Monday, October 4, 2010

Bethany Storro: Acid Attack Hoax Woman Pleads Not Guilty

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Bethany Storro (pictured) made national news when she claimed she was the victim of a random attack. Storro told police that an African American woman walked up to her and threw acid in her face. Storro received the sympathy (and financial contributions) of people all around the world. Even Oprah cleared a slot for her on her show.

It turned out that Storro was lying, making herself the latest in a long list of people who've falsely claimed to have been attacked by a black person. Her face is now blotched and red, where police say she allegedly put acid on to her own face, perhaps in a quest for attention. The story is quite sad, actually.

Wednesday, when Storro came to court, the judge ordered her to a mental-health facility, where she will stay until she is ready to stand trial. The 28-year-old woman has confessed that she made up the entire story. She also says that she threw the drain cleaner in her own face to either commit suicide or change her appearance.

Storro's trial is scheduled for Dec. 20. She spent $1,500 of the donation money, for which she is going to be held legally liable. All of the accounts containing the money have been frozen.

The case of Bethany Storro is not only bizarre, it's worthy of outrage. Law-abiding African Americans across the country are being consistently portrayed as criminals by the media, police officers and malicious citizens who want to divert attention away from their own unethical behavior.

Even though there are millions of Americans who understand that black people are not the default criminals of our society, the media may want to reconsider the images it portrays. These images have a very real effect on how others view black people, and they also play a role in black people being targeted for penitentiaries. The media also affects how we see each other.

On the other end of things, I feel a little bad for Bethany Storro. Any woman troubled enough to put acid on her own face is in need of serious psychological help. Her face looks terrible, and that's the face she has to look at every morning in the mirror. I can't help but think about the fact that no matter how bad her face looks, it doesn't come close to matching the pain that must be in the depths of her heart and psyche. This woman needs many years of counseling.


Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.

 

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