Wrong discrimination, people
Reactionary Snob discusses the global media reaction to the Shannon Matthews disappearance, compared to that of Madeleine McCann. Apparently, the general consensus is that because Britain is so terribly terribly class-bound, we’re ignoring the Shannon story because she’s well chavvy like.
It’s not a surprising narrative. Other countries with equally or more rigid class structures (yes, the USA, this means you) like to pretend that ours is uniquely awful, as if “spending a few weeks learning to moderate your accent” were harder than “being born extremely rich”. And we like beating ourselves up over it too – hence fatuous nonsense like White Week, pretending that white British people are anything other than some of the most privileged people on earth and justifying BNP fuckwittery.
But the Shannon versus Maddy coverage has got sod all to do with any of that. The Snob has some thoughts on why – media fatigue, the McCann’s PR drive – but misses the most important one. Look at these pictures:
What’s the incredibly obvious point? Well, Shannon is/was very ugly, whereas Maddy is/was very pretty. In a society where everyone’s judged on looks, women are judged particularly on looks, children are judged particularly on looks, and young girls are judged on looks more than anyone else, that’s a far more potent and plausible explanatory factor than any class-based analysis…
March 11th, 2008 at 10:25 am
2 more, which make a difference to the media:
1) She’s 9 not 3, therefore not as Innocent.
2) It happened here, so no potential for Pedro-bashing.
March 11th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Indeed, Pigdog, Indeed.
RS
March 11th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I, for one, welcome this picture of a missing child other than Madeleine fucking McCann! Christ on a stick, I’m sick of her face. Little fourth reich poster child that she’s is. Humbug!
March 11th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Why o why do the british have this hang up about class,all that matters is there is two children missing and anything that can be done to find them is a good thing.
As for you Antipholus pappa,just another wanker who spends their time trying to provoke via the webgo into a hot bath cut your wrist”s
March 12th, 2008 at 4:51 am
Fair point, well made.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
It’s lucky gratuitously offensive bloggers aren’t judged on looks, isn’t it?
March 26th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Dear William,
Contrary to your assertion that I was being offensive for the sake of it, the whole Madeleine McCann saga made me more ashamed of this fucking shithole war criminal country than any of the other sorry affairs our media has chosen to ram down our throats over recent years. The fixation on this one little girl, while our ‘brave boys’ gun down god-knows how many Iraqis and Afghans was downright sick. The mass hysteria over this one girl was as unsettling as the furore over Diana’s death; acually more so, given the transformation of this once relatively free country since.
You probably won’t see this reply, but nonetheless… I’m not trying to provoke… I’m trying to waste time at work. And I only ever shower.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:35 am
the fact that you are talking about children who are still missing in this way is disgusting. the media distorts everything, that doesnt changed the fact the poor girls still havent been found.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Err, Shannon kind of was. No Maddy yet, I’ll grant you.