Jelani Day- why is there hardly no media coverage of this missing young black man?

What blows my mind is how white people still act as if they don’t know what white privilege is and that it doesn’t exist. And before you attack me, I am a white guy.

The Gabby Petito saga is about much more than her being white (and of course young, blonde, and attractive to most straight guys).

We have the extended body cam footage. We have evidence of the couple's movement in the weeks leading to her disappearance and death. We have extensive social media documentation of their lives. We have domestic violence and its more nuanced manifestations (watch how he jokes around with the cops). We have a missing suspect. We have the National Parks system and the wide open spaces of the American West. We have the suspect's family, covering for him.

As someone wrote in another thread, it's a uniquely American story involving two young lovers driving across the country together. It's the stuff of Hollywood. And it's just a damn good story.

It’s the media further supporting racism. Only certain people are important enough to report on. I feel for her family but basically don’t give a fuck.

Yes, r7, because if she were a white methed-out prostitute beaten to death by her white pimp this story would be getting national attention.

The gabby thing is just a ratings grab. Everyone now has to report on it because every news organization has been featuring it. I frankly could care less. I see that shit all day long on ID channel and Oxygen.

The Gabby saga is letting people play detective, they love that.

Jelani's car was found abandoned in a wooded area with the clothes he had been wearing that day in it. That's weird, even if this was a sexual assault they surely wouldn't have had him strip naked before taking him somewhere else. Why would you risk transporting a naked person or naked body?

[quote] We have domestic violence and its more nuanced manifestations (watch how he jokes around with the cops).

Exactly. The situation would have been significantly less amusing to "the cops" if it involved a non-white couple or -- even worse -- an interracial couple. It is a story of white privilege. If those cops had used just 20% of their training that woman would be alive. Instead, they were completely disarmed by white privilege. They didn't perceive any danger or threat because it involved educated, seemingly middle-class white kids.

Even weirder: they found a body on September 4th and have been running tests to see if it's Jelani, but still haven't gotten around to it, I guess? It's been 18 days, what on earth are they waiting for?

R12 quit blaming law enforcement for not saving her from her bad choices.

[quote] We have the extended body cam footage. We have evidence of the couple's movement in the weeks leading to her disappearance and death. We have extensive social media documentation of their lives. We have domestic violence and its more nuanced manifestations (watch how he jokes around with the cops). We have a missing suspect. We have the National Parks system and the wide open spaces of the American West. We have the suspect's family, covering for him.

There’s nothing particularly interesting about any of this. All of this could be true with a non-white couple, and you wouldn’t hear anything about it.

Because there isn't a "story" to this guy's disappearance OP, there's no easily narratable mystery for the "audience" to solve.

What's truly disgusting is people trying to politicise Petito's murder to score cheap points.

Yeah r5, Gabby Petito is really enjoying her white privilege.

R12, the police were called out to a domestic violence incident of a man slapping a woman. They failed.

Is this going to be a Gabby thread, too? Why?

Cam you cite any similar cases with a non-white couple, r15?

[quote]Because there isn't a "story" to this guy's disappearance OP, there's no easily narratable mystery for the "audience" to solve.

There absolutely is, I've just read articles on it and it's weird, the cops are behaving oddly and strange stuff has happened. I've seen hundreds of Websleuths threads on much more banal cases than Jelani's disappearance. There's no real way for people to play internet detective so no, it won't get as much attention as the Gabby case, but at the same time it's not like it's some boring non-story.

You're all choosing to turn this into a Gabby thread instead of letting it be a Jelani thread.

Maybe because OP mentioned Gabby in the first sentence of his post, r19?

They have a body and DNA of the family - for the missing medical student. And are "missing a chemical" to run the test.

Something is truly off about that. Either hideous racism or something is being poorly reported. I can't understand it.

[quote]I frankly could care less.

The phrase is "couldn't care less," and anyway, who in the world cares whether or not YOU care about this story?

The OP mentioned Jelani as well, r20.

What's the "story" with this guy then, r19? Aside from that it's weird. Why don't you start a thread on Websleuths about him?

Lol R18 that was my whole entire point. Those stories aren’t told. Whooooooooooooooooosh.

A young black man, Richard Okorogheye, went missing in London earlier this year and people were gripped by his story because there was a "detective mystery" element to it. He had left his wallet at home while CCTV showed he had taken a taxi to the outskirts of London and walked into a forest, from which he never emerged. His remains were later found in the forest.

His distraught mother claimed that the police hadn't done enough to look for him because they were racist. He went missing on the evening of 22 March and was officially reported as missing by the police on the morning of 24 March. This is nothing to do with racism - it's standard practice for police to wait 24 hours before officially recording someone as missing if they are an adult. In Gabby Petito's case the police apparently waited 2 weeks before officially reporting her as missing.

Those stories are told, however, r25, they just don't get as much coverage. If a non-white couple went missing in such a way it would still be reported, even if locally. Can you find any such cases?

The Yingying Zhang case got a lot of coverage. She wasn't white, but her story still checked a lot of the right boxes.

[quote]If a non-white couple went missing in such a way it would still be reported, even if locally. Can you find any such cases?

How could anyone even find most of these cases? You implied at r18 that there weren't any similar cases involving people who weren't white, that's why you started asking for examples, but if they're not being reported on or are only reported on vaguely in local news outlets, how could anyone ever possibly find these examples?

If you do a generic "black couple missing" search you get one example, the couple who went missing in DR a few years ago, which didn't get much attention at all even though it was bizarre and it turned out they accidentally drove into the ocean.

Has Susan Day tweeted yet?

R29, search online, Websleuths sites, missing person's reports. There's always the Lipstick Alley Murdered and Missing forum (they are black ladies, if you are not aware).

Over 600,000 people go missing in the US every year. That is an epidemic.

I eat old people's excrement.

[quote]If you do a generic "black couple missing" search you get one example, the couple who went missing in DR a few years ago, which didn't get much attention at all even though it was bizarre and it turned out they accidentally drove into the ocean.

Yeah, that often happens when people go missing, there was some accident and so it's not "exciting".

R27 I have no general interest in these types of stories, I don’t go searching for them, yet I know all about this Gabby person because it’s being shoved down our throats. As R29 said, the reason we don’t know about black people gone missing is not because it doesn’t happen to them, rather it is under-reported and therefore information on the events is scarce. I think you’re accidentally pwn-ing yourself but you don’t realize it.

[quote][R27] I have no general interest in these types of stories, I don’t go searching for them, yet I know all about this Gabby person because it’s being shoved down our throats. As [R29] said, the reason we don’t know about black people gone missing is not because it doesn’t happen to them, rather it is under-reported and therefore information on the events is scarce. I think you’re accidentally pwn-ing yourself but you don’t realize it.

As so often happens when people make comments like this, the focus is always specifically on black people getting the short end of the stick, with no mention of other people of color -- Asians, Latinx, and so on. Why do you suppose that is, R34? Inherent racism among supposed anti-racists, perhaps? Please give us your thoughts on this question, but please don't bother unless you're going to answer honestly.

I met a gorgeous horse hung zoroastrian in Beirut who has disappeared! WONT SOMEONE THINK OF THE HUNG ZOROASTRIANS!!!!!!!!

R35 it’s because there were two black people being discussed upthread, also because black people suffer a higher degree of racial discrimination than Asian people or Latinx people (which isn’t actually a race, so maybe do a little research on that too).

IMHO the "hook" of the Petito case wasn't just the pretty white girl thing, it was because she vanished and then died while in pursuit of social media fame. That got the attention of everyone who either hates or loves social media, which is everyone these days, and the attention of all the young people who dream of chucking the rat race om pursuit of a career as an instagram star. And the way that information came in in a timely manner has built on the initial hook.

Now where's the hook in the Jelani Day story? Sex angle, social media angle, gay angle, crime spree or domestic violence angle?

She was not only a white female. She had blue eyes and blonde hair. That makes her a narional treasure.😞

So did this guy hook up with somebody at the Y that's mentioned in the article and things went bad? He smells cookies

R29 ummmm that’s the UK. Not the USA.

[quote][R35] it’s because there were two black people being discussed upthread, also because black people suffer a higher degree of racial discrimination than Asian people or Latinx people (which isn’t actually a race, so maybe do a little research on that too).

Latinx people are often described as people of color, which is how I described them. And even if it's true that black people suffer "a higher degree of racial discrimination than Asian people or Latinx people," does that mean that black people should so frequently be the ONLY ones mentioned in discussions about racism? I guess your answer to that is yes. While we're at it, why did the OP's example have to be a young black man who went missing, rather than a young Asian or Latinx man (or woman?

You're right OP but if that white girl hadn't gone missing you would not be posting a thread about this Day guy. You're only doing it to prove a point. You don't actually care.

R42 latinx can be people of colour but are not necessarily. You compared them in a group with black and Asian people therefore implying you were comparing racial groups (like with like) and also immediately about racism these groups suffered. Not my fault you don’t understand the diff between a racial and ethnic groups sorry x.

Latinos are not called Latinx. Stop that nonsense.

And even the “white” ones face a lot of discrimination in this country. I’m so sick of the lie they are treated just like wasps in this country. They aren’t. They may not face the same discrimination as blacks but they have their own hardships. Time to start being HONEST.

Also, skin color means shit. A lot of “white” Latinos hold features that stand out to me as non white but I am not supposed to speak on that.

[quote] And even the “white” ones face a lot of discrimination in this country.

R45 I never said they didn’t bb, take a chill pill.

[quote] Time to start being HONEST.

Honest about what, wtf are you on about?

On a kind of tangential note I can’t stand the way you write. It’s so buzzfeed-y. “Hold features” just use ‘have’. Ditto ‘“speak on” just use ‘talk about’.

You answered your own question OP

IMO, the Gabby story got too much coverage, especially in the NY Post, but so didn't George Floyd compared to the young black man, Ahmaud Arbery, killed in Georgia that exposed a corrupt small town justice system. It's puzzling why some stories get a lot of coverage and others don't.

White people owe POC so much.

Exactly r48. Why did the whole world have to stop for George Floyd? It's a sad story, but worse shit goes on around the world every day - in that same period police in Belarus and Nigeria were beating up and in some instances killing people protesting against real repression.

What about all the other black men killed in the US? Why do we only ever hear about the murders of black men when they're being killed by white men?

R50 I know you’re trolling, but George Floyd’s murder by a policeman in broad daylight with a knee to his neck slowly killing him while smiling to camera represents in an action, the mistreatment of black people in the US at the hands of the white system. The imagery is more representative of a reality of discrimination. George Floyd’s murder has more in common with the mistreatment of every black person that lives in the US than Gabby’s relationship to every missing person. Does that make sense?

I'm not trolling r51. All around the world everything was meant to stop for George Floyd. I literally said "why did the whole world have to stop for George Floyd?" The people behind BLM and the George Floyd protests were trying to turn them into some earth-shattering event of global proportions. I'm not from the US, so I'm giving my perspective.

And, yes, it's shit that there's still so much racism in the US, but more black people in the US are killed by other black people every single day. And that's not simply because you're more likely to be killed by people in your own community - murder rates of black people in the US, especially young black men, are mind-bogglingly high, which suggests a serious social problem that has specific root causes. Yet, we so rarely, if ever, hear anyone talk about that problem and how it can be resolved.

Yes, it's terrible George Floyd was killed by a racist white cop, it's terrible that Jelani Day has disappeared, but it's also horrendous that so many black people are being killed in the US in general. Black Lives Matter, except for when they're being taken by a black person.

[quote][R42] latinx can be people of colour but are not necessarily. You compared them in a group with black and Asian people therefore implying you were comparing racial groups (like with like) and also immediately about racism these groups suffered. Not my fault you don’t understand the diff between a racial and ethnic groups sorry x.

The point is that Latino (or Latinx) people justifiably complain about discriminatory treatment based on their ethnicity. I used the word "racism" because I was discussing this phenomenon in general, and you're right that it was not completely accurate for me to lump Latinos in with Asians and black people in discussing "racism." BUT my use of that word is NOT the main point here, so I don't know why you're making an issue of it. Probably just out of "know-it-all" mean spiritedness.

Nobody obsesses about young white men missing either so fuck you and your race baiting. Lots of white people go missing and the media doesn't get obsessed about them.

Fuck you dickhead OP.

[quote] suggests a serious social problem that has specific root causes. Yet, we so rarely, if ever, hear anyone talk about that problem and how it can be resolved.

Actually there’s a lot of discussion about lifelong poverty and the effects of this in black communities but there’s never anything done about it because it’s not politically advantageous enough unfortunately (see; disenfranchisement of black voters also). It’s a real shame the effects that extreme poverty can have.

[quote] I used the word "racism" because I was discussing this phenomenon in general, and you're right that it was not completely accurate for me to lump Latinos in with Asians and black people in discussing "racism."

Thanks for acknowledging your mistake R53, not many people on here do.

[quote] Probably just out of "know-it-all" mean spiritedness.

If you scroll all the way back to your first comment @R35 (I know, I know, it’s really far!) you’ll find it was actually you that started (incorrectly) trying to correct me. That’s the only reason I replied in kind, reap what you sow etc. x.

R56, I did not try to "correct" you in my previous post. I merely pointed out that, "as so often happens when people make comments like [yours], the focus is always specifically on black people getting the short end of the stick, with no mention of other people of color." That's a general statement of fact, and was aimed at you to the extent that you, too, focused specifically on discrimination and unfair treatment of black people but not also Asians, Latinos, et al. So now we'll see if you can own up to that criticism, as I owned up to my not fully accurate use of the term "racism."

R57 although I understand what you mean, fortunately the word ‘correction’ is vague enough for me to still be correct. Whereas your conflation of ethnicity with race was objectively false. As a side note I can’t stand when people use ‘merely’ to describe their actions, it’s so obsequious!

Anyway I don’t think we’re going to achieve much else in this back and forth, a bientot x

R35, Elisa Lam's case was one of the biggest mysteries of this century so far.

Ummmm Hispanic people (Latin is a different thing) DO experience racism. Like it or not.

They finally identified his body. He was found in the river

Body of Jelani Day, missing Illinois grad student, pulled out of river, officials say

Mike Stunson, The Charlotte Observer 5 mins ago

The body of Jelani Day, a 25-year-old graduate school student missing for nearly a month in Illinois, was pulled out of the Illinois River, officials said Thursday.

Officials found the body Sept. 4, and the LaSalle County Coroner determined Thursday through forensic dental identification and DNA testing that it was Day. The cause of death is unknown, according to the coroner.

Family members last spoke to Day on Aug. 23 and he did not show up for class for several days at Illinois State University. He was reported missing Aug. 25, according to McClatchy News. The last-known footage of him was from Aug. 24, when he was shown entering a Bloomington retail store.

On Aug. 26, about 60 miles north of Bloomington in the town of Peru, police discovered Day’s vehicle abandoned in a wooded area. Peru is located within LaSalle County, where his body was found.

The body was recovered “floating near the south bank of the Illinois River,” the coroner said.

Day, an Alabama A&M graduate who was attending graduate school at Illinois State, was studying to become a speech pathologist, his mother said in recent interviews.

His mother, Carmen Bolden Day, had described her son as energetic, full of life and goal-driven.

They found the body on Sept 4th! And lazily went about doing jack shit for weeks.

What’s sad is even if he was murdered they probably will claim otherwise. They’ve acted very strange throughout this.

Someone was just saying the only reason they suddenly identified him today even though they’ve had the body since September 4th is because the story was starting to spread via social media and they were starting to look funny.

Sounds like he went for a swim after work as he'd probably done many times before. His clothes were in his car.

Or he was drowned.

OP, because nobody ever pays any attention to men who go missing. Total man-hating bullshit.