a219  1253  03 May 89
AM-Jogger Raped-Reaction, Bjt,0639
Central Park Case Stirs Debates on Race, Sex, Class
By BILL STIEG
Associated Press Writer
    NEW YORK (AP) - The Central Park beating and rape of a 28-year-old
investment banker grabbed headlines two weeks ago and hasn't let go,
provoking debates about how racism, sexism and class division may
have led to the attack and influenced the coverage.
    From Harlem, where the teen-age suspects lived, to Wall Street,
where the victim worked, the questions continue:
    Did the black and Hispanic youths attack her because she is white?
Is the story played up because of the black-white angle? Would the
rape of a black investment banker get the same attention?
    ''The only reason for all this (publicity) is because she's white,''
said a black girl from an East Harlem junior high that two of the
suspects attended. ''If she was a black girl or a Hispanic girl,
nobody would care, and that happens all the time.''
    ''I don't think the incident itself was racial,'' said the Rev.
Herbert Daughtry, a civil rights activist, ''but I think the way that
we - the media, the police, all of us - have reacted is racial.''
    Whether racism motivated the attackers is something that may not be
known until the trials of the six indicted youths, if then.
    ''We have never classified it as a bias case or a racially motivated
incident,'' said Colleen Roche, a spokeswoman for the district
attorney's office.
    Meanwhile, the victim has spoken her first words since the attack
two weeks ago, the New York Post reported Wednesday, citing an
unidentified hospital source.
    The woman was taken off a respirator at Metropolitan Hospital on
Tuesday morning and began struggling to make sounds, then said
''Hello'' to relatives and answered yes and no to a doctor's
questions, the newspaper said.
    A hospital administrator said Tuesday the woman remained in critical
condition and in a coma but that her state of alertness had increased
slightly.
    The teen-agers who went ''wilding'' through the park April 19
attacked nine white and Hispanic joggers, bicyclists and one homeless
man. What turned the spree of petty crime into brutal violence
remains a mystery, though many have theories.
    Lisa Whitten, a black psychologist, said crossing that line was made
easier because violence is commonplace in Harlem and made mundane by
repetitive violent images in the media.
    The generally degrading image of women in movies, television and
pornography, she said, serves as an anesthetic that would deaden the
sense of revulsion most people would feel toward such violence.
    ''They had fantasies in their minds - of being like those on
television, the ones who shoot people, who are powerful, in control,
macho, aggressive, strong,'' she said.
    Also contributing, some say, is the contrast between the poorer
sections of Manhattan and the wealthier ones, which coexist nearly
side-by-side along the upper reaches of Central Park.
    ''From where these kids live, in five minutes walking you're in the
gold coast, people are millionaires,'' said Howard Diller, a lawyer
for one of the suspects. ''Was there any resentment, jealousy, hate,
anger that was involved?''
    Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins, a black who is running
for mayor, met with more than 100 community, religious and political
leaders Friday to deal with lingering tensions.
    ''I want to avoid a situation wherein any young African-American,
any young Latino will be seen as threatening by others who happen to
be white,'' Dinkins said.
    Dinkins called the attackers ''urban terrorists,'' but noted,
''African-American women who have been savaged did not get the
attention that this has.''
    On Monday, there was a gathering in the park at which children tried
to do some repair work on their image.
    ''The media builds it up that all black and Hispanic kids commit
these horrible crimes,'' said 12-year-old William Flores. ''We know
we are not like this, thank you.''
    
 
AP-NY-05-03-89 1526EDT
 - - - - - -

a243  1622  03 May 89
AM-Jogger Raped-Reaction, 1st Ld,a219,0363
Eds: UPDATES with woman out of coma and responding.
By BILL STIEG
Associated Press Writer
    NEW YORK (AP) - The Central Park beating and rape of a 28-year-old
investment banker grabbed headlines two weeks ago and hasn't let go,
provoking debates about how racism, sexism and class division may
have led to the attack and influenced the coverage.
    From Harlem, where the teen-age suspects lived, to Wall Street,
where the victim worked, the questions continue:
    Did the black and Hispanic youths attack her because she is white?
Is the story played up because of the black-white angle? Would the
rape of a black investment banker get the same attention?
    ''The only reason for all this (publicity) is because she's white,''
said a black girl from an East Harlem junior high that two of the
suspects attended. ''If she was a black girl or a Hispanic girl,
nobody would care, and that happens all the time.''
    ''I don't think the incident itself was racial,'' said the Rev.
Herbert Daughtry, a civil rights activist, ''but I think the way that
we - the media, the police, all of us - have reacted is racial.''
    Whether racism motivated the attackers is something that may not be
known until the trials of the six indicted youths, if then.
    ''We have never classified it as a bias case or a racially motivated
incident,'' said Colleen Roche, a spokeswoman for the district
attorney's office.
    Meanwhile, the victim has emerged from her two-week coma, spoken to
relatives and expressed a desire to resume running, doctors said
Wednesday.
    The woman began responding Tuesday and had spoken in a whisper to
relatives and staff members, raised two fingers when asked to do so
and was able to read large signs printed with yes, no and her name,
said Robert S. Kurtz, assistant chief of surgery at Metropolitan
Hospital, and Kent Duffy, chief of neurosurgery.
    However, Kurtz said, ''We would still say ... she is in a delirium.
People in this stage will fluctuate.'' He has said it is unlikely she
will ever fully recover.
    The teen-agers, 11th graf pvs
 
 
AP-NY-05-03-89 1859EDT
***************

a219  1253  03 May 89
AM-Jogger Raped-Reaction, Bjt,0639
Central Park Case Stirs Debates on Race, Sex, Class
By BILL STIEG
Associated Press Writer
    NEW YORK (AP) - The Central Park beating and rape of a 28-year-old
investment banker grabbed headlines two weeks ago and hasn't let go,
provoking debates about how racism, sexism and class division may
have led to the attack and influenced the coverage.
    From Harlem, where the teen-age suspects lived, to Wall Street,
where the victim worked, the questions continue:
    Did the black and Hispanic youths attack her because she is white?
Is the story played up because of the black-white angle? Would the
rape of a black investment banker get the same attention?
    ''The only reason for all this (publicity) is because she's white,''
said a black girl from an East Harlem junior high that two of the
suspects attended. ''If she was a black girl or a Hispanic girl,
nobody would care, and that happens all the time.''
    ''I don't think the incident itself was racial,'' said the Rev.
Herbert Daughtry, a civil rights activist, ''but I think the way that
we - the media, the police, all of us - have reacted is racial.''
    Whether racism motivated the attackers is something that may not be
known until the trials of the six indicted youths, if then.
    ''We have never classified it as a bias case or a racially motivated
incident,'' said Colleen Roche, a spokeswoman for the district
attorney's office.
    Meanwhile, the victim has spoken her first words since the attack
two weeks ago, the New York Post reported Wednesday, citing an
unidentified hospital source.
    The woman was taken off a respirator at Metropolitan Hospital on
Tuesday morning and began struggling to make sounds, then said
''Hello'' to relatives and answered yes and no to a doctor's
questions, the newspaper said.
    A hospital administrator said Tuesday the woman remained in critical
condition and in a coma but that her state of alertness had increased
slightly.
    The teen-agers who went ''wilding'' through the park April 19
attacked nine white and Hispanic joggers, bicyclists and one homeless
man. What turned the spree of petty crime into brutal violence
remains a mystery, though many have theories.
    Lisa Whitten, a black psychologist, said crossing that line was made
easier because violence is commonplace in Harlem and made mundane by
repetitive violent images in the media.
    The generally degrading image of women in movies, television and
pornography, she said, serves as an anesthetic that would deaden the
sense of revulsion most people would feel toward such violence.
    ''They had fantasies in their minds - of being like those on
television, the ones who shoot people, who are powerful, in control,
macho, aggressive, strong,'' she said.
    Also contributing, some say, is the contrast between the poorer
sections of Manhattan and the wealthier ones, which coexist nearly
side-by-side along the upper reaches of Central Park.
    ''From where these kids live, in five minutes walking you're in the
gold coast, people are millionaires,'' said Howard Diller, a lawyer
for one of the suspects. ''Was there any resentment, jealousy, hate,
anger that was involved?''
    Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins, a black who is running
for mayor, met with more than 100 community, religious and political
leaders Friday to deal with lingering tensions.
    ''I want to avoid a situation wherein any young African-American,
any young Latino will be seen as threatening by others who happen to
be white,'' Dinkins said.
    Dinkins called the attackers ''urban terrorists,'' but noted,
''African-American women who have been savaged did not get the
attention that this has.''
    On Monday, there was a gathering in the park at which children tried
to do some repair work on their image.
    ''The media builds it up that all black and Hispanic kids commit
these horrible crimes,'' said 12-year-old William Flores. ''We know
we are not like this, thank you.''
    
 
AP-NY-05-03-89 1526EDT
 - - - - - -

a243  1622  03 May 89
AM-Jogger Raped-Reaction, 1st Ld,a219,0363
Eds: UPDATES with woman out of coma and responding.
By BILL STIEG
Associated Press Writer
    NEW YORK (AP) - The Central Park beating and rape of a 28-year-old
investment banker grabbed headlines two weeks ago and hasn't let go,
provoking debates about how racism, sexism and class division may
have led to the attack and influenced the coverage.
    From Harlem, where the teen-age suspects lived, to Wall Street,
where the victim worked, the questions continue:
    Did the black and Hispanic youths attack her because she is white?
Is the story played up because of the black-white angle? Would the
rape of a black investment banker get the same attention?
    ''The only reason for all this (publicity) is because she's white,''
said a black girl from an East Harlem junior high that two of the
suspects attended. ''If she was a black girl or a Hispanic girl,
nobody would care, and that happens all the time.''
    ''I don't think the incident itself was racial,'' said the Rev.
Herbert Daughtry, a civil rights activist, ''but I think the way that
we - the media, the police, all of us - have reacted is racial.''
    Whether racism motivated the attackers is something that may not be
known until the trials of the six indicted youths, if then.
    ''We have never classified it as a bias case or a racially motivated
incident,'' said Colleen Roche, a spokeswoman for the district
attorney's office.
    Meanwhile, the victim has emerged from her two-week coma, spoken to
relatives and expressed a desire to resume running, doctors said
Wednesday.
    The woman began responding Tuesday and had spoken in a whisper to
relatives and staff members, raised two fingers when asked to do so
and was able to read large signs printed with yes, no and her name,
said Robert S. Kurtz, assistant chief of surgery at Metropolitan
Hospital, and Kent Duffy, chief of neurosurgery.
    However, Kurtz said, ''We would still say ... she is in a delirium.
People in this stage will fluctuate.'' He has said it is unlikely she
will ever fully recover.
    The teen-agers, 11th graf pvs
 
 
AP-NY-05-03-89 1859EDT
***************