Conffederate
Confederate

July 30, 2005

My One and Only Post About Natalee Holloway

Dan Riehl of Riehl World View emailed this morning about an upsetting result in a Google Search for Natalee Holloway, the teenager that has gone missing in Aruba. Dan has become the "go-to" guy in the blogosphere for information about Ms. Holloway, her disappearance, and the ongoing investigation.

You can see the offensive search results for yourself if you'd like. The title of the top-ranked post is, to put it mildly, disgusting to most people. As a result, Dan is asking people to contact Google and let it have a peace of their minds.

Personally, I don't "get" the MSM's fascination with Natalee Holloway, and chalk it up in large part to Pretty Blonde Girl Syndrome. Perhaps I'd be a bit less cynical about the media's motives if they were covering the disappearance of a girl in a far less tropical clime... say, Philadelphia.

That aside, I understand Dan's frustration, and if that post retains its top position solely as a result of a human editor's bias, Google may indeed have something to account for, as they already do for their apparent Google News bias.

I guess only time will tell. In any event, if you'd care to help Dan out, please go right on over. I'm sure he'd appreciate the support.

Posted by Confederate Yankee at July 30, 2005 06:05 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Oh come on. So the post uses a "dirty" word. If you read the post itself it basically says that the writer does not believe that the Holloway story should be national news for as long as it has been. I tend to agree with that, and I find is childish to get "disgusted" because the writer used a bad word. If the writer needs to grow up, I'd say you do too.

Posted by: Richard at July 30, 2005 09:36 PM

Regardless of rather or not they "used a bad word", the whole damn link is insensitive. Imagine how you would feel if you lost your child and some asshole didn't think it was worth the press so they posted the same. I'm all about free speech but come on have some couth!!People are so fuckin' mean and I refuse to stick up for the ones that are....rather they're right, wrong or indifferent. There are far more tactful ways to get your point accross.

Posted by: Em at August 3, 2005 01:50 PM

Em, have you have actually read the article?
If you did you sure as hell didn't understand it.

Imagine how you would feel today if you were the parent of any lost child in America today whose name wasn't "Natalee Holloway", because there is no damn way you'll be getting any attention.

He mentions a number of other missing persons in that article who aren't getting the world's media helping out, you are the one suffering the empathy failure here.

Posted by: Come off it at August 10, 2005 08:31 PM

Lets face it, if Natalie Holloway was from the writer family then he would pray that the news media would keep the coverage going. The use of bad words only shows his ignorance. I hope the news continues till Arabian police be come policeman, I feel that they are only trying to protect there tourism and still shield there political families. If other Americans would join in and stop going to Aruba then maybe the officials would take the right path of investigation. Now if you send your kid to Aruba and the van der slum or the other two brothers want to get in their pants by force they could with out worry of arrest or conviction. So in closing do we want to send our kids to Aruba and give the van der slums and their friends their choice of witch one they wont to fuck.

Posted by: A Corso at August 17, 2005 10:48 AM

Distasteful, insensitive, tacky, created to get noticed and get a rise out of people---no matter how thoughtfully written---no matter what kind
of point he was trying to make---I cringe for
Mrs Twitty and her family every time I see it.

Shame on him---how would be like HIS mother to
see his name followed by the word F...????????

F... him

Posted by: ann hall at August 20, 2005 10:40 PM

The pandering has gotten out of hand.
1. Greta asking softball questions of Beth and never challenging Beth's outrageous and unsupported attacks
2. Julie Banderas, the moron who would be lost if she had to think up a question on the fly, treating the Dutch kids as if they were convicts
3. Jossy Monsour acting much less like a responsible journalist than a prosecutor
4. Geraldo Rivera treating Beth like some kind of crusading hero than the whiny, rich American she is, trying to tell a sovereign country how to conduct its business
5. and what about the "star" witnesses that all these geniuses have dug up? the landfill occupant, who had half of Aruba involved in burying Natalee? The gardener, whose story is ridiculous on its face? Beth's "mystery" witnesses who characterize Joran as a "sexual predator" for using pickup lines in a bar, like tens of thousands of men have been doing for a century?
Beth go home and stop acting like you know it all. Your ex-husband Dave is the only one who comes through interviews with a grasp of reality -- not suprised he divorced you.
It's a shame if this winds up as an unsolved murder, but there are dozens of them every year in the U.S. -- get a grip

Posted by: lila at August 21, 2005 11:20 PM

I have heard of missing children since i was little- and always thought- that it would happen to our little town of mountain brook. but it did. my sister was a senior at mnt. brook high- natalee holloway and her very close friends. she went aruba- partied hard- AND YOU KNOW WHAT?! I HELD HER WHEN SHE CRIE.D I HELD HER AS SHE SCREAMED IN TERROR AND FEAR- because it could have been her. I cried myself- big gasping tears of anguish that someone i loved could disappear. I know it sounds weird- and im sorry for other families- but this is my sisters best friend... and natalee is the most amazing girl you will ever meet. she's not dead yet... her body could be- but- her soul, spirit and memories will never die. we love you so much natalee. WE ALL LOVE YOU! COME HOME! I never so much as disrepected a missing child. A bowed head in prayer for that child. I cried for those children. and you can't even respect a girl who never did anything to deserve anything BUT... I am die hard christian- and you need to know something. natalee holloway might be famer- but so is every other teen that goes missing AND we get evidence about.

Posted by: Brookie at August 25, 2005 07:23 PM