Violence, silence, racism, rape and murder

Via Feministe, What About Our Daughters, and The Village Voice, I’ve learned about the horrific story of Ramona Moore– which contains much for feminist philosophers to think about. She was a black woman, who was kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered. Her mother’s calls to the police were tossed aside, unlike those made by the relatives of a white woman who had recently gone missing. (Issues of what Fricker calls ‘epistemic injustice’ here, concerning who is assigned credibility. As well as issues of which sorts of people are considered worth searching for.) Various bystanders were introduced to the bloodied and tortured woman while she was still alive and could have been saved, and they were even told her story. But they failed to contact the police. (Locutionary silencing here, though the question is why. The bystanders say ‘fear’. The inaction of bystanders is a complicated and incredibly important issue. So is how to overcome it.) Anyway, horrific and very depressing story. The only good news is that Moore’s mother is suing NYC.