Media and Mass Genocide

The media has always been around in some way or form, whether it was the newspaper, the radio, the television or the internet. Media has always brought humans together to be informed, to laugh, to cry, and even to anger. However, in recent years it can be observed that the media has become somewhat sinister. The media has incited massive problems through politics, celebrities and general pop culture. Yet, this is not the worst that can be done with the media. With the Internet being at the touch of a fingertip, men, women and children of all backgrounds have access to yellow journalism and general NSFW media. This media, that shouldn't even be reported in the first place, such as mass suicides and murders, is very impressionable to children. In my opinion, there is a direct correlation between media and mass shootings and or suicides. The media has its good side and like everything else in this world there is always a negative side. We must inform ourselves and the children of tomorrow of the dangers of the media or we are forever doomed.

As a child, I was always told that I watched too much television or I spent too much time on the internet and that it was bad for my brain. While my mother might not have exactly understood what she was saying scientifically, she was absolutely right. Children are so easily impressionable and when parents just sit their children down in front of a television, they are most likely to adapt to what they watch. The media reports anything and everything at all costs since they are one hundred percent protected under the first amendment. While this is everything that America stands for, whether it is on the right side of morality, is questionable. When the media is being questioned for its morality, parents should not allow their children to view it. Children who are able to see the media and understand it are more impressionable to copycat. The rise of shootings in America is a direct result of the media sparking a psychotic match in the minds of mentally troubled Americans. “It's true that rampage shooters show a pattern of being obsessed with the previous murders and obsessed with the tally" (Brown) The contagion effect is very real and is becoming a serious problem in America and we must fix it now.

However, someone whom might disagree with me might argue that the media is completely fine and they are doing everything in the lines of their rights. However, it can be observed that the media exaggerates and often even lies to increase ratings and audience size. America is full of greed and hate and the media is no angel in my opinion. These large corporations such as FOX News have very biased opinions. When covering mass shootings, mostly, if not all committed by white males, it can be observed that they use certain terminology to lessen the blows. Words such as “misunderstood” and “distant” prove that certain news is very biased and even white washed.

In addition, it can also be observed that the way these terrorists are treated has a direct correlation to the media. Whenever someone is watching you, observing every move you make, you are less likely, as a cop, to be aggressive towards the criminal. Thousands if not millions are watching them. Yet, why should we treat these terrorist, like Dylan roof, as if they were “fragile”? America strongly disagrees with negotiating with terrorists, or at least the America I and my father before me have known. By putting the Charleston shooter in body armor and feeding him a meal after what he did is like rewarding him for his crimes. He is a terrorist by definition, just like the predecessors, like Sandy Hook and the Colorado theater massacre. 

Yet again, I must acknowledge that others may see the media as not the problem but the solution. They report the world as it happens, whether we take it or leave it is entirely up to us. While this may be true, the way the media reports the world is not actually how it happens but rather how the media wants it to happen. White privileged is basically a get out a jail free card. No matter what some of these psychotic individuals may have done, it is clear that the media attempts to jerk the hearts of the ignorant with phrases such as "He's just a kid!". While many of these psychopaths are "young and dumb" it still does not deteriorate the fact that they are terrorists. America needs to wake up and realize the cold, hard, truth. 

To summarize, We must inform ourselves and the children of tomorrow of the dangers of the media or we are forever doomed. Whether you think the media is on the right side of the scale or morality or not, change is needed in America. It will not be as simple as saying sorry and moving on. No, America needs to educate the ignorant NOT insult them or it is just the blind leading the blind with egos larger than their brain. America needs a revolution, not new leaders whom make promises that are sure to fail. In short, if we do not love each other and come together as one, our hatred and spite will soon become our own demise.