Joy Reid has dubbed the news coverage of the disappearance of Gabby Petito a case of “missing white woman syndrome” and questioned if people of color involved in similar cases are given the same level of attention by the media.
Petito, the 22-year-old woman who went missing while on a road trip with her boyfriend, has dominated headlines across the world over the past week.
Reid discussed the latest developments in the disappearance on Monday’s ReidOut and said that while Petito’s family deserve answers and justice, missing persons cases don’t reach the same level of national attention when it involves people of color.
“The way this story captivated the nation has many wondering, why not the same media attention when people of color go missing?” Reid said.
“Well, the answer actually has a name: Missing White Woman Syndrome—the term coined by the late and great Gwen Ifill to describe the media and public fascination with missing white women like Laci Peterson or Natalee Holloway, while ignoring cases involving people of color.”
Reid referenced the case of geologist Daniel Robinson, a 24-year-old Black man, who went missing earlier this year.
.@GreyBull4WY and @DerricaWilson join #TheReidOut to discuss the disparities in media coverage of missing persons. #reiders pic.twitter.com/DZuz2gNBAN— The ReidOut (@thereidout) September 20, 2021
Robinson was last seen on June 23 driving a Jeep Renegade from his work site near Sun Valley Parkway and Cactus Road.
During a panel discussion, Reid said she had “never heard of it until this friend of mine sent it to me. And I guess, that’s the issue, isn’t it?”
Panelist Derrica Wilson of Black and Missing Foundation agreed, adding: “It is definitely the issue.
“And we have been sounding the alarm for nearly 14 years because of this. When it comes to missing persons of color, men, women and children, our cases are not taken seriously and no one is looking for us if we were to go missing.”
Reid also noted that missing indigenous people do not receive the same level of media attention, and asked panelist Lynette Grey Bull of the Not Our Native Daughters Foundation her thoughts.
“One of the main factors and one of the key factors that a lot of people don’t want to talk about is that it’s racism. It’s systemic racism,” Grey Bull said.
Meanwhile, Fox News reporter, Raymond Arroyo is being criticized for calling the Petito case a “huge distraction” from domestic and international events.
“This is like a Lifetime movie, an ongoing mini-series for America. But I think it’s basically a local story, it’s a missing person. God bless her and this family I hope they get to the bottom of it, but I do worry we’re spending way too much time on this case, like Natalee Holloway,” Arroyo said.
Petito was first reported missing on September 11, more than two months after leaving for a cross-country road trip and 10 days after her boyfriend Brian Laundrie returned home without her.
A major search is now underway for Laundrie, who has been identified as a person of interest, after police discovered what is believed to be Petito’s body on the outskirts of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
What an illiterate pig joy has become! It doesn’t matter what color the victim is, in fact, it doesn’t even mean proof of where a crime committed was/is. What matters is that a woman is missing – from her family, friends, co-workers, and spiritual connections of fellow followers. If and when a black woman comes up missing in my area I can tell you that I will or have been part of a search party. Joy, you need to take a cold shower, pray while you’re showering and let God enter your heart and follow His direction – your own direction is off and not working.
I agree with you. She’s a miserable person that lives to cause division and build hate. Pathetiv
Joy Reid is just a miserable human being. This woman wouldn’t know respect if it kicked her in the head, always has to be about people of color. Most people care about anyone who is missing, she is the racist.
I have always heard detailed news about missing people, regardless of color, all the same. Many Latinos and Afr. Am. go missing and receiving news in detail is the normal. For days/weeks/months, whatever is needed to find out what happened. I have no clue why she would say something so outlandishly stupid. I thought she was smarter than that. She makes all African Americans look bad.
Why does what one African American does make all look bad. That is weird. I am African American and my heart, my prayers, and my love goes out to the entire family, especially the parents of this beautiful young lady regardless of her race.
It doesn’t matter who is missing — if a person goes missing, someone has to sound the alarms & they need to keep sounding the alarms until their case is heard. If the family of the missing person is diligent in their efforts and they keep screaming until it reaches the level and the ears of those who can make the case hit the news, the police, and the FBI. If I had a member missing in my family, I would stand on the rooftops screaming for help until it reached the attention of everyone that matters. I don’t think race has anything to do with it — I think it depends on how loud they scream and how far they want to reach. I truly feel it is due diligence on the part of the family who has someone missing. I see all races of missing people on Facebook, on 20/20, and on Dateline. Maybe Joy needs to change the channel sometimes.
I get numerous Ambert Alerts for children of color. Is that Missing person alerts. I’m not sure if the case of Gabby would have made such headlines if it wasn’t obvious that she was missing and Brian Laundrie returned to North Port Florida in Gabby’s van without her and her mother who she contacted almost dailey had not heard from he in weeks. Now Laundrie is on the run from law enforcement. Most likely with the help of his parents with the report that he and his parents went on a weekend camping trip the weekend prior to his supposed hiking trip into the Carlton Reserve. You can transport a person a thousand miles over a weekend.
A doctrine of black supremacy is as dangerous as a doctrine of white supremacy. God is not interested in the freedom of black men or brown men or yellow men. God is interested in the freedom of the whole human race, the creation of a society where every man will respect the dignity and worth of personality ~ Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Joy Reid Is the Jeanine Pirro Of Woke
I Think Joy Reid Is a black supremacy