Articles by mgedwards

The Media and BTK

The U.S. media has focused its much of its attention lately on two news stories, the Michael Jackson trial and the arrest of a suspect in the BTK serial killer case.  Michael Jackson is obviously a big story because of his notoriety as the "King of Pop" and the bizarre nature of his case.  I have tried not to follow the trial too closely, but it’s hard to avoid trail coverage threaded among news I want to watch.  The BTK case, on the other hand, is a bit of an anomaly in that it does not involve a celebrity or a recent murder, yet the U.S. media has decided to make it a major news story.  The BTK killer is responsible for murdering 10 victims in the Wichita, Kansas area between 1974 and 1991.  The case grew cold until the BTK killer reemerged last year to send electronic communications to local media and police, one of which ended up tipping police to a suspect arrested on February 25th.   

There have been many sensational serial killer cases, but the arrest of a suspect in the BTK case has generated more media attention than any other serial killer case in recent years.  I offer a couple of recent serial killer cases as examples.  Gary Ridgeway, the infamous Green River Killer, was arrested and plead guilty to the murder of 48 women in November 2003.  The Green River Killer case is the worst serial killer case in U.S. history.  I followed this case closely because most of the Green River Killer’s victims were from the Seattle area, and I lived in Seattle at the time of the trial.  I did not live in the Seattle area at the time of the murders, but the Green River Killer haunted the psyche of most Seattleites until Ridgeway was finally apprehended three years ago.  Robert Lee Yates, another infamous serial killer from nearby Spokane, Washington was sentenced in 2000 for killing 10 women.  His case received little national media attention.

The BTK case, while gruesome in its own right, seems to be picking up much more media attention than did the Green River Killer or the Spokane killer cases.  Why?  I assume that its because of three reasons, perhaps more:

  1. The BTK case happened in the heartland of America (Kansas), making it a story that interests Americans nationwide.  It happened in a relatively peaceful, safe mid-sized city, Wichita.  It sends the message that it can happen anywhere, not just in large urban areas such as Seattle.
  2. The BTK killer taunted the media and authorities by putting out periodic communications to let them know he was monitoring them.  His unique method of communication–by phone or by computer disk, his "calling card," made him especially intriguing to the media.
  3. The media is looking for another big "people" story to generate public interest.  Now that Scott Peterson has been convicted, Kobe Bryant may settle out of court, Elizabeth Strange is back home with her parents, and Martha Stewart is out of jail, the media needs another "human interest" story.  Americans are fascinated by bizarre cases, especially serial killer cases and cases that affect families.  This case offers a "human side" in that the suspect is a family man and well regarded in his community.

What’s lost in all this media interest over BTK are the victims.  It is they who should receive media attention, not the serial killer.  I was struck by this fact when I watched Gary Ridgeway on television pled guilty in court to 48 murders.  As the clerk read off the names of the victims and Ridgeway pled guilty to each murder, I realized how lost the victims are in the proceedings of serial killer case.  The victims became lost in a sea of names.  The BTK news has so far focused primarily on the suspect and on family and friends who were unaware of his alleged crime.  I have yet to see much about the victims. 

Half a month

We’ve already been in Korea for half a month.  Can you believe it?  It doesn’t seem so long until you realize that it’s 1/48th of our 24-month tour here in Korea.  I wish I could say that we’ve had a good taste of Korea, but for the most part we’ve either stayed home or gone to work.  That will hopefully change during our next 15 days here.  It was a beautiful day today, and the temperatures are supposed to creep up into the 40’s (Fahrenheit) next week.  I hope the weather will stay nice for a few weeks before the Yellow Sands (황사) start blowing in from the Gobi Desert.  We can finally get out and do some outdoor activities such as visiting outdoor markets like Namdaemun.  Until I get better though I won’t be going anyway.  This cold/flu has been nagging, and I plan to take the day off tomorrow to rest and recuperate.

Well, yet another Seattle sport team disappointed again.  The Husky men’s college basketball team lost their final game of the season to Stanford 77-67, and the Arizona Wildcats clinched the Pac-10 Conference championship with a 70-68 win over Arizona State.  Maybe next year.  I think many of their best players will graduate, so who knows how the Huskies will be next year.  They can still redeem themselves during the NCAA Tournament, but who can blame a perpetually disappointed Seattle fan for being pessimistic?  Illinois looks unstoppable this year.

Yahoo! recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.  They offered customers a free ice cream cone to be redeemed on their birthday, March 2nd.  I downloaded the online coupon hoping to use it at a local Baskin Robbins, but then I noticed it was only good for one day.  One day?!  There was no way I was going to break away from what I was doing for a free single-scoop ice cream cone in early March.  If you ask me, that’s a gimmicky birthday stunt.  At least Yahoo! could have extend the validity period for the coupon over one- to two weeks, even one month.  How many people actually dropped everything on March 2nd to go to BR for a free 3.5 oz. ice cream cone?  I bet that on Google’s 10th anniversary they will offer a much more practical birthday present to customers.  Google is awesome.

American flashback and pancake bulgogi

I had an American flashback today.  We were sitting in Burger King having lunch, and I noticed an NBA game on TV.  Americans and American English filled the place.  I felt like we were back in the United States again!  In many ways it felt more "American" than life in multi-cultural Washington, D.C.  I know that I previously dissed Burger King in an earlier blog entry, but there was a good reason why we eat at BK today.  We had been out shopping and our son was very hungry.  BK was the closest restaurant we could find, so we ate there.  BK has a big play gym for kids, so we couldn’t help but stop for a burger and watch him play.  Also, I have to admit that I can’t eat Korean every day and need my American fast food fix from time to time.  It’s too bad that fast food is just about the only "American" food you can find overseas.

Afterwards I went to a nearby store, where I saw the brand-new Ford Mustang on display.  The new Mustang sports a retro look reminiscent of the 1960’s-era Mustangs.  It’s a muscular and sporty car.  I’m not a big fan of American automobile styling, but I have to say that I was impressed.  I can’t vouch for what’s under the hood, but I really liked the car’s outward appearance.  The Big Three automakers, especially General Motors, have made great strides in recent years to improve both quality and styling.  GM cars are now among the world’s higher quality cars, not too far behind quality champions Toyota and Honda.  Still, like many Americans we’ve grown used to assuming that American cars lag behind their Japanese counterparts.  We’ve been fond of Japanese cars for awhile, but their styling is dated.  Toyota has been trying to remedy that with updates such as the Toyota MR-2 and the launch of the entry-level Scion brand in the U.S.  I much prefer European styling to Japanese stying.  A Mustang is too sporty for a family guy like me, but I might take a look at an American car the next time we plan to buy.

We eat Korean food tonight, getting back into the routine of eating the local cuisine.  We went out with friends tonight for "pancake bulgogi", a special type of bulgogi I have never eaten before.  It had a unique taste I enjoyed.  I’m used to bulgogi; this special type of bulgogi will take a little getting used to.  I didn’t catch the name of the restaurant, but my friend who arranged the meal said that people come from miles around to eat at this restaurant.  If you visit Seoul, have someone take you for "pancake bulgogi."  I enjoyed getting out and exploring Seoul a bit.  We took our first walk through a subway station, using it as a shortcut and staying out of the cold.  The evening was cool and clear, warmer than the weather has been here in recent weeks.  I enjoyed getting together with friends for dinner.  We had to divide our time between conversation and watching the children, but I think we still had a good time.