Why is this national news?

Because I want to convince myself that I'm studying for the MCAT, I am going to try and write about some current events (ish) for a little while.  Hope you all don't mind.

For anyone who's reading this in the USA, I'm sure you've heard of the recent shooting in AZ last weekend.  Unfortunately, several people were shot, wounded, and even killed.  Senator Gifford was shot through the head, and although the bullet did travel the length of her brain, she miraculously survived.

For some reason that is simply BEYOND ME, all of America is so upset about the death of a 9 year old girl, Christina Green.

Before I say anything else, and before people start bombarding me with a load of horsesh!t, I do want to say something nice.  I am really sorry that she is dead--but not just for her.  I am so sorry that such an event had to happen in the first place.
It's a shame that the only way people feel they can truly change the government is by killing government officials.  It is a tragedy, and I am sorry for the losses that everyone has suffered.  It was completely unnecessary.

However, these sort of things happen ALL THE TIME.  So many people die tragically, whether they are mugged, raped, murdered, or whether they die in an 'accident'.  It does happen.  What concerns me is that although several were wounded and killed, only one person got a sickening amount of attention--and that was Christina Green.

Now, why did she get all of this attention?  I think it's because

1)She was a young girl

2)She was innocent

3)She had 'big dreams'

4)She was white
*EDIT*
5)She was born on 9/11
... And we all know how much the media loves giving attention to freak coincidences such as this one.  But it's just a coincidence, and I don't think that coincidences actually hold much meaning (although they do give comfort and maybe faith to people, somehow).

Honestly, I'm sick of reading all of this sh!t on Yahoo! about Christina Green, the girl who died tragically, who had dreams of changing the world, donated her organs to some other girl in Boston and blah blah blah.  There are much more pressing matters in the world than the death of one little girl.  I am not denying the fact that this is a tragic event, but this is definitely ... over-prioritized, I think.

Do I think it would have been different if she were older, or if she were from a different social class?  Definitely.  If she supposedly weren't already politically charged?  Absolutely.  But here's the 'controversial' question:  do I think it would have been different if she were a different race?

I am going to say yes.  I do think it would be different.  Doesn't anyone else notice how much the media focuses on white girls?  There is a real term for it: Missing White Woman Syndrome (just wiki it!).  It is real, and it does happen in this country.  And I know this isn't a real example of it, because she wasn't kidnapped.  But I do think that the media tends to give special attentions to damsels in distress, especially those who are white.  (And to think that someone said I should join the WBC because I think that the media is racist in this way.)

All that aside, I really don't think this is a 'news' story.  An innocent civilian died, and that's just it.  It should be said once and then left alone.  Several other people died that day, whether they were victims of the very same shooting or whether they were victims in some other way that is unknown to us.  There is a lot of tragedy everywhere in the world, and I don't think that this should be the focus of the media.  The death of a little girl should not be considered national news.

Again, I am truly sorry for the losses that everyone has suffered.  No one should have to face this sort of tragedy.  Unfortunately, tragedy is prevalent everywhere we turn, and it just doesn't seem right to broadcast it on the news as if it were some hot gossip story or something like that.  (And trust me, I've been there before.  It is unpleasant for everyone--for the people getting interviewed, for the people reading it, etc.)  But my final point here is that I don't think something like this is news.  It seems stupid to report this sort of thing over and over again when there are plenty of other current events that are probably more important and applicable to real life.