Race, gender and public reaction

Re “For her an uproar, for him a whisper,” May 4

Thank you for your fine article on differences in public outcry over two hit-and-runs.

It would, however, be a mistake for your readers to view this issue as primarily race-related. Neither is the primary factor income or age.

Rather the operative difference between the two is gender. One victim was female; the other was male.

As male rights author Warren Farrell has eloquently shown, men are the disposable gender. The easiest way to verify this assertion: Consider the outcry over the deaths of two or three female soldiers and the deaths of hundreds of male soldiers.

Another, of course, is to go through a divorce.

Steve Hodson

Santa Barbara

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My name is Lourdes Tome, and I am the aunt of Adrianna Bachan.

It is the media’s responsibility to keep the public informed and, through this, exert pressure on our public officials to take action. My sister did just that and will keep on doing so until justice is served.

As media representatives, it is your job to bring Agapito Gaspar Nicolas’ case to the public, but in the process, do not undermine the efforts of another grieving family by playing the ethnic and race cards.

My niece was born in California of a Croatian father and a Cuban mother.

Last time I checked, I am considered a Latina, as is my sister and as was Adrianna.

Lourdes Tome

Bayamon, Puerto Rico

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If the point of this story was to tell a hard truth, why didn’t you?

If you had, the subtitle would have read, “Even in death, race matters.” Let’s all be brutally frank. That’s the real reason for such disparate treatment.

Jackie Tatum

Inglewood

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The message I got was that my life as a poor Latino male in South L.A. wouldn’t be worth as much as that of a beautiful young USC sorority girl if someone took my life in my neighborhood.

I’m sure the LAPD is doing what it can, but is it any wonder why there is hostility toward the police after reading this?

Louis Valverde

Los Angeles

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How remarkable, refreshing and long overdue it was to see The Times’ report on an inexcusable issue -- the difference in media coverage for white victims of a tragedy versus nonwhite victims.

In college, I wrote a paper comparing the Jon- Benet Ramsey case to that of Girl X, the victim of a brutal attack in Chicago public housing, which was largely ignored by the mainstream media.

More than 10 years later, the disparity has only increased. Nancy Grace dedicates seemingly every show to kidnapped or missing white children. Even a recent “Oprah” was about a missing white girl.

Phil Speer

Los Angeles

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There are simple answers to the differences in perceived importance and newsworthiness regarding the deaths of USC student Bachan and workaday immigrant Nicolas.

Because she came from Santa Barbara and was a USC student, the connection can be made that she was on the verge of well-connected greatness, taken away at such a tragic young age.

By contrast, Mr. Nicolas, at age 55 and taking whatever construction work he could find, wasn’t even a blip on the cultural radar.

It’s the same with a highly-publicized missing child: If the child is male or plain-looking, few will know except the immediate family.

However, if the child is white, female, and especially photogenic, she will soon be the country’s most sought-after missing child.

D. J. Fone

El Cajon

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Sadly, your article only foments discontent -- making the reader believe these two tragic hit-and-runs were similar except for the background of the individuals killed.

The major reason for the public’s outrage and concern and for the number of police assigned to the case is a direct result of the heinous actions of the perpetrators of the USC accident.

The major reason for the public and officials’ ire is the fact that the driver of the car that ran over and killed Bachan continued to drive down the street with another victim wedged against the windshield before stopping while a passenger tossed him to the curb.

Mary E. Ward

Irvine

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The detective says, “Any time you have a high-profile person involved in a crime or a high-profile situation, you are always going to receive more attention. Is that right? Is that wrong? I don’t know.”

Does he not know, or is he not allowed to know?

As he says earlier: “I can’t look at fair.” Why?

I hope he is impartial enough in the conduct of his work, whether he fairly or unfairly does not get help doing it.

J. Henson

Los Angeles