Via Matthew
VERBATIM POST
There’s outrage in Norfolk, Va., today after a white couple was
attacked by a group of dozens of black teenagers, and the local
newspaper did not report on the incident for two weeks, despite the
victims being employees of the paper.
Even today, the Virginian-Pilot did not cover the crime as news, but rather as an
opinion piece by columnist Michelle Washington.
“Wave after wave of young men surged forward to take turns punching
and kicking their victim,” Washington wrote, describing the onslaught
that began when Dave Forster and Marjon Rostami stopped at a red light
while driving home from a show on a Saturday night. A crowd of at least
100 black young people was on the sidewalk.
“Rostami locked her car door. Someone threw a rock at her window.
Forster got out to confront the rock-thrower, and that’s when the
beating began. …
“The victim’s friend, a young woman, tried to pull him back into his
car. Attackers came after her, pulling her hair, punching her head and
causing a bloody scratch to the surface of her eye. She called 911. A
recording told her all lines were busy. She called again. Busy. On her
third try, she got through and, hysterical, could scream only their
location. Church and Brambleton. Church and Brambleton. Church and
Brambleton. It happened four blocks from where they work, here at the
Virginian-Pilot.”
Washington says neither suffered grave injuries, but both were out of
work for a week. Forster’s torso ached from blows to his ribs, and he
retained a thumb-sized bump on his head. Rostami reportedly fears to be
alone in her home., while Forster wishes he’d stayed in the car.
The columnist admits the story has not, until today, appeared in the Virginian-Pilot.
“The responding officer coded the incident as a simple assault,
despite their assertions that at least 30 people had participated in the
attack,” Washington explains. “A reporter making routine checks of
police reports would see ‘simple assault’ and, if the names were
unfamiliar, would be unlikely to write about it. In this case, editors
hesitated to assign a story about their own employees. Would it seem
like the paper treated its employees differently from other crime
victims?”
Washington says the day after the beatings, Forster searched Twitter
for mention of the attack, and one post in particular chilled him.
“I feel for the white man who got beat up at the light,” wrote one person.
“I don’t,” wrote another, indicating laughter. “(do it for trayvon martin)”
Trayvon Martin, is the unarmed black teen, who died after being shot
by a community-watch captain with white and Hispanic parents, George
Zimmerman, in Sanford, Fla., sparking a wave of outrage long after the
incident.
The newspaper is coming under heavy criticism today from residents in the greater Norfolk area, known as Hampton Roads.
“It is unbelievable that the Virginian-Pilot would BURY this story
for two weeks for politically correct reasons. That is sad and
disgusting,” said David Englert of Norfolk. “Someone should be fired or
resign over the decision not to report this attack. It is a sad enough
commentary on our society and community to read about how the responding
police viewed this crime, but for our only newspaper to decide that
they will hide from the truth rather than report the truth is PATHETIC!
Any attack by a mob of people on any innocent victim should be put under
a bright spotlight for all involved to be judged and exposed as
appropriate, and to make sure that the criminal justice system does its
job to protect those who obey the law.”
William Tabor of Chesapeake, Va., complained: “Surely the Pilot knew
about it. A racially motivated attack is certainly news. Was it not
politically correct enough to be reported? Is civilization suspended in
Norfolk after dark? If we can’t rely on the police for protection, and
our [news] media fails to warn us of such hazards, we can only rely on
ourselves.”
Charles Chandler of Norfolk indicated: “I am not sure what I am
angrier about. This story, or the crowd of black teens who needlessly
and thoughtlessly beat two white victims. Or am I just angry that this
still occurs in the year 2012. Nearly fifty years after the marches and
the speeches and the declaration of civil liberties for all people.
Clearly we are nowhere near the dream Dr. King envisioned. I am angry. I
am angry at the calloused cop who stated “this is what they do”. I am
angry at the Pilot for hiding it under a bushel.”
And Douglas Gaynor of Virginia Beach brought up the need for
self-defense, saying, “If the young lady was armed and trained, she
could have whipped out P345 and taken out a few thugs.”
