Long before Natalie Holloway, long before Lacy Peterson, there was JonBenet Ramsey. She was the first 6-year-old girl ever murdered in American history (or so it would seem), perhaps even the first child ever murdered in this country. Since that time the media has played center stage to a national frenzy over the unfortunate fate of the 6-year-old “beauty pageant” winner, which gives incredible insight into the mind and priorities of JonBenet’s parents.

Ten years after her murder, an apparent suspect in the killing has been apprehended in Thailand of all places, the suspect, John Mark Karr has even confessed before the international media that he is responsible for JonBenet Ramsey’s murder. Excellent, that’s all we need to hear, prosecute the murder and apply the appropriate punishment. Sadly it’s not all we will hear of this case.

Since this story broke, JonBenet has been the subject of a media circus with round table discussions, highlights on call-in shows, insights from the regular casts of talking heads and so on and so forth.

To be true, the death of a child, or anyone for that matter is tragic, but this murder took place over ten years ago, why is JonBenet deserving of so much attention, especially when one considers the fact that 3 out of every 4 children murdered in the industrialized world are American? Yet from the media standpoint there is only JonBenet Ramsey.

Are we to believe that this 6-year-old is more important than any other, what else explains this fixation bordering on obsession? With all do respect to the girl and her family, the universe no more revolves around JonBenet than it does the Earth and the same can be said of individuals like Natalie Holloway, who incidentally wasn’t the first naïve 19-year-old to run off with two strangers, never to be heard from again.
http://www.denverpost.com/jonbenet/ci_4199882
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/18/ramsey.arrest/index.html