Tulse Hill girl missing : Serena Beakhurst - missing since last Wednesday

[Tarot]

They say the girl as been sighted. here and there.

If. anyone who reads this forum,knows anything,they should tell someone.

The poor family are frantic.

[Huguenot]

How do you know the family are frantic, and how do you know what they're frantic about?

If she has been sighted then doesn't that suggest that she is absent of her own free will, and may explain why the police have found the issue difficult to resolve?

From accusations of racism to class war, it seems that many are willing to sidestep the truth of the situation in order to use this 14 year old as a weapon in their own private war?

[Tarot]

I heard it on the news. Wouldnt you be frantic if your fourteen year old daughter was missing for a week.

[Huguenot]

I may be, but then I don't believe in female circumcision, forced marriage, honour killings, paedophilia, domestic violence, people trafficking, etc. etc.

Nor am I a self-conscious teenage girl who might want to go home if only I could do it quietly.

Nor am I a kidnapper only keeping her alive until I get maximum public attention that the police were trying to prevent.

Doesn't pay to make assumptions.

[Tarot]

:-S oh

[boosboss]

Missing People

An awful lot of people also who aren't getting the same coverage as each other.

[robotcat]

Looks like she's been found too

HERE

[Mick Mac]

Yes , Looks like the police called it right all along.

[hibbs]

.

[Keef]

Although I suppose she may not have turned up without the publicity. Anyway, alls well that ends well.

[Simonet]

Huguenot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I think it's ridiculous to assume that the police

> and the press are ignoring this because they're

> racist (as the article states). It is far more

> likely that there is more to this than meets the

> eye.

>

> An estimated 150,000 kids under the age of 18 go

> missing every year, a very large proportion of

> these in London. Before committing large amounts

> of resource police will look closely at the

> history, the circumstances, the events leading up

> to the disappearance and the reports of key

> witnesses.

>

> Whilst this isn't failsafe, it's the only sensible

> way of dealing with this problem.

>

> A woman in a happy relationship who leaves keys,

> wallet, mobile phone and coat at home in sub zero

> temperatures will attract more concern than a girl

> who takes a packed bag, a mobile, is unhappy at

> home, tells her mates she's off with a boyfriend

> or any one of a myriad other situations.

>

> Please be aware that there are sometimes very good

> reasons why the police and the social services do

> not identify the location of missing children to

> their parents before appropriate investigations

> have taken place.

I've quoted the whole message as it is word perfect.

Splendid synopsis of the situation.

[Simonet]

boosboss Wrote:

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> Missing People

>

> An awful lot of people also who aren't getting the

> same coverage as each other.

There are 82 Pages of missing people with 6 people on each page.

Thats almost 500 missing people that most of us will not have been informed about or are aware of.

Does make a farce of the implied "Racism" claims.

[Jeremy]

In short - the Police are qualified to determine whether somebody has disappeared in suspicious circumstances, and prioritise accordingly. Any missing person is a serious matter, but the reaction by the Police and the media has to be in proportion.

[paragon]

Great news that she has been found alive and well.

I've been reading into so-called "White Woman Syndrome" and there has been a host of studies on the topic which suggest that media sensationalise cases when the woman is white and or attractive and don't in the same way when they are Men, Unattractive, or Black.

I found this formula in the comments box of some blog post which doesn't say much but I think it sums up the feeling of some (including me) on this topic.

Stewart (2004), came up with a formula to describe the syndrome, Y (minutes of media exposure) = Family Income x (Abductee Attractiveness + Skin Color)+ (Length of Abduction x Media Savvy of Grieving Parents)

I don't think you can be so dismissive that race or class have an impact in the extent to which news reports missing people. Perhaps it isn't relevant in this case, and as Hugenot points out there were very differing scenario's on offer.

[Mick Mac]

What a load of co*k.

Try this formula:

The level of police response will give you a very good idea of whether the person is likely to be found dead.

Jo Yates = very high.

Serena Beakhurst = very low.

[paragon]

Mick Mac Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What a load of co*k.

>

> Try this formula:

>

> The level of police response will give you a very

> good idea of whether the person is likely to be

> found dead.

>

> Jo Yates = very high.

> Serena Beakhurst = very low.

It's easy to dismiss when the alternatives aren't palatable. You stay in your little bubble where everything is equal and there couldn't possible be any discrimination based on race or class.

It wouldn't happen in this day and age would it?

[Huguenot]

I see discrimination every day. I just don't see it in everything.

I also recognise that seeing it in everything is displaying a prejudice and discrimination every bit as bad as the ones that I despise.

[paragon]

Huguenot Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I see discrimination every day. I just don't see

> it in everything.

>

> I also recognise that seeing it in everything is

> displaying a prejudice and discrimination every

> bit as bad as the ones that I despise.

I completely agree with you.

I don't see it in everything, I see it in how the media reports/prioritises these kind of events.

[Jeremy]

I don't doubt the bias of the media when it comes to reporting stories concerning attractive females. But the "formula" is barely worthy of that description. Who is the hell is this "Stewart" person? And I think it's foolish to suggest that the Police are similarly influenced.

Mick Mac's right, a reaction on a par with the Joanna Yeates case would have been way over the top in this situation.

[pk]

paragon Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Huguenot Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I see discrimination every day. I just don't

> see

> > it in everything.

> >

> > I also recognise that seeing it in everything

> is

> > displaying a prejudice and discrimination every

> > bit as bad as the ones that I despise.

>

> I completely agree with you.

>

> I don't see it in everything, I see it in how the

> media reports/prioritises these kind of events.

depends what is meant by 'everything' i guess - discrimination does not exist in every interaction between any people, but i'd say that it probably does exist in most types of interaction between people be it between 'citizens', in the media, in workplaces and e.g. in the police force

i'd also be so bold as to suggest that there's discrimination that Huguenot misses everyday

[Huguenot]

Not bold at all, quite right. I was surprsied the other day by RosieH's insistence that referring to someone as a lady doctor demonstrated prejudice. It's in the eye of the beholder I guess.

It's only reasonble for us all to anticipate every situation judged on past experience, so every decision we make is by definition prejudiced.

On a case by case basis we need to address whether the benefit of addressing it outweights the cost incurred. It's a judgement call.

In this case we have one of tens of thousand annual teenage runaways in a low-threat situation.

To start pushing the race hatred button and driving rifts through society, to undermine the confidence of the police, our social services and even our members of parliament was a reaction so extraordinarily out of proportion that we needed a bit of balance appled.

[ianr]

>Who is the hell is this "Stewart" person?

I assume it's Jon Stewart.

[Jeremy]

ianr Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> >Who is the hell is this "Stewart" person?

> I assume it's Jon Stewart.

OK, fair enough. I didn't realise it was supposed to be satirical.

[ianr]

>OK, fair enough. I didn't realise it was supposed to be satirical.

I doubt that most of the people I've seen quoting it did.

[paragon]

> To start pushing the race hatred button and

> driving rifts through society, to undermine the

> confidence of the police, our social services and

> even our members of parliament was a reaction so

> extraordinarily out of proportion that we needed a

> bit of balance appled.

Who do you think has done the above? I am assuming it isn't anyone on this thread.

If you talking about this thread then the above is entirely disportionate to what has been said.