What happens to white people who get stabbed

So I have been waiting to figure out what I should start the year off of with and nothing had struck me until now. Back on New Year's Eve a woman was stabbed to death outside of her Capitol Hill apartment. There aren't any suspects and the "person of interest" hasn't been found yet. Scary, right? Yeah, not so much, at least not for me. I don't know, maybe after all these years of living here, especially now in an area that isn't the safest, I just don't feel scared. Plus, I don't feel scared for those I know that live around there. It is a proven fact that the percentage of random acts of violence is very low that I just personally believe that she knew her attacker in some way.

However, not many other people do and that is why over 200 people showed up to a public meeting last night to hear what the mayor and the police had to say about the incident. But of course, no one was satisfied with any of the answers that were given and tried to blame all other factors on why this woman would be stabbed (though better lighting is a valid point, there are hardly any street lights in that area). On (idiotic) man suggested that his wife carry a gun now ... um yeah that seems like a real safe idea, give your wife a gun, who probably doesn't know how to use (or doesn't even want to use it) and let's see what happens then. And a larger police presence? You have a precinct 4 blocks away ... the police are always around the area.

So was this woman a beloved member of the community, a local hero/friend-to-all/celebrity? Nope (though I am sure that she was a very nice and kind person). She was white. When a white person gets stabbed to death under these circumstances its not surprising that there is this much outrage. If this had happened in a different neighborhood (which it does) to anyone who is a minority (which it does) there would not be town hall meetings, the mayor would not show up. In fact he probably would just inact some other type of ban on the nightlife in Seattle. When there are shootings invovled in clubs/bars that are mere blocks away from the stabbing, they get closed down because minorities are involved. When there is a surge in hate crimes against gay men just few blocks away, does the mayor turn up for those community meetings? Nope. But stab a white person, oh man, there will be hell to pay.

This is why I understand why over at the PI's "Big Blog" the meeting was labeled "Protst du Jour," because that's really all it is. In a week or so all the "hoopla" will be over and people will find something else to get up in arms about.