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You're correct that whether this was "played up" or "downplayed" is just spin depending on your politics. But Iryna Zarutska’s murder was objectively newsworthy

by dijit 1y ago

You're correct that whether this was "played up" or "downplayed" is just spin depending on your politics. But Iryna Zarutska’s murder was objectively newsworthy for reasons that go beyond the sheer volume of U.S. homicides 1) The Random Factor is Terrifying; Most murders are not random—they involve people who know each other. A cold, unprovoked stabbing of a stranger on public transit is exceedingly rare (statistically, less than 20% of homicides involve strangers) and generates disproportionate public fear and media attention. This was a random act of brutality. 2) She was a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who fled a war zone, seeking safety, only to be killed here. That tragic irony is international news. 3) The alleged killer's reported comment, "I got that white girl," immediately framed the attack as racially motivated, which is an automatic amplifier in today's media climate. The fury isn't just about the crime itself; it's about the speed and selectivity of media coverage. Ask yourself; If the roles were reversed—a Black refugee was stabbed by a White assailant who made a racial remark—would the major national outlets have been silent for days? Absolutely not. It would have dominated the news cycle instantly, just like the coverage of George Floyd or the police incident that sparked the 2011 London riots. When the victim is White and the narrative can be used to critique progressive policies (soft-on-crime, public safety), the media was perceived to be slow-walking the story. That delay was the true catalyst. It looked like an obvious attempt to downplay a narrative that made "their side" look bad. That perceived reluctance shot those outlets in the foot. It allowed the case to go viral internationally, validating the suspicion that the mainstream press will only give urgent coverage to stories that fit a specific, pre-approved political script. If a news source is visibly covering for a political "side," it deserves to lose credibility.

radlad 1y ago
1) 20% of homicides involving strangers is still 4,566 deaths per year, or nearly 13 per day. 2) I don't think she is the only refugee to be killed abroad. It is certainly tragic irony, but I don't see why that makes it international news. If anything, this just feels like an extension of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome 3) This is by far the most compelling argument you've presented. I think my problem with framing this as racism (let alone systemic racism - which is what the left complains about) is that the Decarlos Brown Jr. was diagnosed with schizophrenia. More than anything, I think this is a failing of our society to provide mental health for those who need it. And unfortunately, this is not newsworthy. And yet, in the US, the same party decrying the lack of coverage rejects restrictions on firearm ownership for those with a history of mental health issues (or many other red flags.) e.g. https://home.nra.org/statements/nra-statement-in-response-to-bidens-address/ https://home.nra.org/statements/nra-statement-in-response-to...
- dijit 1y ago
  You’ve implicitly asserted that deaths by gun/knife are all homicides. Accidents, intentional suicides and defensive manslaughter are not homicides by the same metric. You’d have to divide your number into component segments before calculating the 20%. And even so, this is still newsworthy for the reasons I mentioned.
  - radlad 1y ago
    I'm not implicitly asserting that: the actual data I provided was about homicides exclusively. Please click the link to see for yourself. Meanwhile, you have not cited your 20% statistic. > And even so, this is still newsworthy for the reasons I mentioned. I'm not sure why you ignored my other counters on why those reasons don't make it newsworthy.
    - dijit 1y ago
      it’s actually 9.7%, so thanks for making me check that. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/topic-pages/expanded-homicide https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-... Your other points largely don’t help your case either, the point was a combination of the brutality, randomness, her already “tragic” backstory (fleeing war for safety in the US) and as a minor aside potentially the fact that it was racially aggravated. It’s alarming to me that you think it’s not newsworthy, these are hopefully not common situations like you imply, if it is then I understand people’s unwillingness to use public transport in the US.
      - radlad 1y ago
        I think we might disagree on what uncommon characteristics make something worthy of national or international news. Again, this type of violence - both death by knives and attacks by the mentally ill - is unfortunately somewhat common in the US, and I've shared statistics showing this. (The US is huge - I'm not sure you're appreciating that it's a country with 40x the population of Sweden!) This did make the local city and state news, which seems appropriate! In fact, national news stories were run too - the issue from the right is: not enough stories. Of course, as soon as I say it's somewhat common, I must also point out that even if occurrences happen multiple times daily, the incidence rate towards any individual is extremely low. People aren't being murdered left and right but a number are killed each day. It is a BIG country. And maybe this fact should be newsworthy! A lot of the left thinks it should - and that we should be more careful about giving weapons out, including to those diagnosed with mental illness, and offer mental health services and medicarions. The right's quick to point out that knives can kill too. But then they defund social services for mental health (see the Big Beautiful Bill as a recent example.) This is a place the left and right could join forces, but instead the right chooses to complain about the media and stole divisiveness instead of solving the problem (keep in mind - Republicans have FULL control of our federal government right now.) Regardless, I don't see why the victim's nationality (or upbringing, or gender, or attractiveness) make this newsworthy. Or why she has received more news coverage than the most recent school shooting.

by dijit 1y ago

radlad 1y ago

1) 20% of homicides involving strangers is still 4,566 deaths per year, or nearly 13 per day. 2) I don't think she is the only refugee to be killed abroad. It is certainly tragic irony, but I don't see why that makes it international news. If anything, this just feels like an extension of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome 3) This is by far the most compelling argument you've presented. I think my problem with framing this as racism (let alone systemic racism - which is what the left complains about) is that the Decarlos Brown Jr. was diagnosed with schizophrenia. More than anything, I think this is a failing of our society to provide mental health for those who need it. And unfortunately, this is not newsworthy. And yet, in the US, the same party decrying the lack of coverage rejects restrictions on firearm ownership for those with a history of mental health issues (or many other red flags.) e.g. https://home.nra.org/statements/nra-statement-in-response-to-bidens-address/ https://home.nra.org/statements/nra-statement-in-response-to...

dijit 1y ago
You’ve implicitly asserted that deaths by gun/knife are all homicides. Accidents, intentional suicides and defensive manslaughter are not homicides by the same metric. You’d have to divide your number into component segments before calculating the 20%. And even so, this is still newsworthy for the reasons I mentioned.
- radlad 1y ago
  I'm not implicitly asserting that: the actual data I provided was about homicides exclusively. Please click the link to see for yourself. Meanwhile, you have not cited your 20% statistic. > And even so, this is still newsworthy for the reasons I mentioned. I'm not sure why you ignored my other counters on why those reasons don't make it newsworthy.
  - dijit 1y ago
    it’s actually 9.7%, so thanks for making me check that. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/topic-pages/expanded-homicide https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-... Your other points largely don’t help your case either, the point was a combination of the brutality, randomness, her already “tragic” backstory (fleeing war for safety in the US) and as a minor aside potentially the fact that it was racially aggravated. It’s alarming to me that you think it’s not newsworthy, these are hopefully not common situations like you imply, if it is then I understand people’s unwillingness to use public transport in the US.
    - radlad 1y ago
      I think we might disagree on what uncommon characteristics make something worthy of national or international news. Again, this type of violence - both death by knives and attacks by the mentally ill - is unfortunately somewhat common in the US, and I've shared statistics showing this. (The US is huge - I'm not sure you're appreciating that it's a country with 40x the population of Sweden!) This did make the local city and state news, which seems appropriate! In fact, national news stories were run too - the issue from the right is: not enough stories. Of course, as soon as I say it's somewhat common, I must also point out that even if occurrences happen multiple times daily, the incidence rate towards any individual is extremely low. People aren't being murdered left and right but a number are killed each day. It is a BIG country. And maybe this fact should be newsworthy! A lot of the left thinks it should - and that we should be more careful about giving weapons out, including to those diagnosed with mental illness, and offer mental health services and medicarions. The right's quick to point out that knives can kill too. But then they defund social services for mental health (see the Big Beautiful Bill as a recent example.) This is a place the left and right could join forces, but instead the right chooses to complain about the media and stole divisiveness instead of solving the problem (keep in mind - Republicans have FULL control of our federal government right now.) Regardless, I don't see why the victim's nationality (or upbringing, or gender, or attractiveness) make this newsworthy. Or why she has received more news coverage than the most recent school shooting.