The Pull of the Gabby Petito Story

Missing White Blonde Lady Syndrome, or Something More?

There’s been a backlash against the national concern about the death of Gabby Petito that claims once again, the United States is obsessed with a missing white blonde lady but ignoring missing indigenous women, or women of color in general. Violence against the indigenous is a serious problem: homocide is the third leading cause of death for indigenous young people.

The accusations are correct. The only difference in recent years is that we feel bad about the attention paid to white women in peril and attempt to spend a little time on a missing woman of color after the gross hypocrisy is pointed out. On a regular basis, Americans are treated to hysteria about a missing white lady, but there is more than race at work.

The low priority placed on missing indigenous women is a national disgrace. This issue should be a top priority for the FBI. Thank G-d the new Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland agrees and is putting resources towards solving this problem.

But claiming our national …