putting aside questions about the veracity of either story, the way the victims are being treated is so strikingly different. i don't know how many others out there remember, but bernall was a bit of a cultural phenomenon following the 1999 columbine massacre. she really was turned into a modern christian martyr. i haven't seen anything like that with sharif ahmed, the cabbie who was stabbed. at this point, the focus of the news coverage seems to be much more on the attacker than the victim.
i guess one big difference is that ahmed survived his attack. but i think the bernall-ahmed comparison is also a reflection of how powerful evangelical christians are in this country and how loud of a voice they have. if ahmed had died, you can bet there would be no national bestseller called "he said yes".
