My husband and I spent a fun week in Fayetteville and Wichita for several events--the annual War Eagle Arts and Crafts Show and my brother-in-law's 60th birthday. We were shocked, however, to return to Little Rock to the tragic news that one of our television reporters, Anne Pressly, had been beaten nearly to death in the early morning hours by an unknown assailant. Due to her high exposure to a large television audience daily and to the location of the crime, Little Rock's "The Heights," the outcry from the public has been deafening. The police immediately went into high gear and began heavily patrolling the neighborhood. While I strongly support the police presence in this high visibility crime, I wonder though why we do not show this same level of concern for the many crimes that occur south of Little Rock, a place where African-Americans and other minorities tend to live.
In speaking to my daughter yesterday on the phone, she told me about the "red ball" reaction. Evidently, from watching one of the crime shows on television, police officers often use this term to mean a crime of high priority which often relates to issues of wealth, race, and positions of prominence. It simply draws a lot of media and political attention.
Once again I remember my own father's homicide death in 1976. Perhaps because he was a deck hand, a transient who work up and down the Mississippi River, the police conducted a
minimum investigation, completed the death certificate, and filed his case away forever.
As Americans we have known for years about this phenomenon, yet the reality of it is still shocking. What will it take for all victims of crime in America to receive equal attention from police and the media? Yes, Ann is a beautiful, blond, young woman who appears on television every day while many other victims of crime live in poverty and tough environments. Should we value the latter any less in our zest to solve crimes?
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