Dear Media,
I know you are aware of this, because you are the ones reporting it. This past week there have been riots, racist bullying, harassment, public demonstrations, and shootings. The reason for these reports? People are scared. People have heavily formed opinions filtered by your reports. People are angry because of what they are reading, and you are the ones to blame.
That's right media, the reason for all these angry, bigoted, hate-crimes is because you are stirring the pot.
So here is my request...stop it.
Stop reporting hate crimes and instead publicize acts of love. Stop reporting harassment and instead advocate for teamwork. Stop reporting shootings as fear-mongering and instead encourage people to be responsible and meet their neighbors.
Have you ever considered that it is your portrayal of our public figures that is informing the masses how to think and respond to actions? Have you considered that it might be your flashy headlines about racism that are actually furthering hate crimes? Did you know that you are influencing the uneducated American to behave a certain way based on what they see as commonplace in the news?
Now don't get me wrong, there are messed up people running around out there and yes, we need to be informed about them. But is there a way to put a positive spin to your messages so that it encourages brotherly love instead of fear and faction? I am not trying to stand up for the actions of anyone who has done wrong--whether someone running for public office or some citizen with a twisted view of human rights. What I am trying to say is that somewhere you, Mr. Media, have deviated from reporting helpful tidbits of information in order to get the shock value of reporting horrific events, and through doing so you are perpetuating these events.
There is a growing polarization in our nation: democrats are in highly-populated cities and republicans are in rural areas. Where is the most media located? That's right, in the cities. Which explains why you were wrong about the election polls. You were convinced Clinton would win and you had to confess that you didn't know as much as you thought you knew. Maybe that is because you are lending your ear to the voices in your setting and you are in turn feeding them stories to continue the divide in our bipartisan system.
What if you reported love and equality instead of KKK gatherings? Instead of digging up dirt on our president elect what if you spent more time encouraging young girls that they can be who they want to be based on Clinton's efforts? What if you reported neighborly pacifism instead of police brutality?
Now I get it--you make your money by reporting news daily. You've got to put something on the front page of the paper or else you lose your readership and your business fails. But what that leads to is you reporting news that isn't really news-worthy. You're just reporting stuff to fill up space and you're making it sound as terrible as possible so that you retain your audience.
Now I am not fully blaming you for the current state of our country. There is no doubt that we have some messed up people competing for office and who are in control of our country. But you certainly love to report the juicy stuff. And the juicy stuff sure does stir the pot. And stirring the pot sure does divide our country. And a divided country cannot stand. So.....
Stop it.
Please.
I know you are aware of this, because you are the ones reporting it. This past week there have been riots, racist bullying, harassment, public demonstrations, and shootings. The reason for these reports? People are scared. People have heavily formed opinions filtered by your reports. People are angry because of what they are reading, and you are the ones to blame.
That's right media, the reason for all these angry, bigoted, hate-crimes is because you are stirring the pot.
So here is my request...stop it.
Stop reporting hate crimes and instead publicize acts of love. Stop reporting harassment and instead advocate for teamwork. Stop reporting shootings as fear-mongering and instead encourage people to be responsible and meet their neighbors.
Have you ever considered that it is your portrayal of our public figures that is informing the masses how to think and respond to actions? Have you considered that it might be your flashy headlines about racism that are actually furthering hate crimes? Did you know that you are influencing the uneducated American to behave a certain way based on what they see as commonplace in the news?
Now don't get me wrong, there are messed up people running around out there and yes, we need to be informed about them. But is there a way to put a positive spin to your messages so that it encourages brotherly love instead of fear and faction? I am not trying to stand up for the actions of anyone who has done wrong--whether someone running for public office or some citizen with a twisted view of human rights. What I am trying to say is that somewhere you, Mr. Media, have deviated from reporting helpful tidbits of information in order to get the shock value of reporting horrific events, and through doing so you are perpetuating these events.
There is a growing polarization in our nation: democrats are in highly-populated cities and republicans are in rural areas. Where is the most media located? That's right, in the cities. Which explains why you were wrong about the election polls. You were convinced Clinton would win and you had to confess that you didn't know as much as you thought you knew. Maybe that is because you are lending your ear to the voices in your setting and you are in turn feeding them stories to continue the divide in our bipartisan system.
What if you reported love and equality instead of KKK gatherings? Instead of digging up dirt on our president elect what if you spent more time encouraging young girls that they can be who they want to be based on Clinton's efforts? What if you reported neighborly pacifism instead of police brutality?
Now I get it--you make your money by reporting news daily. You've got to put something on the front page of the paper or else you lose your readership and your business fails. But what that leads to is you reporting news that isn't really news-worthy. You're just reporting stuff to fill up space and you're making it sound as terrible as possible so that you retain your audience.
Now I am not fully blaming you for the current state of our country. There is no doubt that we have some messed up people competing for office and who are in control of our country. But you certainly love to report the juicy stuff. And the juicy stuff sure does stir the pot. And stirring the pot sure does divide our country. And a divided country cannot stand. So.....
Stop it.
Please.
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