Wa Post Straightwashes Again

Once more, the Wa Post has omitted critical homosexual themes from a story, in this case the story being the joint suicides of teenagers Rachel Crites and Rachel Smith. They included one oblique reference to the true issue:

Police and family members had said they were worried about the mental state of both teenagers based on statements they had made in the past. That concern stemmed in part from a diary entry made by Crites, in which she wrote of her desire to be buried next to her true love.

But then today Donna St. George on the Wa Post staff, wrote this :

Some of this diary entry was made public the week the teens vanished, setting off a quiet public debate among friends and strangers about whether the Rachels had a romantic relationship that their families did not condone.

[Rachel's dad] Crites said this is not so: "A. It doesn't make any difference. B. There's no real evidence at all. They were just two teenagers who did everything together. Is that all that uncommon?" Despite the wording of the letter, he said, "true love and sexuality are not the same things."

When a local teen and his girlfriend committed suicide together in Riding, the Wa Post covered it as a boyfriend/girlfriend story gone awry, which is essentially what happened with the Rachels, except that they were both girls. I ask the Wa Post why they do not ever identify gay people as being gay, and they say, Marc Fisher included, that if "sexuality" is not key to the story then they shouldn't mention it. Of course the Wa Post constantly refers to heterosexual wives, children, etc. and does not think that is wrong or unrelated to the story.

To me, this is like George Allen's thinking that someone pointing out that he has a Jewish mother is "casting aspertions" on him. The Wa Post thinks that there is something defamatory about being gay so they cannot mention it in their stories unless it is a gay bashing story or reporting on gay pride day.