the police want them to.
Anyone killed by a burgarlar in their own home will get plenty of media attention, becuase its rare.
Of course, we could do a lot more reporting onb young Asian women murdered by their own families in 'honour' killings. Or about that young black men are most likely to be killed by other young black men - often gang related. But then you'd be the first up screaming racism at the media then.
Hang on, but then there was the witch hunt after the murder of Stephen Lawrence - the suspects then have never been convicted. and for similar reasons as the Wimbledon Park murder - police cock-ups which made a preosecution difficult.
And if the media ignore murders of blacks - why was there all the coverage over Anthony Walker or Daimoila Taylor? Could it be becuase some murders are more newsworthy than others.
I've known plenty of white protestant males murdered in Northern Ireland who got a short paragraph in the newspaper - if they were lucky. was this because the papers are biased against white Protestants* or because another policeman or soldier murdered was not big news?
*OK with the exception of that racist rag the Guardian.
1) Grab the first parolee they saw and fit them up (if it was reduced)
2) Have to do everything properly and by the book (if media coverage was increased)
Fuck alone knows why he's wanking on about this, but it's definitiely a herald for some greater police power or a call for the media to not watch the police go about their business. Expect another couple of stories in the next few weeke, a minor crisis invented from nothing, questions in parliament and some legislation.
Thta's if his masters in No.10 haven't moved onto some other sheme, like making us all wear the same shoe size "because it's fair" or the mandatory painitng of smileyfaces on the front of trains because Tony;s missus has taken a huge bribe from the fat controller to do lectures on Sordor.
Though i think the phrasing of Ian Blair was a little poor, he could have said it better.
A crime far more horrifying than Soham I should think, and one that gets not even 10% of the coverage overall.
That might have been a factor but I fear it would have still been rather gigantic any other time of the year
It is quite possible Blair had an ulterior motive, lying dodgy character as he is, but the points he raised were very valid.
Not to the extent the City banker got, by any stretch of the imagination.
No I wouldn't. All I want is a balance and mature approach to all murders, instead of tabloid-driven (selective) sensationalism.
Actually the circumstances were rather different. For starters the five "lads" in question are about as innocent as O.J. Simpson, and the Lawrence case was blundered because of institutionalised racism in the police. The Wimbledon Park murder case never really got a solid suspect. But the media demanded action, and the suspect the police got was a very convenient scapegoat. So much so that they sent an undercover policewoman to meet him, seduce him, shag him and attempt to make him fantasise about murdering a woman, so they could present that as proof.
Hideous as the actions of the police were in that case, you could have argued that had the media not gone into their predictable "pretty blonde woman killed outrage" frenzy for months on end the old bill wouldn't have been so pressurised to make an arrest at any costs.
And who decides which murders are more newsworthy? Isn't that the point Blair was making?
Is that tongue-in-cheek or do you actually think the Guardian is racist?
exactly, someone was murdered over the road from me during xmas, only foudn out a couple of days when police were questioning our street
Totally different case. Murders by family are the most common type of murdeer and the least newsworthy. Probably a lot of these families were white as well.
You must be reading different coverage to me.
The media report on things which are newsworthy. That includes murder as well. Not all murders are equally newsworthy- going back to your first example husbands killing their children because their estranged from their wives get very little publicity because unfortunately it is more common. A young lad getting murdered by thugs is rare and then gets more news.
Either we're talking about different cases or your remembering differently from me. He was a solid suspect - the police haven't got the resources to send undercover officers to look at every single bloke with slightly dodgy habits. I've got to be careful, what with the laws of libel and all, but every thing I saw about that case reminded me that someone being found innocent by the courts is not the same as saying they didn't do it. But we're slightly off-topic.
he seemed to be making the point that the reporting was racist. I'm disputing that. I'm arguing that murders are reported on for different reasons - which includes how common that type of murder, what else is in the news etc, etc.
Slightly tongue in cheek. However I have seen Guardian articles which if they'd replaced Protestant with Black the writer would have been sacked on the spot (I hope).
Why can’t the Met Chief do his job – and discuss how he’s going to make London safer instead of making pointless and irrelevant remarks?
Ian Blair isn’t up to the job anyway, the sooner the man gets the sack the better.
Given that he’s not even been in the post long yet has made some pretty major mistakes and retained the seemingly unconditional support of Ken and the government you wonder if there’s something we don’t know about? Or if there’s just nobody else around up to the job.
the guy is a fucking liability to your freedom for fucks sake.
and he wasn't right in what he was saying at all.
do you know how many murders were comitted in the uk last year ...and how many got to be reported any further than the local rag?
the guy is an idiot.
he is dangerous.
he is wrong.
the fact that you modern people think it's ok ...it's the norm ...for people in such pos itions of power to even even be using the popular press to put across points of veiw ...is a little scary to be honest.
I don't think the media is institutionally racist but Sir Ian makes a fair point about the media in general, and the fickle nature of modern crime reporting.
i would be very afraid when ...the people who wish not just to lead but form opinion as well ...do away with such things.
i like to know who i'm deaking with regarding whatever or particular affairs in life.
if you have been proven to be unreliable with your cheqes ...would i be sensible to accept one from you?
of course not.
if you don't have the courage to be upfront about what yo8 feel ad think and desire //./.what you realy believe in ...then you aint running my country ...my life ...ok?
if somehow these modem people put you theree ,...i'll cry.
On a sidenote though, am I the only one who finds it odd that Ian Blair used the term "institutional racism" when his own police force was damned as that a few years ago?
No it wasn't.
He said it was a nasty murder. It was.
But there have been nastier murders, where the victims have been poor or black, and nothing has been said.
About the same time as Soham a black girl was raped and murdered. Same age, etc etc. Did you hear about it? I can't even remember the name either.
But they were.
Consider the murder of the rich blonde model in Croydon. Consider the murder of the black teen girl raped and murdered in Clapham (I think). Can you remember the name? I can't.
Consider the coverage of that Shevaun girl (who was dropped like a hot spud when they realised she was a scuffer teen rebelling) to the coverage of the girl from the Leeds sink estate whose body still hasn't been found.
Are you saying being dragged behind a car for miles is better than a quick knife in the head?
Victoria Climbie gopt the coverage because black people murdered her, IMHO.
It's the same with Dami Taylor. And the shootings in Nottingham.
I'd agree.
But the murders of white people by black people create more of a storm then the murders of black people by anyone.
If the Metropolitan Police is "institutionally racist", then the media certainly is. Personally I think its a bollocks term, but Blair is right to point out that the same criteria should be applied to both.
Dami Taylor was murdered by black people, and the lad in Liverpool was more middle-class than most white people.
And the lad's killer was the brother of a Premiership star.
What's this got to do with anything, you're actually proving my point. Stories that have that extra shock dimension like the murderers brother being a football star will give you that extra coverage.