The disappearance of VCU student Taylor Behl has grabbed the national media’s attention as the distance of time from Sept. 5, the day she was last seen, grows impossibly longer. Unlike previous missing persons cases that have made national headlines, however, in the age of the Internet and blogging there are those who are using the virtual world to make assumptions about the real one.
Case in point: the speculation over one of Behl’s acquaintances who goes by the alias “Skulz” while online. One blog entry in particular posted on planethuff.com seems to go out of its way to link Skulz to Behl’s disappearance using photos and comments from his skull-themed Deviant Art Web site – which also contained photos of Taylor Behl which have since been removed.
It should be noted that “Deviant Art,” far from deviant, is an online community of photographers and artists who share their work for the purpose of recognition and career advancement. While details such as these may appear suspicious to those who are not familiar with Richmond culture, by college standards it is nothing out of the ordinary.
Using out-of-context details from someone’s online communications in an accusatory manner raises far-reaching privacy concerns in the information age. Skulz could be any one of the many VCU students who use the online realm to share photos, engage in social interaction and explore their interests. This alone should not make him guilty of a crime, a point which even the author at planethuff.com conceded.
Our advice: leave the investigation to the authorities. Speculation only causes unnecessary grief in an ongoing case that should be resolved using sound investigative practices.
KATRINA AFTERMATH
Power grab
As the nation struggles to find answers to why the immediate response to Hurricane Katrina went so wrong, there are the common sense solutions – an independent panel, for example, to investigate the mistakes that led up to the disaster and learn how better to prepare in the future.
One of the less comforting ideas has come from Virginia’s own Sen. John Warner (R), who wants to expand the power of the military to respond to natural disasters. Traditionally, that distinction has belonged to the domestic National Guard, much of which is currently fighting in Iraq.
The need for the National Guard to respond to disasters rather than military reservists stems from the legal concept of posse comitatus, which was instituted after the Civil War to prevent the federal government from abusing the power of the military. Beyond legalese, there is also the fact that because of its very historical role, National Guard soldiers are better trained and better equipped to handle domestic disturbances.
President Bush, too, has sought expanded powers to seize direct military control over evacuations and other disaster relief efforts.
Let America not be misled – expanded executive or military power is no substitute for adequate preparation. Simply put able experts in control of the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the cabinet level, and a well-managed agency will have more than enough capability to respond quickly in an emergency to help those in need.
Independence, please
According to a Sept. 16-18 Gallup poll, 80 percent of Americans would prefer an independent commission to investigate the mistakes leading up to Katrina rather than a presidential inquiry. To avoid the shifting of blame that can come with partisan influence, only a politically neutral body can be trusted to find out exactly what went wrong.
The president is known as a man who makes his own decisions, does not waver and does not put his finger to the wind. There is a difference, however, between testing the wind and listening to the will of the people. The president waited for a firestorm of criticism before making bold strokes to rebuild in the aftermath of Katrina. Perhaps instead of waiting – with a margin of 4 to 1 – this is one of those times he should listen.