PapaBear
03-28-2007, 03:59 AM
Sometimes a little political correctness might be in order.
You've seen it before. You're watching or reading the news. There has been a crime. The suspects haven't been caught. The TV or newspaper story provides the public with a description of the suspects. They don't want to offend anyone, so they say how tall they are... they say what they were wearing... they say what color their hair is, etc....
But they don't tell you if they are white, black, brown... whatever. It pisses me off when they do this. If you are afraid to give an accurate physical description of someone, because you don't want to come off as being racist, you are actually being racist.
OK... I've stated my point about that. Now, I repeat...
Sometimes a little political correctness might be in order!!!!
This is a story that appeared in my local paper today. Rather than go into detail, as to why the reporter pissed me off, I've decided to make certain parts of the article stand out.
Woman accused in home invasion waives hearing
By Erica M. Bush
The Winchester Star
Winchester — A woman accused of being an accomplice in a home invasion waived her right to a preliminary hearing in Frederick County General District Court on Tuesday.
Judge David S. Whitacre forwarded a conspiracy to commit a felony charge against Hawsatou Barry, 21, of Woodbridge, W.Va., to a Frederick County Circuit Court grand jury, which will convene on April 5.
The grand jury will decide whether to indict Barry on the charge stemming from the Dec. 18 home invasion in the 300 block of Hackberry Drive east of Stephens City.
According to police reports, the occupants of the Hackberry Drive home were assaulted and robbed after a black woman came to their door asking to use the phone because she had car problems.
The suspect supposedly used the cell phone of an occupant at the house to call her boyfriend. A woman inside the home then saw two black men walking across the yard. She opened the door and was grabbed and thrown against the wall, information in Barry’s General District Court file stated.
The two men, armed with guns, entered the home and ordered its occupants, which included a 28-year-old woman, a 21-year-old man, and a 15-year-old juvenile, to get on the floor, court records stated. An 8-month-old baby was in another room.
During the hour the home was occupied, the man and juvenile were bound with duct tape, court records stated.
A third black man was seen in the home before the woman was taken to another part of the house by two of the suspects, ordered to strip naked, and sexually assaulted, Barry’s court file stated.
Frederick County Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Heflin said Barry, who has been released on bail, was arrested in Woodbridge on Dec. 22.
Now don't get me wrong. I understand that this information was retrieved from an actual police report. I'm sure the person, who first spoke to the police, didn't think about being politically correct (nor should they have). When you want to describe something like that, you should tell it like you saw it.
But... Though the info was taken from the police report, it was blended into the newspaper article in a VERY bad manner. I can't begin to express how embarrassed I am about living in a town that gets its news in this form.
You've seen it before. You're watching or reading the news. There has been a crime. The suspects haven't been caught. The TV or newspaper story provides the public with a description of the suspects. They don't want to offend anyone, so they say how tall they are... they say what they were wearing... they say what color their hair is, etc....
But they don't tell you if they are white, black, brown... whatever. It pisses me off when they do this. If you are afraid to give an accurate physical description of someone, because you don't want to come off as being racist, you are actually being racist.
OK... I've stated my point about that. Now, I repeat...
Sometimes a little political correctness might be in order!!!!
This is a story that appeared in my local paper today. Rather than go into detail, as to why the reporter pissed me off, I've decided to make certain parts of the article stand out.
Woman accused in home invasion waives hearing
By Erica M. Bush
The Winchester Star
Winchester — A woman accused of being an accomplice in a home invasion waived her right to a preliminary hearing in Frederick County General District Court on Tuesday.
Judge David S. Whitacre forwarded a conspiracy to commit a felony charge against Hawsatou Barry, 21, of Woodbridge, W.Va., to a Frederick County Circuit Court grand jury, which will convene on April 5.
The grand jury will decide whether to indict Barry on the charge stemming from the Dec. 18 home invasion in the 300 block of Hackberry Drive east of Stephens City.
According to police reports, the occupants of the Hackberry Drive home were assaulted and robbed after a black woman came to their door asking to use the phone because she had car problems.
The suspect supposedly used the cell phone of an occupant at the house to call her boyfriend. A woman inside the home then saw two black men walking across the yard. She opened the door and was grabbed and thrown against the wall, information in Barry’s General District Court file stated.
The two men, armed with guns, entered the home and ordered its occupants, which included a 28-year-old woman, a 21-year-old man, and a 15-year-old juvenile, to get on the floor, court records stated. An 8-month-old baby was in another room.
During the hour the home was occupied, the man and juvenile were bound with duct tape, court records stated.
A third black man was seen in the home before the woman was taken to another part of the house by two of the suspects, ordered to strip naked, and sexually assaulted, Barry’s court file stated.
Frederick County Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Heflin said Barry, who has been released on bail, was arrested in Woodbridge on Dec. 22.
Now don't get me wrong. I understand that this information was retrieved from an actual police report. I'm sure the person, who first spoke to the police, didn't think about being politically correct (nor should they have). When you want to describe something like that, you should tell it like you saw it.
But... Though the info was taken from the police report, it was blended into the newspaper article in a VERY bad manner. I can't begin to express how embarrassed I am about living in a town that gets its news in this form.