We all know she was NOT murdered because she was Aboriginal. Nobody would know she was Aboriginal if the media didn’t keep stressing that. It was a tragic murder but not a hate crime. It was a roommate issue forgodsake! Now all these politicians and political activists are circling her like hungry wolves, eager for their fifteen minutes. Wouldn’t it be more respectful to avoid politicizing her death? —Common Sense
This article appears in Mar 6-12, 2014.
Agreed. Excellent Bitch
A ROOMMATE ISSUE
“It was a tragic murder but not a hate crime. It was a roommate issue forgodsake!” Common Sense
Well, there you go. It was a roommate issue. Some issue! Some roommate!
A pleasure as always.
Cheerio!
The young lady should not have went to confront these two weirdos without the superintendent or police. Too late for that now. So, who are you inviting to your house from the internet this weekend?
Good bitch.
Hmmm…..If her family didn’t give the media,police a picture of Loretta Saunders without bleached blond hair, there most likely would not have been the help from the general public in finding her. In other words, the police general public and media wouldn’t have cared about ANOTHER missing female native addictive(albeit,in recovery).
That isn’t right at all.
I suspect that a)the fact that the family and fiance went to the police immediately with obvious signs that something was wrong, and b)that there was a clear trail of evidence and immediate suspects , had more to do with solving the case than hair bleach or ethnicity.
On the other hand, Loretta was very involved in that cause (missing/murdered aboriginal women)- she was writing a thesis about it at school. I think you could make the argument that Loretta would probably be happy that there is a call to action in her memory.
I think that is what the OP’s Bitch is trying to address. There is such a disconnect between the tragedy of her death, and the cause she espoused. Trying to link the two, no matter how noble the intent, cheapens both. And such blatant intellectual dishonesty is never a good idea. We would not accept it from politicians; there is no reason at all to allow “activists” the same privilege.
What a crock OP. Unless you are one of the killers you have no idea what the motivation was. Speculation on your part is just that. Speculation.
Why not instead focus on some irrefutable facts :
Ms. Saunders’ ethnicity does not detract from the reality that she, a native woman, was killed and discarded like so many before her.
Murdered native women are not inevitably killed out of hate. Many are killed because they are incorrectly deemed inferior, dispensible.
Inaction changes nothing.
Women (and men) in high risk situations or who have been in such situations in the past, are more prone to being the victims of violence, no matter the race or ethnicity of the victim. I hope this tragedy is used to help women of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds to combat violence.
“Murdered native women are not inevitably killed out of hate. Many are killed because they are incorrectly deemed inferior, dispensible.”
Irrefutable facts, true. But to what extent are they applicable to this specific case? That, too, is speculation, which may, or may not be settled when the case goes to trial. And, it could be argued that any victim of a crime of violence has been “incorrectly deemed inferior, dispensable”, by the perpetrator.
Inaction changes nothing, but action, based upon incorrect assumptions and wrong information frequently changes things – for the worse.
I fear that all that will come of this tragedy, is yet another government sponsored Commission of Inguiry that will spend much time and money to tell us what we already know. That far too many aboriginals are brought up in poverty, violence and substandard education, that far too many wind up in the hands of the state, (foster care, incarceration,) that far too many drift into addiction and high risk environments and that far too many women are victims of physical and sexual violence. Long on rhetoric – short on solutions.
A terrible tragic loss, not sure of the reason why it happened, unfortunate she crossed paths with these 2 lunatics.
Excellent bitch. The bandwagon jumpers will ignore.
I wonder if many aboriginal women go ‘ missing’ because they want to get away from the hell on certain misogynistic reserves.
I agree with the OP. I wonder why no one else has mentioned this. She had the very bad luck to sublet her apartment to a couple of very disturbed individuals, who will likely spend a long time in prison. This very bad luck had nothing to do with her gene pool. Many aboriginal women wind up as victims of violent crime. And many men and children too. This often has to do with the conditions in which they live, poverty, substance abuse, malnutrition, fetal alcohol syndrome, and others. Loretta’s death was tragic, but would there have been so much media attention, so many vigils, if she hadn’t been blond haired, pregnant and gorgeous?
The public will not know the full details of her death anyway. Probably the onlu reason its getting more attenchen is 1) she was prego (2) she was doing a study on missing/murdered women. My guess is she crossed paths with the wrong people and paid the price. Lets hope her family and friends get justice.
Everyone else has said just about anything I could add……so R.I.P Loretta Saunders. Your cause ( a noble one) just got a boost of awareness and support.
I agree OB. I think the reason it became such a talking point for the aboriginal people was because of the paper she was writing. And yes, the media.
MM, you took the words right off my keyboard.
Oceanchick I wasn’t insinuating they killed her because she was native at all.I also wasn’t attempting to read they’re minds .My point was that in general native women are looked upon as ‘throw aways’ in this country.
If her family tries to make sense (to themselves) as to why Loretta was murdered by lending Loretta’s name to the cause of forcing the government to investigate what happened to the missing,suspected murdered native women across the country,who are WE to tell them they shouldn’t?
I actually agree with WAC on this one – only because it seems to me that Loretta herself probably would have wanted it that way and her family is honoring that. How they deal with this grief is none of our business, even if it is on the news and you a privy to that information. In my opinion we, as the public, have two options: option one is to support the family by allowing them to raise awareness/hold vigils/etc and maybe attend or learn more ourselves…option two is to leave them alone and allow them to do as they please without interference. As a straight white male I am not comfortable speaking on matters that pertain specifically to aboriginal women as though I have any authority on the subject. If your issue is with the politicians/’activists’ that are eager to attach themselves to her name for their own reasons I couldn’t agree more. If your objection is with the family or with the idea of opening up dialogue about missing/murdered aboriginal women…you don’t have my support.
After reading the rest of the comments on this post between the one above mine and the ones below Montreal Man’s, I discovered that I most definitely do NOT agree with WAC. “Who are we to determine how the family responds to this tragedy” is the sentiment I agree with.
Discrimination takes many forms, whether or not we’re aware we’re discriminating against others who are different then ourselves in anyway..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white…
Ocean chick
“inaction changes nothing” Good point. Don’t forget about the importance that simply talking about it has as well (depending on how you define the word “action”).
Daniel Abraham: Dialogue is an excellent form of action. As long as the shape is linear, not circular, with a forward motion and timely move into the tangible. Anything else is just lip service.