Here's the only mention of Rashawn Brazell on Gothamist.
I signed into Typepad to post a comment there yesterday, but it curiously hasn't appeared. So, I'd like to present it here in it's entirety.
What, no appropriately non-copywrited cartoon image to associate with any one of the many Nicole duFresne-related articles? Well, now it's clear to me why: this article (and Gothamist's publisher Jake Dobkin's asinine assertion that the graphic "reports the facts of the story") pretty much eradicates any respect or admiration I had for Gothamist or its crew. It's like it's okay for you guys to dehumanize someone who's Black and gay because someone who's Asian wrote the story. That's more than enough to delete my bookmark; one less Black reader for you to offend.
I would wish you continued success, but ... *cues Celie's last words to Mister*
We generally moderate all comments older than 15 days- someone will get to it eventually and approve it or delete it.
But I couldn’t disagree more with what you wrote. The first time I heard that the victim was black or gay was just now, when I read this post. Accusing Gothamist of racism offends me. We are a multiracial, multiethnic, and multi-sexual-orientation blog. Suggesting that we are targeting or disrespecting any group as a result of some systemic bias is idiotic.
Jake,
Idiocy? I hardly think it’s extremely stupid to come to the conclusion I’ve reached based on the content over at Gothamist. It’s simple, really - use your own search engine and pop “Nicole duFresne” into the box. Then do the same with “Rashawn Brazell” … and what do you get? Let’s see: at least a dozen articles following the duFresne case that describe her as a real human being and one, count ‘em, one article about Rashawn - describing him as the contents of a plastic bag.
Tien should be ashamed, sure, but you are Gothamist’s publisher. It’s extremely difficult for me to believe no one at Gothamist knew that Rashawn was a Black gay man - primarily due to the fact that someone over there knew his name. You not knowing is at least sloppy and disinterested, but mostly it is the two-headed hydra of racism and homophobia raising its ugly little heads in your neck of the woods.
Maybe leaving a comment on my blog is how you intend to deal with it. Right now, I’m too fucked up about this to care about what you think or what you publish. Do what you must. There you are with your fun and happy plastic bag cartoon and here I am in mourning, in pieces and on the run.
Gothamist’s treatment of Blacks in the news has been suspect for a long time. We don’t exist!
Donald, I bowed out a long time ago. Welcome to this side of the fence.
the nichole dufresne murder was widely covered in the press- since at least a portion of gothamist is meta-news, our coverage is always going to reflect what the professional press is covering. we work on a tiny budget, and strive to be fair, honest, and positive about everything that happens in the city. it’s not surprising that we fail from time to time- but i don’t see you doing any better- or holding yourself to the same standards.
Gothamist also reflects the bias of its founders, no? It reminds me of Seinfeld and Friends- they claim to rep New York but Black people are virtually invisible.
Remember the panel discussion Gothamist put together at the Apple store? No people of color were on the panel accept Anil Dash. And even he admitted later this was a problem.
This is New York! You can’t help but to bump into people of color.
I’m seeing an obvious contradiction here:
One or the other, Jakey. Can’t do both. A quick Gothamist read shows you guys shoot for the former. A lot of people are up in arms about this because it hasn’t been told to the media. Putting a snarky spin and a dumb graphic up to describe it was not only insenstive and uncaring, but completely idiotic. If you don’t have anything nice to say…well, you know how it ends.
And as far as calling Donald out about “not doing any better”… his site and Gothamist are not the same. Gothamist tries to report a half-assed view of the goings-on in NYC; Donald’s site is a melange of poetry, photography, and personal thoughts.
Give it a rest, please.