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June 15, 2005
Natalee Holloway
Certainly I can't offer any news in the Holloway case, but I would like to offer some perspective. Natalee is from Mountain Brook, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham is my hometown, so I think have a little bit to say on the matter.
The thing that really irks me about the media coverage is that the attitude seems to be that "a bunch of kids from 'Bama went on a senior trip." Well, true enough. The thing is that Mountain Brook is a nice community. A very, very nice community. It's the wealthiest zip code in the state, as well as one of the oldest established communities in the Birmingham area. What difference does that make? I'm not sure. I know that it's likely that many of these kids had been to Aruba before. I don't know that for sure, but given the incomes of many in the area, it wouldn't surprise me.
Feel free to take this as rambling on my part, or maybe I'm going into defensive Southerner mode. I just got the feeling watching O'Reilly last night that the media thinks this is just a bunch of hillbilly bumpkins who went to the islands, and poor Natalee was a wide-eyed country girl wandering off the farm for the first time. I know that when Elizabeth Smart disappeared, the fact that she was from an upper-crust area was prominent. I don't know if Natalee's family is rich or not. I just think that some mention of the neighborhood's status might provide a little context to the story, as it's likely that many of the students and chaperones - and the parents back home - have had experience being outside the country.
Posted by Matt at June 15, 2005 10:20 AM
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Thanks for your comments concerning Natalee Holloway.
I'm from B'Ham too but not there now. She is a daughter of the South but certainly not a bumpkin!
We all must continue to pray for her return and that she is able by the grace of God to overcome this tragic time in her life.
Posted by: TC at June 20, 2005 02:21 PM