Quote:
Originally Posted by stoneindian
We can wait and see, but I trust my source over what you will find on the web right now. Got some inside info. Nuff Said.
I do agree in any situation all the facts need to be inplace before one develops an opinion.
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After thinking about it a bit, here's what I think may be happening, going on the idea that drugs may have been involved (please keep in mind that this is only a theory that might explain why the Knoxville murders aren't a national story):
The local police may have known for weeks about the drug connection but would not tell local media on the record. OFF the record, the local media may know the story behind the story but can't print it because no sources are on the record. The state Associated Press is likely to have made calls to the Knoxville newspapers about the story and was informed that this hideous crime may have been committed in retaliation for unpaid drug debts. Some may argue that this doesn't make a difference. Some would disagree. In any event, the story may not have been sent to the national Associated Press offices, and that's why the Washington Post, New York Times and other major newspapers may not be running stories on it.
All this time, inaccurate details of the crime are spread through the Internet by folks who have focussed only on the racial aspects of the case. Thus, cries of "The media is biased!!!!" "Where's Al Sharpton now!?!" "This is why every citizen should be armed!" and countless other exclamations are based on incomplete facts.
In my opinion, this initial story strikes home so hard for some people because it seems that two average white kids were taken, tortured and murdered by a group of black men without provocation. Yes, what happened to the dead couple is nightmarish almost beyond belief. But the possible drug angle would suggest that maybe this is not a case of the criminal element striking at random against the general public. Maybe these two young members of the public foolishly became involved with a very dangerous sector of the criminal element. Does this mean that the young couple got what they deserved? Not at all. But it does suggest that they had a hand in their fate.
As someone else posted early in this thread, not all crimes are newsworthy on a national level. As that previous poster said, things similar to this happen all the time (granted, maybe not to the level of this case's violence). Certainly, organizations such as the Mafia have disposed of people for decades upon decades in hideous ways as well. It doesn't make it right, but it's best not stray too close to the lion's cage if you don't want to get eaten, correct?
Certainly, this crime is hellish. Whoever killed this young couple in such a monstrous way deserves to be punished to the full extent of the law. But if indeed there were huge drug debts that helped sparked this crime, there are no grounds for people to start screaming about the "liberal" and "biased" media.
As I've admitted before, the media certainly can make mistakes. But much more often, the media are better informed than Internet armchair quarterbacks wailing away as if they know exactly what they're talking about.
