What is wrong with this picture?
The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry is hearing evidence suggesting that the police did not take the women's relatives' concerns seriously because the women were prostitutes, police didn't even file reports when family members asked them to, and, as we heard before the hearing even started, essentially no one really wanted to invest a lot of time into the cases because they were marginalized women. The final toll of lost lives? Anywhere from 27 to 49 - the latter number coming from the serial killer's own recollection. Contrast that with the Stanley Cup riot where no one has lost their life, where the police presence - although large - is criticized because it wasn't large enough, and where the fallout from the riot became a campaign issue in Vancouver's civic election. Yes, the riot gave Vancouver a bad reputation, and a lot of businesses and insurance companies are out millions of dollars. But it still appears there is no limit to the police resources that can be used on the riot cases. Thousands of hours of videotape have been viewed, the premier wants the court proceedings to be broadcast. Again, contrast that response to the women's inquiry where the government wouldn't even pitch in legal funds for parties to prepare presentations to the commission.
And then there's media coverage. We, the media, salivate over every mugshot of every drunken hooligan that we can get our mitts on. Oh, and did we mention that those mugshots land on front pages far more often than any of the coverage of the missing women's commission?
The comparison between resources available for missing "marginal" women and resources available for punishing hockey hooligans may seem extreme. But isn't it a strikingly sad reflection on what we seem to place value on in our society?
