Jackson Free Press

Anyone else notice the extreme disparities in the comments on the Clarion Ledger sight re: The Ridgeland Shooting vs. The Terry Shooting? Both incidents. Tragic. Avoidable. Domestic disputes involving family members where tempers got out of hand. Yet, somehow, someway, the Terry suspects have managed to get called "thugs". Their lifestyles questioned, slick racial comments made. But in the case of the Ridgeland shooting...just a horrible tragedy and sympathy for the victim ad her family. Only 5 comments to 15. Am I wrong? Should I just assume that this will always be the norm? How two identical situations. Two identical crimes of passion could be reacted to SO differently. Mississippi, we HAVE to do better than this.

Previous Comments

ID

161851

Comment

Not wrong at all. Like I just posted on your Facebook post, they seem to want to find answers as to why the shooting in Ridgeland happened, but for the Terry suspects, they're ready to go ahead and put them in the chair. Similar things also seem to happen when white kids get in trouble vs. black kids. After the Pearl High School shootings in 1997, one of the main things that came out of that was for parents to talk to their kids. No one would disagree with that in theory, but had it been black kids, the answer would've been something like that they were on welfare and that being on welfare breeds crime.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2011-01-29T10:05:10-06:00

ID

161854

Comment

Thanks for pointing this out. These are the kinds of things we can't let slip by without saying anything.

Author

Walt

Date

2011-01-29T13:12:18-06:00

ID

161859

Comment

I have heard very little about the Ridgeland incident (ironic ?). I'd venture to say that, no you are not wrong.

Author

Queen601

Date

2011-01-31T08:43:18-06:00

ID

161862

Comment

Yo! Just got into it with a friend - who said she would NEVER LIVE IN HINDS county because of what happened in Terry and Byram the other day. I tried explaining to her that it is all skewed - but she said stuck to her guns. I was just debating the very same thing with someone that moved into a sub-division in Brandon. These were the other reasons given to me as well, our water pipes, our water is not safe, our streets are not safe, the politicians are sorry and our taxes are ridiculous. It's funny you brought this up 'kaze, because stories like that feed into that stigma!

Author

Duan C.

Date

2011-01-31T14:36:17-06:00

ID

161867

Comment

To which stories are you referring? There are a few different ones that I can find. In any case, you posted this the morning after the Ridgeland story was posted on the CL website. I checked just a moment ago and it now has over 70 comments, many of them demonstrating the same level of retributive bloodlust as the Terry comments. Since the Terry story broke some 2 days prior to the Ridgeland story, isn't it to be expected that it would have more comments on Saturday when you posted this?

Author

Mark Geoffriau

Date

2011-01-31T15:26:06-06:00

ID

161868

Comment

Actually the Ridgeland story has significantly less traffic. And I'm not commenting on the traffic so much as I'm noting the difference in the tone. The Ridgeland case is a saf tragedy where the shooter although guilty, was disturbed. In the Terry case, they were thugs. Animals who killed viciously.

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2011-01-31T18:19:02-06:00

ID

161869

Comment

That's a constant theme through media coverage of crime. Criminals of color=helpless thugs with terrible families and missing fathers; lock up and throw away key (or hang from gallows in front of state capitol as the Ben & Larry radio show suggested one time). White criminals=disturbed, perhaps due to a difficult childhood, but needs help and understanding; how could this happen in *this* neighborhood? Yes, we need to notice how different incidents are covered. It's a primary reason that the JFP does not sensationalize certain crimes (like a mugging in Fondren or North Jackson) and ignore those in other parts of town. It is irresponsible and leads to self-perpetuating stereotypes.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2011-01-31T18:30:51-06:00