MEDIA: Making Everyone Debate In Anger

DISCLAIMER: The following may offend, enlighten, or challenge your previous thoughts on this matter. No harm intended besides the brutal stretching or gaining of a perspective and temporary eradication of any narrow-minded thinking. The truth will set you free, but first, it will piss you off. So hello, I’m here to piss some folks off. Sorry, not sorry.

I think it’s safe to say that nothing brings out the “ugly” in people quite like race-related topics or politics. I mean, why shouldn’t it? They’re uncomfortable issues. And if it makes you uncomfortable, then it’s probably worth talking about.

I don't care if you support the left wing, right wing, or chicken wings of politics, I think there are some universal truths that Americans have a hard time believing and addressing.

But first, can we please stop letting the media trick us into believing there are only two sides to a story. And that one of those sides involves as much as half the truth. The age-old saying tells you to believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see.

Amidst the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri (which has indeed made international news in case you were wondering), it’s been a vicious battle between the stories versus the facts.

What the media are so good at doing time and time again, is getting us to believe that we must pick a side to an issue, and that if the issue happens to involve people of two different races, then you really better pick a side before your right/left wing friends flood your Facebook news feed reminding you where your loyalty should stand. What the media failed to do is start the conversation at the beginning. Why the body was left in the street for 4 hours before being dumped in an unmarked vehicle, and how that has never and will never happen to a white victim.

Here is the unspoken truth that most of us know but will never actually say. We will never truly get rid of stereotypes and prejudices. They shape our thinking and it’s convenient for our brains to compartmentalize these type of traits we associate with groups of people. But here’s where people get confused. Stereotyping in itself, is NOT racist. Acting upon those stereotypes to mistreat or wrong a person who is guilty of doing nothing more than fitting your stereotype, IS.

Now, why do most black people think the Michael Brown shooting was race-related? Because we believe Officer Wilson not only stereotyped him, but acted on the stereotype of labeling Michael as a “black thug” going against police protocol and jumping to conclusions. Maybe I’m old school, but when did a bullet (or six) become the first defense mechanism with a suspect? Why even arm American police officers with batons, tasers, and pepper spray if they only resort to the deadliest weapon of choice?

I will never be able to change the fact that when (in America) I enter a store at the same time as 3 other people who happen to be white, that I’m the only one that will be followed. And for people who are denying this type of racial profiling/stereotyping still exists, I invite you to come with me to any mall of your choice in America. The best way to make something go away is by acknowledging that it exists in the first place.

Some white people bite their tongues on these issues for the fear of coming off as racists. Which I think people need to stop resorting to that label whenever someone who isn’t their skin color disagrees with them. Yes, there are racists people in this world. But not everyone who disagrees with you fits that role. And I’m talking to my fellow African-Americans here, stop feeling like you can plant a racist label on every non-black person who disagrees with you on these issues. Racism is a very big issue in this world, and by throwing that label around, you lose the chance to have a deeper discussion about why people think the way they do in the first place. Inversely, some black people bite their tongues to avoid the “victim” label. And this cautionary cycle of fear only further represses an issue that will only go away when we address it head on.

To the people who pass judgement on the entire black community for victimizing ourselves is as good as calling every middle eastern person a terrorist. Even if you think a majority act a certain way or the only ones you see acting a certain way are on the agenda-driven news, and you feel like that's proof enough to make a blanket statement like that, then I'm sorry, but shame on you. Give yourself more credit in being able to justify that the ignorance of some shouldn't invalidate the intelligence of all.

When we talk about these issues, we need to make sure we’re doing more promoting of what we love instead of bashing of what we hate. You say you hate the police? That’s odd. I don’t know about you, but they are still my go-to guys when I have an emergency. You say you hate injustice? Then promote equality of all issues, not just the one that fits your agenda. You say you hate the government? Cool. Join the club. And while you’re at it, feel free to actually write a letter to a governing body member who receive thousands of letters from citizens who do more than complain about it on Facebook.

I’ve been tuning in to the protests from afar, and watching this unfold like the rest of the world. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I support the people who are protesting with the family of Michael Brown to help receive justice for his unnecessary death. I am NOT however, supporting the people who are taking advantage of the preoccupied city by looting and vandalizing the area. And it’s unfortunate that the majority of people will categorize all protestors with the looters’ images instead of differentiating between the two.

But my overall issue lies more in the fact that in almost every case of a person who is PROVEN to be armed and has just shot up an elementary school, high school, or movie theater, they get the decency of a spared life and fair trial, and we pass them off as just "having a mental illness". And in all those cases, the mass shooters happened to be white.

How many black teens have their "mental illnesses" disguised by the assumptive label of a "thug" first? The school and theater shooters have just taken the lives of dozens of innocent people, and unless they committed suicide, the cops saw them worthy of living. But God forbid a man steals cigarettes (from 2 months prior, according to the video footage) or charges at an officer or any other story the media are trying to get us to believe, and that's enough reason to end a life? Stopping him in his tracks with one bullet until you can get back up, I can maybe understand, but fire 5 more shots with one of them through the skull because you can? That's where my confusion lies.

Another thing missing in the conversations of most is empathy. I'm not a cop. I can't say I know what it feels like to put myself in harm's way to protect the citizens of a city (at least I hope that's the motive of most), so whether or not he feared for his life and panicked with his trigger, is a conversation between him, his conscience, and the Man Upstairs.

But cops can't get away with allowing their actions to reason with the slippery slope fallacy. He's black. So he's PROBABLY armed. PROBABLY dangerous. PROBABLY a thug. Therefore I must shoot. And shoot 5 more times to be safe.

Now in case you haven’t heard, there are a couple “Support Officer Darren Wilson” Fund Me pages that have collectively raised almost half a million dollars in a week. Take from that what you will, but the most interesting thing about this to me, is the fact that none of the Fund Me pages are verified, and the account is from a newly made Facebook profile that doesn’t even have a picture attached to it. Yet people have blindly supported with their monetary donations. There is a couple guys somewhere who are laughing all the way to the bank with this. And I find it slightly amusing.

Not to mention there is a fake Michael Brown photo circulating on social media that I’ve seen a couple of my friends repost. It of course has “Michael Brown” with a bandana over his mouth, a gun in his hand, and money in the other. Attached to the photo is a caption saying “I bet you the media won’t show this photo of Michael Brown” and “Yeah, this guys looks real innocent right?” And they’re right. The media WON’T show that photo due to the fact that it’s a random black guy that is NOT Michael Brown. But because it’s the internet, people can get away with creating false memes and taking advantage of this mindless generation who takes everything found online as a truth.

While I could channel my energy into pointless back and forth debates with people who can only see out of privileged lens, I instead started connecting with some of my international friends who have been tuning into the coverage in their home countries as well. I wondered what perception foreign countries had of us and the type of accuracy, if any at all, was being relayed through international media. And what you’re about to learn may surprise you. If you’re enlightened by what you’ve read so far. Good. If you’re offended. Even better.

BELGIUM // “It always seems shocking how often we hear about gun-related violence in the U.S - whether it’s gun fights between civilians or incidents like this one when unarmed people are gunned down by police. Regardless of Michael Brown’s guilt, it’s a tragic turn of events. In many European countries, the possession and use of firearms is heavily restricted. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the procedures applied by police and make sure they are less likely to fire on people who are unarmed. Police in Poland rarely shoot because if they hurt someone, they go through lengthy legal battles. Maybe introducing body cameras would be a good idea. Clear video footage would help avoid uncertainty, facilitate justice and perhaps prevent the public anger that we now see in the streets.” -Michal Mottl

CATALONIA // “The only time we see America make the news here is for murders and shootings. The media here are saying that the police officer is guilty and that it’s strange that the politicians aren’t doing more to help the situation. My brother is a cop and there was a time he arrested a Muslim person and when the arrested man was hungry, he asked a co-worker to buy a sandwich to give him. The Muslim man asked if it was pork, and my brother said “no”, when in actuality, he didn’t know. Later my brother asked the co-worker if it was pork, and the Muslim overheard him say “yes”. Most people know that Muslims don’t eat pork due to religious reasons, and just from that offense, the cop was suspended for a month without pay. So you can imagine how much worse things would be if a cop murdered someone here. A cop killing a civilian is the worst offense they can do.” -David Estrich

CHINA // “Living in China, I’ve noticed no news of the event and the uproar it has caused. I was recently made aware of the situation by a friend who read it on a BBC website. I was left with mixed emotions and will avoid commenting further whilst my blood is still boiling.” -Umar Sadiq

ENGLAND // “Our news channels do not paint humanity in a good light. It’s downright depressing most days. For Missouri specifically, they’ve sensationalised it and they love a bit of drama, but they’ve only really jumped on the bandwagon like every other news channel. It’s been a hot, live and constantly unfolding situation. And I’m not minimalising how serious and how the tragic the shooting is. But everything else gets thrown out of the window news-wise. And it’s all eyes on Missouri, even whilst mass genocide is occurring elsewhere. That’s what the British press does. I think the reporting is generally factual. I don’t think it’s particularly coloured. I don’t think it’s politicised either. I just struggle with the way one story can dominate so much.” -Dave Burt

FINLAND // “As a photographer, I was drawn to learn more about the #IfTheyGunnedMeDown campaign which I think is a fascinating example of how the often limited and even altered truth presented by mainstream media, is nowadays challenged by this kind of grass-root activity in the social media. I hope one day we will have more responsible media that will spread hope rather than fear, because media has an enormous power to unite people or tear them apart, like it’s doing now.” -Suvi Suovaara

FRANCE // “It saddens me to see that in 2014, race still plays a significant role in human rights. It’s unfortunate that law enforcement can get away with murder and when things hit the fan, be sent home on paid leave. To add insult to injury, the media seems to be covering stories only for ratings. The “facts” aren’t consistent and seem to put the victim in a bad light. My condolences to the family and friends of Michael Brown. I pray that they may one day soon receive justice for their loss!” -Relle Ricks

GERMANY // “What I think the German media does best is report the facts and statements of what is happening in this case. I’ve read plenty of CNN and FOX-like sides to the story, but I’d say German media has kept it as fair as can be. It wasn’t a huge piece quoting both local black and white people and the police and government officials, but it did cover what is currently happening as well as how it came to be this way.” -Michael Sheridan

INDONESIA // “I think the incident is something that should not have grown into a massive ripple but it did. The outrage of the community is understandable. It’s tricky because the police was perhaps just doing his/her job which I presume is to protect society, and that ended up in killing a human being, who seemed innocent. It is a tragedy.”

-Christine Tjhia

ITALY // “I have actually not heard of this event, but these type of stories really bring me down. Especially when there is a death involved, anger seems to override empathy in people. Stories like this always seem to have the narrative of “good vs. bad” or “cops vs. blacks” and it just seems wrong. A culture’s success comes from things like wealth and education, not guns and jails.”

-Fabio Genovesi

SCOTLAND // “Crime is crime regardless of who commits it. The media in many cases fuel confusion in an effort to get more ratings, especially if they can throw in a bit of racial sensation! U.S. media refers to the protests as “angry” whilst they simply put it as “peaceful” here. But when a human race is constantly marginalised, anger often results. Despite the marginalisation, what I see in the media is a crowd of an ethnic minority crying out for peace and justice for their fellow civilians. The image many of use have seen on the crime is brief and we’ve had to rely on hearsay to understand the what’s, why’s and how’s of what happened. Accountability is the issue here - until police officers are made accountable for their actions; killing of ‘innocent’ civilians may continue for many years to come. Justice should be served. Police should do more protecting than killing.” -Mary Zemirah

SPAIN // “The Spanish media are covering Ferguson like it currently covers the war in Israel. Many lines are drawn between Gaza and the plight of unarmed black men in the United States, at the moment, focusing on the two unarmed teens that were killed in Ferguson. The local media is highlighting the militarization of American police, citing that instead of protecting the citizens, they are creating such an environment of intimidation that it’s impossible to police communities.” -Jelisa Moné

UNITED STATES // “The ways in which the U.S. media have covered the events in Ferguson reflect both good and bad aspects of American journalism. The First Amendment guarantees a free press in the United States. This means reporters can question and challenge public officials without fear of reprisal, and it has allowed journalists to obtain information requests that might otherwise have been hidden. On the negative side, coverage is relying heavily on established stereotypes of both African-Americans (as thugs and criminals) and police officers (as militaristic tyrants who rely on excessive force). The events in Ferguson are unfolding over a few blocks in a single city. But foreign audiences must surely think this reflects a daily, violent reality in most of America. Such excessive coverage risks skewing the perceptions of audiences both at home and abroad.” -Associate Professor of Mass Media, Joe Watson

WOW. So I know some pretty intelligent people.

No matter where this story is unfolding in the world, people are having to receive their information from somewhere. And the media can tell 20 different versions of this story every day, each version compelling you to choose one side of the story. Their side of the story. Their versions of the truth. And their agenda for the day. What can we learn from this? Just because it’s on the news, doesn’t make it true. And just because something is true, doesn’t mean it’ll make the news. Form your opinions based on conclusions you can draw from facts, not stereotypes or prejudices.

By all means, have an opinion. From what I’ve heard, it’s not illegal... yet. But when debating about an issue, make sure you’re starting and basing the argument around facts. Around concrete evidence. Around undeniable truths. It’s my job as a global citizen and traveling representation of America, to do my part in developing and challenging perspectives that go beyond what someone has experienced in their life. And not let the MEDIA do what they stand for: Make Everyone Debate In Anger. My only credibility here is in being a human who cares about the well-being of Americans as a whole, which starts when all Americans are treated as whole.

Thanks for listening.

Aug 24, 2014

MEDIA: Making Everyone Debate In Anger

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