Richmond High School Rape Case

Richmond High School Rape Case

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/29/california.rape.victim.friend/index.html

 

This source shows a video of the victim’s friend, Kami Baker, expressing her anger about the events that occurred the night of their homecoming dance. Baker believes that the lack of police protection at Richmond High School inevitably led to the rape of her friend, which occurred right outside the gym where the dance was being held. She concludes that this absence of security is due to the fact that “RHS is ostracized by the district”, and adding that because the majority of the population is Hispanic or African American (Caucasians and Asians are the minority in Richmond), officials do not patrol the area as often or as effectively. Baker is whole-heartedly attributing the rape of her friend to race.

Though CNN published this video, their subsequent article fails to mention anything about race, the primary factor Baker brings up that led to the rape of her friend. Instead they float upon the surface of the issue, concentrating on the lack of supervision and police officials at the scene. CNN purposefully avoids the topic or race, probably to avoid implying anything “politically incorrect” and thus, remain a credible source. This example of media coverage on the Richmond High rape wants the viewer to know some things about how race was involved in the crime by showing the video clip. However, because race is such a touchy subject in society, implying that Baker was correct in her assumptions – that the Hispanic / African American majority led to the lack of attentive and patrolling police officers at the dance – would have probably made CNN look insensitive and racist (biased against Hispanics and African Americans). By trying to remain neutral, but providing the means with which the audience can draw their own conclusions, CNN has avoided a biased outlook on the rape.