Published: November 8, 2007

It surprises me that so many people are not aware of the brutal rape and treatment of Megan Williams.  This woman was raped and tortured by six twisted individuals, yet the media didn’t think it was important enough to inform the public about the details of this crime.  The incident occurred in early September and I, like many other students, learned of it not too long ago through a Facebook group. I have to say, reading about the disgusting and volatile torture 20-year-old Williams went through really makes me sick.

She was forced to eat rat and human feces, drink from a toilet bowl, and she was brutally beaten and raped.  How can someone be demented enough to do this to another individual?  What makes the story of the torture worse is the fact that it was a conspiracy between six individuals. They apparently didn’t like that Williams is African-American, and they supposedly believed they had the right to torture her.

I asked many of my friends and fellow students what they thought of this horrible situation, and to my dismay, I found that some people didn’t even know Williams or what happened to her. Now, if Williams was a Caucasian female who suffered the same travesty at the hands of African-American perpetrators, I’m sure her story would make headlines all across the nation.  It’s really sad that even today’s society in general, or the image of society constructed by the media, is creating a division between people because of the color of their skin.

Just hearing about a rape case is unnerving, but when I heard all the gory details of this torture, it made me so angry that an innocent woman had to endure all this.  She had hair ripped out of her scalp; she was beaten across her back while being forced to pick peas from a field as if she were a slave.  It is 2007; how can anyone dare treat someone like their slave or property?  Those six revolting individuals need someone to educate them. I think it is important for us to know the details of what happened to Williams so we can voice what we feel about this kind of behavior.

I really wish that more emphasis would be put on situations like Williams’s, regardless of one’s skin color.  An act this horrible really should be brought more to the attention of the public. We all need to be aware of what’s going on around us. Rapes should not be overlooked unless the victim doesn’t want his or her story publicized.  In Williams’s case, she is actually speaking out and telling her side. It is the media’s responsibility to inform the public and help tell Williams’s story.

It really is not fair that the media can ignore a case like Williams. I’m not saying the case didn’t receive any coverage at all, but it didn’t get the attention it deserves.  Does the media mostly tell us about the young, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls?  Is it those stories that make headlines?  My answer would have to be yes; the media pick and choose what will make headlines, and minority cases don’t really qualify.  Sadly enough, that’s just how society is.  Media and society go hand in hand, and together they are the creators of some kind of “cultured society.” The media depict society in a certain way, and it seems as though society adapts itself to fit this representation.

I’m sure Megan Williams’s case is one of many other minority cases that did not get appropriate media coverage. We all have to admit that, as of today, the media are biased. We can only hope that some day the media will be able to provide equal representation to all members of society.