IF HER PARENTS LIVED IN A TRAILER NOBODY WOULD CARE

Natalie Holloway--My take---Yeah, the coverage is over blown, over wrought, and over the top, but not because of race. It's because of class. The dominant middle class in this country is the one that will send their darlings off to Cancun, Arruba, Puerto Vallarta, and the other watering spots in the local Americas. Had the girl been the daughter of a black doctor or celeb the coverage would be the same.

Those of us in the middle class are affected by this, and only the middle class. We have the money to send our kids to Paradise for a few days. We think, "it could happen to us. How can we protect our daughter when we send her to Rio next year?"

Who would care about a ghetto Black missing on her way to the local 7-11? Or a poor white girl with parents living in a trailer who vanishes on her way to the prom? We have a middle class society and that middle class has to be fed news that affects them or they will switch channels.