Sunday 23 January 2011

Racial Profile


This is a picture of Kasey Gordon. By all accounts he was very popular and talented student before he was stabbed to death outside his school in Tottenham last week. He and some other friends appear to have been trying to protect school girls from being intimidated by a local man. Kasey died at the scene and three others were injured.
I was somewhat amazed to read of this tragic event on page 21 of the local paper, the Evening Standard. The national media have been barely interested.
This coverage is in contrast to Jo Yeats whose death has been barely off the front pages for about a month. One could say her murder was more of mystery but if one were only interested in the sensational aspect, the Kasey Gordon killing has plenty of drama about it. The only conclusion one can sensibly draw is the senior editors of media organisations place wildly different significance on deaths depending on the skin colour of the victim.
Remember Stephen Lawrence's death was similarly treated as just another black youth death in the inner city until another big organisation, the Met, was shown to be institutionally racist.

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