The Voice Of One Crying Out In Suburbia

The disconnect between the headline and the real news

I read this headline on the Detroit Free Press webpage:

Group: Hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered people up 133%

Sounds horrifying, right? But when you dig into the story and get beyond the headlines, here is what you find.

The Triangle Foundation said Tuesday that the number of violent crimes against Michiganders because of their sexual orientation that was reported to the Detroit-based group jumped 133% last year over 2006.

There were 226 reported incidents during 2007 involving violence or violent threats against gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people, according to the report, which was released in conjunction with the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. By comparison, the foundation said, there were 97 reported incidents in 2006.

Among the 226 reports last year were two homicides, 21 cases of vandalism, 46 assaults and 101 incidents of intimidation or harassment, the report said. In addition to the violent incidents, the foundation reported 72 cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

So how many homicides did we have in Michigan last year total versus the 2 that were labelled as "hate crimes" How many cars and homes were vandalized? How many people were "intimidated" in one way or another? This is a prime example of a news story that seeks to push an agenda. We have something as amorphous as "intimidation" labeled a "hate crime" and with probably inflated numbers from the Triangle Foundation. The entire story is based on suspect numbers and vague definitions. But to read the headline, you would come to the conclusion that Michigan is in the midst of a crime wave against homosexuals.

Is it any wonder that fewer and fewer people turn to mainstream newspapers and news programs to get their news? I long ago stopped giving an credence to what is peddled as news by the mainstream, left-leaning media. Maybe that makes me a right wing kook. I guess I am OK with that, unless of course that qualifies as "intimidation".