Bee Article Comments Target Davis Stereotypes

A Sacramento Bee article about Sunday's  drew some colorful comments, some of which have since been removed.

The article, which accurately reported the details of the wreck, noted that one of the vehicles, a Toyota Rav-4, rolled over in the wreck. Lue Moua, 22, and Jih Lee, 23, were both hospitalized after the wreck.

Of the article's 12 comments:

• 3 mention bicyclists, although the article accurately made no mention a bicycle being involved.
• 2 comments mention hippies, with another sarcastically blaming “POT.”
• 1 comment, which was later removed, honed in on Asian drivers.
• The rest were either reactions to other comments, or focused on driving safely. 

Comment threads have never been the most mature places in the world for discussion, so it would be a mistake to place too much weight on these comments in particular. Plus, the Sacramento Bee did a perfectly fair job of moderating.

But it’s worth asking: Why would a simple article about a Davis car crash prompt a discussion so filled with stereotypes?

One commenter said this:

I posted, “insert stereotypes here,” and my comment was taken down. Weird.

Would the discussion look the same if the accident happened in Vacaville or Woodland instead of Davis?