New Haven Independent

Posted by: Patricia Kane | September 14, 2009 12:56 PM

Every day on this planet many acts of violence against women occur. I am tired and angry at the ongoing toll of violence and abuse and the failure to make the safety of women a priority.

Whether it be flogging for wearing pants, genital cutting, rape, sexual slavery, psychological and physical abuse and death, we all have to speak out against it and demand punishment of the guilty and legal protections for women and children.

This young woman deserved to live her life, marry, work productively and have a family of her own. Her murderer not only destroyed her life, but her loved ones who will live with the memory of this horror forever.

A society that allows people to acquire weaponry in the illusion that they constitute a militia and then allows them to take their guns to political meetings has to look at itself. What are our priorities?

In an episode of "Mad Men", an expectant father in a hospital waiting room vows to be a better man and says of women, "They are too good. We don't deserve them."

Women may not be ready for collective sainthood, but they certainly deserve the right to their own lives, an education and the freedom to pursue happiness.

I will mourn for Annie Le and her family and friends, as I will for all those women we failed to protect today.

Posted by: UNA in Solidarity with Kane | September 14, 2009 1:21 PM

On July 30 of this year, The United States of America, under President Barack Obama, became a signer bound by the United Nations Convention to End All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. From On the Job Harassment to Human Trafficking, Connecticut and American society is moving towards being less tolerant of such acts -- and yet this week we have witnessed depraved gender discrimination at its predatory worst. With CEDAW now ratified as Federal Law, we should lead the Community of Nations in their efforts for global Change.

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/index.htm

Posted by: Norton Street | September 14, 2009 1:49 PM

This article brings up something very interesting in relation to the bread bakery.

"Co-owner Pete Lupi (pictured) said he didn't notice an appreciable change in business Monday."

"On the other hand, some regulars "pull in and they see the traffic," so they kept going instead of stopping."

This temporary flood of traffic that the area is experiencing speaks to a larger trend that's been occurring for decades. That is the trend of cars instead of pedestrians. This location used to be prime for people living in the Hill neighborhood to stop in after work to get bread for dinner, but because of large scale food warehouses, people now drive weekly or monthly to get large quantities of food instead of buying locally several times a week. Without a massive parking lot in front of their bakery, the Lupi's cannot really complete for suburban customers.
Since they've been here for 100 years, I guess that've found a way to make a profit without a dedicated local customer base from a neighborhood. Well, I hope them the best of luck and will visit their shop as soon as I get a chance.

Posted by: Jen | September 14, 2009 2:16 PM

Norton Street:
This is not the place for your hobby horse. That girl was killed. Somebody took her life. A lot of women who work in that area, me included, are terrified and aching for her and her family.
The media circus is sad but predictable and has nothing to do with traffic.
Shame on you.

Posted by: Norton Street | September 14, 2009 5:20 PM

Jen,
Your comment is misplaced; mine is not. If I had written that in one of the other 6 threads about this crime, your point would make sense. My comment was about the media presence in the area in relation to one local bread bakery and the Yale building involved in the investigation, which is what this specific article was about. Notice how I quoted from the article, then commented on the quotes.

I prefer to comment on stuff I know about, rather than making uneducated guesses about an investigation that no one who knows anything will talk to the public about in any detail, which is waht several people have decided to do in other posts. I would redirect your comment to one of those people, not me, someone who comments on the issues brought up in the article. Thanks, have a nice day.

Posted by: Walt | September 14, 2009 5:30 PM

Jen

You are right!

Ditto re the attempt to tie traffic wishes to a completely unrelated tradegy.

Posted by: James | September 14, 2009 7:07 PM

"Every day on this planet many acts of violence against women occur. I am tired and angry at the ongoing toll of violence and abuse and the failure to make the safety of women a priority."

I endorse that powerful statement.

Every day, thousands of acts of horrible violence are committed against women who don't have the associations of privilege or celebrity to elicit coverage in even the local paper, let alone the national news.

Maybe they're poor, maybe they're "just" a battered housewife, maybe they're "just" from the wrong country.

The tragedy of Ms. Le or Natalee Holloway is repeated every goddamn day, a thousand times over to a thousand nameless women. Yet the gormless fools from Fox/CNN/CBS, will, in the days to come, ghoulishly wallow in every nauseating detail of this one murder. They'll rub their foul greasy snouts in the sick drama.

As Breslin said of Son of Sam, the psychopathic killer is made out of oatmeal. A nothing, an anti-person. The banality of evil and all that.

Yet a thousand reporters now wait breathlessly for the revelation of the "identity" of the killer. As if that will tell us a goddamn thing. I say let him remain nameless and faceless, and put him in prison, and let him die there. Tell the family, and no one else.

I say that no one is entitled to their vicarious, delicious murder-mystery cheap drama. No details.

Instead, read off the names of the women who've been victims of violence, just the past two months or so, read it off 9/11 style, let it go on for hours and hours, until all the tv trucks go home.