Do The Media Think Mentioning A Person Being TG Lessen The Crime

[Vicky_Scot]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7108720.stm

"Woman is found strangled in home

A woman has been found strangled at an address in south-east London.
Police found the transsexual's body in Leander Road, Thornton Heath, on Wednesday evening, officers have revealed.

Detectives believe it is 40-year-old Kellie Telesford, who was formerly known as Kayiode Dexter Telesford."

I am sorry to hear of this incident.

What annoys me is the headline states a Woman found, why then do they have to go on then and inform everyone she was a TS. I think this really just shows that even when a member of the TG community is murdered or involved in any criminal act the media cannot resist but to state this fact that has no bearing on the case.

I remember a case in Edinburgh where a womans body was found in a local park. The media were all concerned until they found out that the poor person was a TV and had taken their own life. Then it was a tranny kills himself story.....suddenly the sympathy turned to basically ridicule. It seems that because they are TG it is less of a concern.

This shows that TG acceptance still has a long way to go.

[Joy Carter]

Face it, the press is not know for it sensitivity in anything. "If It Bleeds It Leads."

[Teresa Amina]

Actually it would seem to indicate it was a "hate crime", as they call it over here, and be a clue to the murderer's identity. I am more bothered by a lack of information than extra and possibly irrelevant bits.

[Kimberley]

This is not unlike what the LGB community faced a few decades ago. It changed of course but that was because of strong political and pressure on the media.

It is necessary to get the message out but to so really means organizing on a massive scale with a SINGLE unified voice that addresses tg issues at all levels. This is why the good organizations are failing, because they have narrowed vested interests. The few who are all encompassing are all too often drowned or dismissed.

This approach has to be world wide. Sorry the world doesnt stop a lobbyists in Washington. It means London, Ottawa, Paris etc. It can change but takes a united will and resolve, something most of us are unwilling to do because it means we have to "come out" and risk it all.

Our best hope with these circumstances is to get our stories to the media. I have friends in the media who do have genuine interests. I also have political contacts who have genuine interests.

We can sit on our a***s and bitch on the forums or we can really do something. It is up to you. I have made my choices (and surprise surprise, no one has outed me).


Kimberley

[AmberTG]

I think the fact that this lady was a transsexual is relevant if it's a hate crime. If someone found out that she started life as a male, freaked out, and strangled her. My guess would be, that's what happened to her.

[Kieron Andrew]

The BBC did originally state 'Transvestite' then changed it to woman a few hours later, i think this is an improvement out of respect.....the reason they stated Transsexual in the paragraph was probably relevent to whatever injuriess were caused during the incident, they are calling for people to come forward who had, had sexual contact with her in the days leading up to her death so i guess its relevent in some way

[Lisa Golightly]

Sensationalism is the journalistic orgasm.

[Kieron Andrew]

Sensationalism is the journalistic orgasm.

nicely put Lisa

[pamela_a]

I see the article has been changed and except for the reference to an old name nothing seems out of the ordinary.

Are we so thin skinned that unless we are unconditionally accepted and welcomed by everyone and all written accounts are properly scoured for any possible negativity we feel we are singled out or ridiculed?

Actually it would seem to indicate it was a "hate crime"

I think the fact that this lady was a transsexual is relevant if it's a hate crime.

What ever happened to a crime being a crime? When did we invoke the Thought Police to decide if a bad crime is worse because of something the perpetrator may or may not think? Aren't most crimes like this "hate" crimes (someone is killed because someone hates them)?

-Paula-

[Kieron Andrew]

i think mentioning it in this day and age actually heightens the crime not lessens it, it brings to the forefront that hate crime is now a huge criminal offence

[pamela_a]

i think mentioning it in this day and age actually heightens the crime not lessens it, it brings to the forefront that hate crime is now a huge criminal offence

I'm not sure I understand. If you kill someone and get convicted of murder it's bad, but it's worse if you thought that person was different than you? "Hate crimes" are based on punishing not just the crime but the thought too. Since everyone is supposed to be equal under the law these "hate crime" statues seem to make some people "more" equal.

-Paula-

[Kimberley]

The real tell all will be if they find and convict the perpetrator(s). Whether the point that she was TG is raised at sentencing is the real litmus test.

So it really is a double edged sword entirely dependent upon how you look at it.


Kimberley

[Kieron Andrew]

I'm not sure I understand. If you kill someone and get convicted of murder it's bad, but it's worse if you thought that person was different than you? "Hate crimes" are based on punishing not just the crime but the thought too. Since everyone is supposed to be equal under the law these "hate crime" statues seem to make some people "more" equal.

-Paula-

hate crimes are judged on whether someone has commited a crime due to colour, sexual orientation, disability and now gender identity, up until recently gender identity was not including in that like most things, it shows people that now this is seen as a hate crime along with everything else therefore is inclusive and no one should be able to get away with it, with the media reminding us of that fact maybe we will see less hate crimes of that kind and others eventually the more it is publicised that is it wrong...we can live in hope, oh and yes i know the media have a huge way of inserting foot into mouth but by the fact that article was editted shows they are trying to have some compassion for the crime, after all Lisa G says 'Sensationalism is the journalistic orgasm'. they have to sell stories some how otherwise the media would not exist to show people this kind of thing goes on

[Lucy Bright]

I'm not sure I understand. If you kill someone and get convicted of murder it's bad, but it's worse if you thought that person was different than you? "Hate crimes" are based on punishing not just the crime but the thought too. Since everyone is supposed to be equal under the law these "hate crime" statues seem to make some people "more" equal.

-Paula-

Well, there's been a long tradition of taking into account aggravating or mitigating circumstances in sentencing, and this fits into that tradition, I'd have thought. It comes down to whether you think some motives for murder are more heinous than others. Does the jealous lover get the same sentence as the professional hit man? Does the drunk who let his temper get out of hand in a bar get the same sentence as the homophobe who sets out to target gays at random? Not necessarily - in the UK, anyway: I don't know about the States. (I've never understood about the different 'degrees' of homicide you have there - is that similar?)

Kisses,

Lucy

[LindaTS]

This is something that the media does all the time. Looking at our local newspapers here in central NY it's not unusual to read something like this: John Doe, a black man, has been arrested because of .................... And the reason he was arrested had nothing to do with him being black. Another one: John Doe, who was arrested for DWI four years ago, has been ticketed for failure to come to a complete stop at an intersection........................ Again, it has nothing to do with the fact he got picked up for DWI. I think it has something to do with selling papers. This is something that happens all the time and when it has to do with a TG they seem to like it even better. I doubt we'll ever see a change in their reporting habits.

[Julogden]

Well, there's been a long tradition of taking into account aggravating or mitigating circumstances in sentencing, and this fits into that tradition, I'd have thought. It comes down to whether you think some motives for murder are more heinous than others. Does the jealous lover get the same sentence as the professional hit man? Does the drunk who let his temper get out of hand in a bar get the same sentence as the homophobe who sets out to target gays at random? Not necessarily - in the UK, anyway: I don't know about the States. (I've never understood about the different 'degrees' of homicide you have there - is that similar?)

Kisses,

Lucy

Murder is murder, as far as I'm concerned, so the reason behind it shouldn't make any difference. Whether someone is killed out of jealousy or simply because they were gay, their killer should get the same sentence, IMO.

The manner in which someone is murdered could make a difference though, and often in hate crime murders, the death is exceptionally cruel and violent, one designed to the prolong pain and suffering of the victim.

But in cases where there is a non-lethal attack, there is a difference. Say for instance, hypothetical situation, 2 guys get in an argument and one of them beats the other up, the other people around them aren't particularly put in fear of their safety as a result, as it was the result of a disagreement between 2 people.

Now let's say there's another hypothetical guy or guys (more likely), and they're walking the streets looking for gay guys, lesbians, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, T-people, basically members of whatever group they don't like, to pick on. They find a target, and their target gets beaten solely because their attackers don't like their "type".

That sort of crime is not only an illegal physical attack on an individual, it affects that individuals ability to feel reasonably safe in public from then on, and affects others like him/her, as anyone of them could be targeted for violence just because they're different. They are being deprived of their right to live their life in the manner that they see fit, simply because they're different than most people in their community. In my opinion, that sort of crime, a hate crime, should be punished more severely than the first example that I cited.

My opinion anyway.

Carol

[Nicki B]

The real tell all will be if they find and convict the perpetrator(s).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7122431.stm

It's taken ten days, so far...