Black Man Guilty of Murder

Homeless Man Guilty of Murder
The Gazette, 2/10/2008

A jury has found Joseph Roy Martin, a Montreal homeless man with a drug and alcohol problem, guilty of second degree murder.

On Sunday morning, the six men and six women, who had been deliberating since Friday, found Martin, 33, guilty of fatally stabbing 48-year-old Alain Lachapelle.

Homeless Man Arrested after Swinging at a Davenport Cop
Quad-City Times, 2/10/2008

The man attended a press conference at Davenport City Hall. Mayor Bill Gluba and representatives of local companies such as Alcoa had gathered to voice support for the federal government giving a $40 billion contract for new air refueling planes to Boeing because the Chicago-based aerospace manufacturer would outsource work to local companies.

After the meeting Daniel Robert Stromberg, 42, asked Gluba if he could speak with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who was not at the press conference.

Gluba said the man was obviously distraught and ranting, and city staff tried to calm him down.

According to police affidavits, Stromberg eventually left City Hall, but when he was approached by police at 3rd and Ripley streets, he tried to punch a detective.

It's not every day that you see stories like these... it's several times a day. Oftentimes the fact that someone is homeless is identified right in the headline of news articles, if not the very first word. Why is it so important to make sure that the housing status is front and center?

Then, when you actually read the article, you will oftentimes see that there is more going on than homelessness. In the cases above alcoholism and mental illness are noted to be at play. Why aren't these used as the adjective in the title? Is it because "alcoholic" and "mentally ill" are not PC? Why is "Homeless Man" PC?

Beyond the fact that the entire existence of these individuals is summed up in their homelessness, what about the fact that there is a very important word left out of the first title: Found. Even in typing the title out I accidentally wrote "... Man Found Guilty..." That's a key word in the court system today but apparently this man was so low that he didn't even deserve to have it in the title.

It's not just two random articles. Watch the news feeds, daily you will see at least two articles that highlight one's homelessness with one's bad behavior, rarely the other way around.