One reason Americans are so extremely terrified about child abductions is that whenever we turn on the TV or computer, there’s another one. As if these horrific crimes are happening 24/7, when actually the media is only too happy to fly across the country — or world — to set up camp wherever a cute, white girl […]
Tag Archives | murder
The Crime of “CSI”
May 22, 2009
It’s nice when science takes the time to confirm one’s own sneaking (or even not so sneaking) suspicions. In this case: That TV crime shows are driving us crazy with fear. In a report titled, “CSI: zhiizsfehy Mayo Clinic,†Mayo psychiatrist Timothy Lineberry and his team studied two sets of data: One, a list of […]
Learning The Wrong Lessons from Sandra Cantu’s Death
April 11, 2009
It’s front page news out here in San Francisco where I’m visiting, but it’s probably front page news out by you, too: The tragic story of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, who was abducted and murdered last week in California. Today’s front page story is as inevitable as the media attention: “Case Forces Parents to take Tougher […]