Sunday, February 9, 2025
43.1 F
Roseville

Week Two with Journalist David M. Perry

Last week, you learned about David M. Perry, a history professor who doubles as a nationally known disabilities rights journalist and activist. He has a 10-year-old son with Down syndrome.

Not long ago, the Ruderman Family Foundation commissioned Perry to research the 260 occurrences from 2011-15 of people with disabilities who were murdered by their parents or caregivers. Perry was shocked at what he discovered.

In a telephone interview, he said, “First off, it should not be a surprise people with disabilities experience violence at a higher rate than other people. That’s true across the board, whether that’s domestic, sexual or state violence (i.e., policing or incarceration), violence from poverty, or, as in this case, violence coming from people who are supposed to take care of you.”

In America, Perry learned, a parent or caregiver murders a person with a disability under his or her care about once a week. Again, no surprise. What shocked him was the unprofessional way journalists went about covering these heinous crimes.

He said, “For one, any given local journalist is going to encounter one or two of these stories eventually, depending on their geographical location. The question is when they encounter these stories, do they have the tools to do a good job accordingly.”

Journalists usually slant these types of stories to make the murders appear as “mercy killings” rather than actual, real murders, Perry said. The media rarely question the murderer’s oft-repeated claims of “hardship,” which Perry said repeated the skewed narrative that financial or physical hardship was an acceptable reason for a caregiver to murder and as a reason for the caregiver to avoid incarceration.
He said, “If we journalists spread the message that it’s understandable and sympathetic when parents kill their disabled children, what kind of message does that send to other parents?”

Also, in the 66 U.S. murders reported on just in 2015, Perry didn’t find one instance in which a newspaper reporter used a reaction quote from a person with a disability or a disability rights group to get their timely perspectives on the murder.

Of this, he said, “Every city and state in our country has formal disability rights organizations ready to talk on the record about these issues. These groups exist and will answer email and telephone questions. It seems so basic and such an achievable goal for a journalist or editor (to get these reaction quotes). This should be Journalism 101.”



Brighter Side

Trending

LA-Z-Boy Home Furnishings & Décor in Roseville

Transform your living room and bedroom with La-Z-Boy's comfortable home furniture. Shop for sofas, couches, recliners, chairs, tables, mattress in a box, and more today.

Roseville Pleasant Grove Creek Trail closure for critical repairs

Roseville, Calif. - The trail crossing over Pleasant Grove Creek is closed for critical repairs between Old Coach Drive/Phillips Park and the Orchard View Road trailhead parking lot.

RG Philips Park in Roseville

RG Philips Park "This 6.5 acre park features a children’s...

Roseville welcomes US Quadball West Coast National Qualifier to Maidu Park

Roseville, Calif. - Quadball, an action-packed sport that evolved from the Harry Potter novels, will hold its only West Coast national qualifier Saturday, Feb. 8, and Sunday, Feb. 9 at Maidu Regional Park in Roseville.

The Crepe Stop in Roseville

The Crepe Stop in Roseville. Savory & Sweet. Crepes, Pancakes, Waffles, Gelato, Boba Tea.

Topics

LA-Z-Boy Home Furnishings & Décor in Roseville

Transform your living room and bedroom with La-Z-Boy's comfortable home furniture. Shop for sofas, couches, recliners, chairs, tables, mattress in a box, and more today.

Roseville Pleasant Grove Creek Trail closure for critical repairs

Roseville, Calif. - The trail crossing over Pleasant Grove Creek is closed for critical repairs between Old Coach Drive/Phillips Park and the Orchard View Road trailhead parking lot.

RG Philips Park in Roseville

RG Philips Park "This 6.5 acre park features a children’s...

Roseville welcomes US Quadball West Coast National Qualifier to Maidu Park

Roseville, Calif. - Quadball, an action-packed sport that evolved from the Harry Potter novels, will hold its only West Coast national qualifier Saturday, Feb. 8, and Sunday, Feb. 9 at Maidu Regional Park in Roseville.

The Crepe Stop in Roseville

The Crepe Stop in Roseville. Savory & Sweet. Crepes, Pancakes, Waffles, Gelato, Boba Tea.

Roseville Today Super Bowl party picks for Eagles and Chiefs game

Roseville, Calif.- This Sunday at the Superdome in New Orleans, the Philadelphia take on the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. A super-sized rematch and unofficial national holiday of $8 million dollar commercials, food and drink and a little football.

Quarry Oaks Apartments in Rocklin

Quarry Oaks Apartments in Rocklin, Calif.

All American Sweeping Co. in Roseville

All American Sweeping's objective is to provide personalized customer service with an emphasis on professionalism, communication, responsiveness and quality at a fair price

Related Articles

Local Spotlight

Sacramento Naturopathic Medical Center emphasizes the use of prevention and natural therapeutics

Sacramento Naturopathic Medical Center is a professional primary care natural medicine committed to helping all people reach their full potential – mind, body and spirit.

Paul Black’s Window Cleaning serving Roseville and South Placer County for over 30 years

Paul Black’s Window Cleaning Inc. has been serving Placer County’s commercial and residential window cleaning needs since 1990.

Roseville Sheet Metal serving community’s heating and air needs for over 70 years

Roseville, Calif. - At Roseville Sheet Metal, we’re proud of our years of service to the Roseville area and look forward to helping you with your air conditioning and heating needs.