Latoyia Figueroa: Get Involved

...has been reported in Fox News Channel on almost every show. They have interviewed Philly police and family members for the past two or three days. She even had a big segment on 'On the Record' (Greta's show) last night which gets more viewers than any other cable news show --so hopefully this will help them get some leads.

The more outlets reporting, the better the visibility. I was actually a very pleased to see Greta finally breaking the ice for Fox last night. It was so far the most in-depth I'd seen anyone go. Keep your fingers crossed...

but want to use that advertisement, use this image and link it to this URL: http://allspinzone.com/blog/index.php?itemid=944

I saved the image (no hotlinking) and posted on iFF. I appreciate you creating this.

Thanks Howard and Matt for creating the image/ad.

I just put it up on mine, thanks for creating it.

Hey folks,

What you might want to do to is IM Matt Drudge on AIM at Mdrudge and tell him to pick up the story.

Also, FYI:

http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/43800

http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD%2CGGLD%3A2003-42%2CGGLD%3Aen&filter=0&q=Latoyia+Figueroa&btnG=Search+News

Seems like a lot of places are picking this story up now ... let's just hope the ending of this story is a good one.

Was that you?

I got a comment to my latest post that said "will the REAL missing person please stand up?" I check the linked blog and found this

I just had to exercise every iota of self-restraint to prevent myself from writing a profanity-laced insult into that jerk's comments.

serenity now, serenity now. . .

now that is some ignorance.

ol cranky and frank: I updated the picture, if you're interested. here is the new one

yep.

Why is it "disturbing" or "ignorant"? Insensitive, sure -- he's joking about something you feel strongly about, which can make people angry. I just don't know how the other two fit. I'm just curious.

a right wing blogger who cares more about a person's email and blogger account being stolen than the search for a pregnant woman whose case is being pushed primarily by a group of liberal bloggers from the philly region. insensitive, disturbing and ignorant are all words that i see fit to describe his/her post and the comments that followed by his/her readers.

Obviously the work of a cretin.

Saw the story covered on CNN last night; the Philly blogswarm has been effective.

It's disturbing because it's insensitive. It's ignorant because it betrays ignorant racial bias ("the three of her could be the next Destiny's Child!").

I am not a humorless person, and understand that humor often comes at the expense of tragedy. And I also understand that the plaintive cries of political activists are easy material for the laughing class.

But, do you remember how, after 9/11, there was a time when it just seemed wrong to make Osama jokes? Not only because they were in bad taste, but also because the blood at the WTC and Pentagon was not yet dry. We can laugh at Osama now, but only after time has made him seem like less of an immediate presence in the daily lives of most Americans. But I'm pretty sure that those whose relatives were killed in the attacks still aren't laughing. Those of us who were there in NY when they happened still feel uneasy when we hear the jokes.

A similar thing is happening now. Yes, there are a lot of issues to talk about in relation to this tragedy -- race, politics, and television ratings among them -- but the wounds are completely raw and open right now. It's happening right now. It's not the time for jokes.

Just imagine, for a moment, if you were a relative of Latoyia's, scouring the web for posts about her, and you came across that one. How would you react?

Update: SpinDentist from All-Spin Zone reminds us of the issues that are really important right now -- not criticizing the police, not critiquing media coverage, not politicizing the tragedy, but FINDING LATOYIA.

It's disturbing because it shows a careless disregard for the life of another human being by shifting the focus to something else by making odd implications about her photos.

It's ignorant because the initial post implies there's something nefarious about the use of the photos (lefty bloggers are using "blacker" pictures of her than the media in order to lay a claim of racism against the media).

...not sure if 3 covered it.

Although this case has been bullied onto the national news to prove a point about race and media by political opportunists like Richard Cranium, it never was a case about a missing woman and is not national news. There is nothing particularly unusual about this case. She is an inner-city African-American/Latino woman, living a more than unconventional lifestyle in a high crime area, and now she's missing--big surprise. Furthermore, this story is hurtful to minorities because it has done nothing other than to reinfornce negative stereotypes: (1) LaToyia's father and other relatives are barely literate; (2) LaToyia's best friend said: "She coulda been snatched up by anybody, or one of her baby's fathas, or some guy she's messin wit" (rolling eyes); and (3) rather than save up more money, LaToyia and Baby Fatha No. 2 took their money and bought fried seafood rather than pay the $35 co-pay for prenatal care. The Natalee Holloway case is national news. She is a beautiful young woman, with a full scholarship to the University of Alabama, who disappears on what would otherwise be a dream vacation to an island resort with the lowest crime rate in the world. Big, big difference, in every respect. I hope LaToyia returns home safely, although I doubt it. In the end, however, we should not have to have our national news littered with this story. I assure you the end result will only cause more embarassment and humiliation, and it's clear that national news anchors are annoyed by having to cover this story because they too, of course, realize it's not national news. Wise up Cranium, this isn't about you and your outdated political agenda.

The one reason why this might be national news is the favortism being shown toward LaToyia. Her cousin is a city councilman and more resources have been spent finding her than anyone in Philadelphia history. Pure hypocrisy by the very bedwetters who claim preferential treatment for white women. What about all the minority women who don't have cousins sitting on city council? Also, what about the beautiful, poor white girl from Cali who has been missing for 2 months--do you know her name? Oh, God, now they have Golden Girl being interviewed on FOX now--what a disaster for the people who pushed this story.

The Natalee Holloway case is national news. She is a beautiful young woman, with a full scholarship to the University of Alabama, who disappears on what would otherwise be a dream vacation to an island resort with the lowest crime rate in the world. Big, big difference, in every respect.

Tell me - do you hear yourself?

If you are upset at the coverage that others aren't getting then get off your duff and *do* something about it. That's what folks here are trying to do.

Ya know, I donate to Project HOME. It can't help every homeless person out there - but it tries one person at a time. That's far better than doing nothing.

It's so much easier to stand on a pedestal of righteousness and look down on the efforts of others then actually do something isn't it?

I see from your profile you are for "Exposing intellectual dishonesty across the blogosphere."

Good. So where's your blog bud?

The same fellow left the same comment, almost word for word, on my blog..

..and frankly, I don't get the point. In the honor of Metafilter, GYOBFW.

I think this guy got himself banned from All-Spin Zone. So now he's making the rounds of every blog that has a post on LF (including mine, SkaroffBlog, and The Daily Pepper), and leaving his bitter, hate-filled droppings behind him wherever he goes.

I wrote this response to him on my blog:

"Thanks, Mike, for doing such a great job of demonstrating why the MSM’s concentration on Natalie Holloway, to the exclusion of other missing persons, is such a dangerous thing: it leads to, and reinforces, the belief that her life is worth more than the life of someone like Latoyia.

"I just hope that the producers of CNN, MSNBC, and FOX see your comments, so that they will understand the ramifications of their coverage."

That's my response to almost every troll. Ask them where their blog is - and then challenge them when they reply they have none. If their opinions were so important to share on someone else's site - why don't they have their own.

It usually stops them in their tracks. Usually.