A hoax by a runway bride is not a topic I would normally address. However, the national interest in Jennifer Wilbanks’ decision to “postpone” her wedding in Duluth, Ga. by falsely claiming to have been abducted while jogging is irresistible. As many have now pointed out, her cold feet has gotten her in hot water. This case of life imitating Reality TV speaks volumes about us as a society.

Usually, the fact that Wilbanks contracted a sudden case of cold feet would be of interest only to her embarrassed fiancé, her parents and friends, the 14 groomsmen, 14 bridesmaids and the 600 invited guests. But many Americans are voyeurs, interested in peeking into the personal lives of others. And if there’s a sordid side, that makes it even more appealing.

So, from the time Wilbanks was said to have been abducted, to her cross-country trip that ended up in Albuquerque, N.M., where she finally admitted that it was all a hoax, to the first class airline trip back to Georgia, Americans feasted on this real life version of “Survival.”

Now that she’s back, inquiring minds want to know: Will she be convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony? Will she get any jail time? And will she be treated like the University of Wisconsin student that concocted a similar story and ended up getting probation, community service and ordered to repay the $10,000 it took searching for her? And what about the poor fellow left at the alter, so to speak? Will he still want to marry her? If so, what does that say about him? What does it say about him if he does not want to marry her?

As these end-of-the-world issues were being debated over the past two weeks, there was one aspect of the saga that grabbed my attention. Before acknowledging that she had made up the tale, Wilbanks claimed that she had been abducted and forced into a blue van by a Hispanic man and White woman.

When I heard the Hispanic angle my mind flashed back to numerous hoaxes in which to gain public sympathy, a White woman said to have been abused or raped by a Black male. At least, Wilbanks took a different route by claiming this mystery man was Hispanic. In either case, the point is the same: introduce race or ethnicity into any case with sexual overtones, and story will get around-the-clock coverage in the national media.

In 1989, Boston businessman Charles Stuart murdered his wife for life insurance and tried to cover it up by alleging that a Black man had killed his pregnant wife. Hundreds of Black men were questioned or by police. Stuart committed suicide the following year and it was only then that the truth came out.

Susan Smith also knew the power of introducing the element of race into a case. She claimed a Black man wearing a skullcap had carjacked her car in South Carolina, driving off with her two infant sons. She tearfully pleaded for their return on national TV. She later tearfully admitted later that she had strapped her two sons into the car and plunged it into a nearby lake.

There have been many lesser-know cases in which the race card was played to establish credibility.

Professor Karen K. Russell wrote a book a few years ago titled, "The Color of Crime: Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionalism, Police Harassment and other Macroaggressions." In the book, she details nine cases between 1987 and 1997 of White women making up stories about being raped by Black men.

For example, a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. said she had been raped by two Black men. She later confessed that she had lied to highlight a dangers faced by female students on campus.

Another time, a White woman contended that she had been kidnapped by three Black men at gunpoint, was drugged and forced to have sex with the three men. However, police said the woman had lied to cover up for having stayed out all night.

I believe Jennifer Wilbanks knew exactly what she was doing by asserting that a Hispanic man and a White woman abducted her. She knew that as long as many Whites continue to hold stereotypical views of people of color – that the men are criminals who can’t contain their sexual urges, especially toward White women – they have a better chance of people believing their lies.