>the gay hate crime case in Wyoming and racial based one in Texas but I
>guess because these nondisabled kids did not kill this disabled young
>man that justified the not-so-important location of the news item.
James Byrd, the late victim of the Texas attack, was disabled as well (learning disabled I believe).
In a related note, the sentences for the attackers of Carlos Colbert (an African-American who is permanently paralyzed by a vicious racial attack by 5 people) is disturbingly low. Despite the fact that they admitted the attack was race motivated and witnesses heard dozens of racial slurs 4 of the 5 got off with 1 year and the "ring leader" got 9 years. The news report I saw on this story spent more time excusing the actions of the attackers ("they were drunk", "there not really racist", "my son is a good kid") than on Carlos Colbert.
The mainstream national news reports on the James Byrd case focus more on the murderers than on James Byrd or even his family as well. While these reports are tinged with reprobation they also seem to be morbidly fascinated with the killers.
Peace,
Jim
"Do you see how denying (Jerry) a reading program is a combination of control and Disconfirmation? You with your individual problems don’t exist. You’re just there to show them how much control they have over people, or to "work out" their own problems, or to let them have confirmation of how truly wonderful they are. Get it? The ones who walked away or ignore you are so much easier to deal with. That crummy behavior is almost a gift if you look at it in the right way."
--Billy Golfus, troublemaker, film maker and disability activist