One thing I dislike about the media is its portrayal of victims and perpetrators of crime depending on their skin colour. Any muslim person of asian/arab descent is a terrorist, a black person is a thug but if a white person commits a crime it is an "isolated" incident, or the person had a mental illness or was a loner. It's to say that a white person can only commit a crime if there is something wrong with them but this same principle does not apply to people of colour. Even with the Charleston shootings where Dylan Roof, a white man had shot 9 black people dead in a church; the media kept saying he was a "loner" when he was clearly a racist and this was a premeditated attack. Not once was he referred to as a terrorist though this was a blatant terrorist attack.
When a person of colour commits a crime people tend to stereotype the whole group that they belong to but this never happens to white people. For example when when a muslim commits a crime people stereotype all muslims as bad, "they are all terrorists" and a muslim leader has to speak out and condemn the attack. If a white person commits an act of terrorism it is not called terrorism and no white leader speaks out against the attacks on behalf of whites. This is unfair and implies that people of colour are naturally more prone to committing evil acts. The media are also quick to show when people of colour take part in negative behaviour rather than showing those who do something positive.
An example of this is the recent Million Man March 20th anniversary event where thousands of african americans and people of colour came together in Washington DC in order to demand Justice for all people.This was a such an inspirational, emotive and thought-provoking event. So many black people came together in solidarity for a great cause. There were many well educated, intelligent black people and those who have high accomplishments giving very passionate speeches. This was a positive and peaceful event. I tried to find media coverage on this event but no news stations were covering it. I only managed to find out more about this event through social media. At first I was surprised that no news outlets were covering this march then I remembered the media rarely shows black people in a positive light. Only when black people are taking part in negative behaviours such as rioting then it would have been plastered all over the media.
The media is probably the most powerful tool out there, it can shape the perceptions and influence the opinions of the masses. It can make you believe anything including having a negative view on particular groups of people. This includes immigrants, ethnic minorities, those who are on benefits etc. The media will have you hating the wrong group of people who are of the least threat to society. That is why I do not solely get news from mainstream media but certain pages where they report things that never make it onto the news. The good thing with modern technology and social media is that stories of events that happen can be put out there for the world to see therefore we no longer need to depend on the news. I wish the media could portray people from all races equally because we are all human. It is sad that it is used to divide people. Here is quote said by Malcolm X which couldn't be any more real.
