# Does the public care about the Natalee Holloway case? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 21, 2006, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562 "2006-04-21T01:38:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/21 "2006-04-21T13:23:12Z")
I think the story would be equally boring had she been black. And all the reporters sipping drinks with the little umbrellas in them, would still be trying to keep us interested so they can justify their expenses. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/22 "2006-04-21T13:51:33Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Screw and don’t be surprised if you end up murdered, In other words? > > I’m intrested in the Natalee Holloway case, as a socialogical phenomenon. It’s a perfect morality play- sex, alcohol, foreign countries, race. The moral is that if you have sex you may well die. And that danger awaits us if we step outside of America, no matter how innocent or familier the place we are gong may be. Natalee Holloway is Doris Day gone bad, and the result is held up as an example of why we should remain chaste and pure and avoid drinking and men. > > You’ll also note that interest in the case died down after it was revealed that the main suspects where white men- that revealation made the whole thing a little less compelling as it was before. We really havn’t come so far since “Birth of a Nation” was a hit. I think the moral is don’t drink to the point where you are almost blacking out and then wander off with whoever. This applies to everyone especially in a foreign country and especially alone. The case died down a bit, because other things happened in the world and there was no new information about the case. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/23 "2006-04-21T13:54:31Z")
While her parents have my sympathy, I’m not losing any sleep over it. Bad things happen to people all the time, she’s just one more case. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/24 "2006-04-21T14:57:31Z")
I think you could make a strong argument that this case is partly driven by the _Law and Order/CSI_ phenomenon. That is, every case needs to be cleanly solved quickly, with little doubt as to the guilt of the accused. This case doesn’t fit that mold, and the fact that Aruba operates under (IIRC) Dutch law, which is different from US law, has a certain segment of the population discombobulated. I’d be willing to bet there’s somewhat of an overlap between the segment following Natalee Holloway’s disappearance and the segment that religiously watches _L&O_ and _CSI_. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/25 "2006-04-21T15:19:58Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > I can’t blame her parents for trying to keep media attention on this story and doing whatever they could, from the beginning, to get help in finding their daughter. Holloway’s mother is one reason I’m still passingly interested in the case. I’m sure most people would agree that they can’t blame her for courting media attention, but I wonder how having such public attention affects the grieving process. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/26 "2006-04-21T15:30:01Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Screw and don’t be surprised if you end up murdered, In other words? > > I’m intrested in the Natalee Holloway case, as a socialogical phenomenon. It’s a perfect morality play- sex, alcohol, foreign countries, race. The moral is that if you have sex you may well die. And that danger awaits us if we step outside of America, no matter how innocent or familier the place we are gong may be. Natalee Holloway is Doris Day gone bad, and the result is held up as an example of why we should remain chaste and pure and avoid drinking and men. > > You’ll also note that interest in the case died down after it was revealed that the main suspects where white men- that revealation made the whole thing a little less compelling as it was before. We really havn’t come so far since “Birth of a Nation” was a hit. That’s interesting. I don’t think Natalee has been portrayed by the media as Doris Day gone bad though. I’ve gotten the impression that she was a “sweet naive innocent” who was taken advantage of by “big bad unknown men (but we suspect whom).” Its a more interesting media decision to keep her in the headlines if she is a “slut who made stupid mistakes” and that this is supposed to be some sort of moral lesson. I’ve read it as pandering to middle America hysteria “look at this normal good girl - this could happen to you!” ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/27 "2006-04-21T15:34:27Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > I’m intrested in the Natalee Holloway case, as a socialogical phenomenon. It’s a perfect morality play- sex, alcohol, foreign countries, race. The moral is that if you have sex you may well die. And that danger awaits us if we step outside of America, no matter how innocent or familier the place we are gong may be. Natalee Holloway is Doris Day gone bad, and the result is held up as an example of why we should remain chaste and pure and avoid drinking and men. Amen, sister! It’s got all the _frissons_ of urban legendry, only it’s no cow orker or FOAF telling it, it’s nice tanned country-clubby middle-aged Southern folks — highly sympathetic stand-ins for the demographic most susceptible to this sort of infotainment. > [@](#): > > You’ll also note that interest in the case died down after it was revealed that the main suspects where white men- that revealation made the whole thing a little less compelling as it was before. We really havn’t come so far since “Birth of a Nation” was a hit. That’s one direction the subtext could take (and took). There’s another. The current suspects are _Dutchmen_ — stand-ins for a libertine European cultural heritage devoid of Moral Values. Just under the surface, it’s America vs. the decadent Old World. That, surely, is part of the juice still feeding this story. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/28 "2006-04-21T18:44:07Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > I’d be willing to bet there’s somewhat of an overlap between the segment following Natalee Holloway’s disappearance and the segment that religiously watches _L&O_ and _CSI_. And one of the L&Os already did a ripped-from-the-headlines episode based on this case. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/29 "2006-04-21T19:10:41Z")
Now that I’ve heard about the story, I’m interested in finding out what happened to her. But just that. Not tenuous leads, not interviews with her mother. So when you find out report on it, until then shut up! ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/30 "2006-04-21T19:25:02Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Hell… who can blame them. Aruba? or Iraq? Island Paradise? Desert Wasteland? Hmmmmm… > > And, if ya think about it, THIS is the most likely reason that she is still in the news. These reporters are living it up on vacation… errr I mean _assignment_ in Aruba. They’re living on company dime and the summer is coming. They need to justify their being there. If they don’t keep the story in the news or show some progress or changes in the case, then they’ll be forced to come home and have to go back to work. Unless they are freelancers or one of the few reporters with top seniority, they don’t get to pick where they go on assignment. Their bosses/editors do. It’s typically a management decision. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/31 "2006-04-21T19:35:32Z")
I think it more resembles all those “Spring Break” stories, where they show how YOU’RE innocent blonde daughter could become this drunken, drugged-up tramp. They’re a staple of the nighttime news programs. Add in that she was probably murdered, and it’s perfect. Also, when they thought she was killed by a black guy she snuck off with, thye put so much attention on it that they kind of have to keep following up, just to prove that it wasn’t the reason for the attention. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/32 "2006-04-21T20:04:32Z")
It was pretty talked about at my house, because at the time, my cousin and my friend’s sister were on work visas in Australia. Yeah, Aruba and Australia are two totally different places, but that whole ‘young, wholesome white girl goes looking for a fun vacation on her own far away from home’ was the same. ---
**Author:** ![cruel\_butterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@cruel\_butterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cruel_butterfly)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/33 "2006-04-22T04:41:57Z")
I’m sorry that Natalie Holloway’s mother has to go through the pain of not knowing what has happened to her daughter. I imagine that she plays over and over the moment she gave her permission for Natalie to go on that class trip. _However_, I think she was capable beyond her mother’s imagination to make bad decisions that led her down a path that brought her into the hands of someone who wasn’t as interested in her well-being. While I believe, as other posters have written, that this story wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has if she wasn’t a pretty, blond, “good” white girl, I didn’t hesitate to use this ongoing drama as a cautionary tale to my teenaged stepdaughter and niece when we took them to the Caribbean over Spring Break. “Watch your back, no matter _where_ you are. Don’t drink too much, no matter what. Don’t go anywhere with someone you don’t know, no matter how cute you think they are.” ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/34 "2006-04-22T05:04:36Z")
> [@](#): > > She’s not rich. She’s from Mountain Brook, a very affluent suburb of Birmingham, AL. She’s more than likely quite well off. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/35 "2006-04-22T05:13:35Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > She’s from Mountain Brook, a very affluent suburb of Birmingham, AL. She’s more than likely quite well off. Wait. I know she’s from Mountain Brook, but I don’t know that she’s rich. Does anyone have specific information? ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/36 "2006-04-22T05:14:13Z")
Aruba is a tiny island just north of Venezuela. Bigger than Bermuda, but not nearly as big as Bonaire (which we’ve all heard of). Once she was missing for several days, and became a story, I knew she was dead. Most people supposed and suppose that she is dead. The more days that go by, the more likely she won’t turn up alive. She’s gone. FoxNews has interest in this story beyond what could be called “legitimate concern”. It’s a tearjerker, but it’s not exactly a manhunt or a rescue mission. I hate to bring up Jessica Lynch again, so I won’t. It’s a sad story, but the ending is clear. The matter of who’s guilty might get interesting, but the girl is gone. It’s Court TV territory now. Ask our doper forensics experts, where would you dispose of a body that you never wanted to be found ( **Gabriela** is a forensic pathologist and **Osip** is a forensic anthropologist AFAIK) and I’d bet they’d say the ocean (in perfect conditions obviously). There’s a ton of ocean around Aruba. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/37 "2006-04-22T06:12:44Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > Once she was missing for several days, and became a story, I knew she was dead. Most people supposed and suppose that she is dead. The more days that go by, the more likely she won’t turn up alive. She’s gone. Almost definitely. On the other hand, it could turn out more interesting, as did that other case a while back when that other (pretty, white, blonde, good) girl disappeared in Utah, and showed up much later with that religious cult family. Her name…can’t remember. Interesting analysis about this case, especially regarding the racial angle, and the Old World/New World spin. I didn’t know enough about the case to know that her suspected abductors were black and/or Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/38 "2006-04-22T06:14:02Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Wait. I know she’s from Mountain Brook, but I don’t know that she’s rich. Does anyone have specific information? Well, no, but let’s see what some Google-Fu turns up. Well, Mountain Brook has a median family income of around $122,000. The family offered a million-dollar reward for her safe return, though part of this comes from donations. Almost immediately they offered $50,000. [One of Beth Twitty’s friends arranged for a private jet to Aruba in the time it takes to drive from Mountain Brook to Birmingham.](http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/articles/060102roco01) The article does describe the Twitty home as relatively modest, though. Jug Twitty, her stepfather, works for a metals company in the Birmingham area, though I can’t find anything about what he does there. Tom “Jar” Twitty, her step-uncle, is apparently [President of AmSouth Investment Services](http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2004/05/10/focus9.html). AmSouth is worth about $50 billion; I don’t know what the investment division is worth alone. The younger Thomas Twitty plays football with his brother, Hunter, for Furman University, where [Jar is an alumni.](http://alumni.furman.edu/events/event_details.asp?id=5394) It costs about $26,000 to attend Furman, not including about $4,000 for housing and $3000 for on-campus food. They probably have scholarships, though; Thomas particularly has a pretty impressive list of schools that were recruiting him. I think it’s safe to say that the family is substantially better off than the vast majority of Americans. Fear my Google-Fu. ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/39 "2006-04-22T06:25:44Z")
More Google-Fu. Fear it. George “Jug” Twitty is [the Birmingham Branch Manager](http://www.rsac.com/site/location.asp?intLocationID=67&intSectionID=24) of Phoenix Metals, a division of Reliance Steel and Aluminum. It is one of the largest metal processors and distributors in the Southeastern United States. Yeah. Not poor. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562/40 "2006-04-22T06:40:19Z")
Impressive! Jug and Jar Twitty, huh? God help us all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-public-care-about-the-natalee-holloway-case/353562.md?page=3)