Laci Peterson, Why the Hype??

2/11/03 | myself - el_texicano

[aruanan]

Forgive me any and all, but I just don't get it. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me as to why this news story is as important as the pending war in Iraq where God knows how many of our brave military may have to lay down their lives to protect us.

It's a combination of two things:

1. Romantic prurience about the personal disaster of others, especially if it involves the possibility of the downfall of a major creep (either of the Clintons, Saddam Hussein, etc..) or an innocent (a cheated-on mom pregnant with her first child)--all peoples of the world share this trait.

2. A deliberate decision of news directors to feed the prurience.

What is interesting is to consider how often the major media (mostly liberal, mostly Democrat) during Clinton's time either ignored or minimized his derelictions. It would be informative to see how many Laci Peterson-type stories they tried to focus the attention of the public on during these times. Laci now provides a convenient alternate lightning rod toward which the Democrat/liberal news directors are trying their hardest to direct public prurience, away from Saddam. The explosion of the shuttle will soon eclipse Laci because it offers far greater possibilities for inciting public outrage over the victims of self-interested unfeeling bureaucracies (symbol of males such as Laci's husband). Besides, it'll be easier to shift outrage and suspicion toward the war machine in Iraq from NASA, a part of the government, than from the single person of Laci's cheating husband.

[homeschool mama]

**It just seems way overwrought. **

Right. Who cares about some missing pregnant woman, right? I mean, what's the big deal? < sarcasm >

Get a life...better yet...get a heart.

My nephew is in the Navy. Electronic Warfare Intelligence. I know about the impending war.

[muggs]

I know war is looming but there's very little I can do about it except pray that God guides those in charge and protects our troops and all of us. I keep my eyes open for strange occurances around my area but since I live in a little town I really don't see much of interest in regards to terrorism.

There is a chance, very minor no doubt, that something that is posted here about the Peterson case could be the help that the police need to solve this crime. So shoot me for maybe wanting to be in on helping to solve 2 murders.

Just because war is coming is no reason to allow murderers and other criminals to go free.

[aruanan]

Get a life...better yet...get a heart.

Even better, learn to think and you won't be so easily manipulated by having people leading you around by what you think is your heart.

[norton]

"I think it has something to do with the enormity of the real events in today's world."

Bingo!
Probably the best response so far - people like to believe that they ARE capable of resolving or at least understanding events around them. They will grab onto that part that they believe they understand and hang on like a dog with a bone.

The potential for nuclear or biological war, the apparent fact that a large group of people hates us for no rational reasons, or global warming/not warming are way too big to really believe you could figure it out on your own.

(and note that 'they' in this instance includes me and anyone else involved - not some 'other' bunch of people. Not necessarily. At least not all of them....)

I also believe the Peterson story is bigger than it might be because of the close proximity to our last great big pointless mystery - Condit/Levy - a lot of people probably think nailing Scott Peterson would even the score.

[PatriotGames]

Forgive me any and all, but I just don't get it. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me as to why this news story is as important as the pending war in Iraq where God knows how many of our brave military may have to lay down their lives to protect us.

Hmmmm??? Can any provide insight???


By Jove, I think he's got it!

Laci, in a fit of overwhelming patriotism that has consumed her, has secretly volunteered and is now undergoing Special Forces training!

So the situations ARE connected, after all! ( This scenario is just as far-fetched, or reasonable, depending upon your point of view, as some of the others I have seen here. )

On a more serious note, she was seven months pregnant, disappeared on Christmas Eve and if her smile doesn't melt your heart nothing will.

Also, could it be that situations such as this are used by many as a momentary diversion away from thoughts of the war situation?

I find myself clicking between the Iraq/war posts, the Shuttle posts and the Laci situation. Some humans have the ability to multi-focus. Can't you?

[muggs]

Exactly.

[Sloth]

I think what makes the case unique though is for the moment no one really knows what happened to her.

Good point, that is unique among disappearance cases. Because usually, like, when someone diappears everybody knows what happened to them, and stuff.

Just brilliant!

[John H K]

There is a chance, very minor no doubt, that something that is posted here about the Peterson case could be the help that the police need to solve this crime. So shoot me for maybe wanting to be in on helping to solve 2 murders.

People were complaining about the news channels, not FR postings..and actually there aren't all THAT many Laci Peterson threads here...the % of FR devoted to the story is certainly far less than the % of news channel time devoted to it.

And the argument about it "helping to solve the case" is pure unadulterated BS......there are plenty of other murders getting no media attention whatsoever, involving people a hell of a lot more dangerous to others than Scott Peterson.

Just admit people are interested it's because it's a sordid real-life soap opera with clean-cut upper-middle class white people.

[cricket]

"It's a classic mystery and everyone thinks they know who did it."

. . .yes and Christmas and pregnancy surely adds to that 'classic' and a husband who chooses to look guilty (and IMHO is. . .) of a heinous crime while still maintaining an 'Ambercrombe & Fitch' model face. . .

. . .also offers an escape from the real news of the day. .

[cricket]

"What I'm sick of is freaky Micheal Jackson that Fox keeps talking about......I just change the channel when I hear the name......ditto for their Hollywood news also.."

another dittos and a bump. . .

[muggs]

People were complaining about the news channels, not FR postings..and actually there aren't all THAT many Laci Peterson threads here...the % of FR devoted to the story is certainly far less than the % of news channel time devoted to it.

According to some of the posters on the peterson threads, you would think there was nothing else on FR for them to read, the way they bitch about the threads.

And the argument about it "helping to solve the case" is pure unadulterated BS......there are plenty of other murders getting no media attention whatsoever, involving people a hell of a lot more dangerous to others than Scott Peterson.

You're right that there are other more dangerous people than SP and that the media isn't covering them. It's pretty hard for us to discuss a case that we aren't told anything about.

As far as wanting to solve the case being BS, all I can say is you are wrong. I actully solved a crime in my area that the police seemed unable to solve. After I put all the facts together and reported it to the police, they ignored it. I finally wrote it all out and sent a letter to the police chief. I got a call from the police saying after they talked to the suspect he confessed. They were kind of surprised to find out one of their city employees was such a nut.

[Spunky]

What is it that makes this case so important that it literally dominates the news. I can't go 30 minutes on Fox without a freeking update on Laci.

That's what happens when you have a 24/7 news. When it wasn't Laci it was the people getting sick on the cruise ships, the people being eaten up by sharks, the pedophile priests, the obduction and murder of Daniele Van Dam, the obduction of Elizebeth Smart, the obduction and murder of Chandra Levy.

Now aside from the fact the cable news has so many hours to fill up, the beginning interest with Laci is that she is from the same town Chandra Levy and Ex-Congressman Gary Condit were from. There is a $500,000 reward for the safe return of Laci, and it is rumored that Chandra Levy's parents gave $300,000 towards it. Mrs. Levy joined in the search for Laci.

Laci has a smile that just melts you. She was with child. If it is found she was murdered then you have a dead baby also. Her husband Scott is a liar and an adulterer. His mistress who put on airs of innocense saying she had no idea he was married. It turns out she had an affair with another married man who's wife was with child. She also posed nude to make some money.

Does that answer your question why the interest?

[Jaded]

I hate to be really, really disgusting but what would happen to these theories if Laci were found with out the baby? Would that really change people's opinion about the self-serving egocentric man she married?

[HumanaeVitae]

Laci Peterson, Why the Hype??

Mmmm...let's see. Beautiful pregnant woman vanishes without a trace...smarmy cheating husband denies everything but looks guilty as sin...families at each other's throats...

Love, sex, adultery, murder...

[Spunky]

I hate to be really, really disgusting but what would happen to these theories if Laci were found with out the baby?

Highly unlikely. What are the statistics on this happening. I have heard of 1 case.

[jdontom]

I'm sick of it.

Most people are of the belief that this only happens to someone else, I see this happening more often to more people. Thank your lucky stars it has not happened to you.....Yet.....

[bonfire]

You just HAD to ask, didn't ya! :)

[bonfire]

"Really, it only proves most of us can walk and chew gum at the same time."


Best answer yet!

[InHisService]

It is very sad that Laci has disappeared and is most likely dead. My heart goes out to her family and friends. Having said that, I am very disturbed over the 24/7 coverage the media gives this case. One only has to ask, had this been a black couple living in Harlem, would they have gotten this amount of coverage? Absolutely not.

The media attention with the benefit and analysis of law enforcemnent experts, breaking news and commentary, continuous updates and live reports are reserved for those who pass the test.

Laci and Scott are a nice looking, upper-middle class couple living in the right area in the right kind of home driving the right type of vehicle wearing the right kind of clothes. Had Laci been overweight and homely or poor, she would not have passed the test. It is as simple as that.