It's not a good day to be a cop. Due to some violent incidents throughout the country, the media has increasingly painted police officers as racist narcissists who abuse their power. It's prompted many social movements, most notably "black lives matter," because of the perceived higher occurrence of white cops shooting black citizens unnecessarily.
This perception is the single story that's been presented by the media lately (except for FOX News, of course) and it is the exception, not the rule. The Black Lives Matter movement has gone out of their way to promote civil unrest, looting, rioting, and "civil disobedience" on the grounds that police officers, as a rule, do not have the best interest of their race at heart. The movement, constantly covered by the media and the Democratic political party, demonizes police officers on many different pages of their website: http://blacklivesmatter.com/.
The double-standard is horrific. Just recently in Oregon, a black cop shot an unarmed white man (who later recovered) and not one news story ran that was negative about the cop. The liberal media is creating a narrative they want to create while ignoring all evidence that contradicts it.
Even though a few cops are rotten apples, it's harmful to society to create an atmosphere in which police officers, and by extension the law, are not given the respect they deserve. Without police officers, there would be anarchy--and the single story that's being inaccurately portrayed in the media is taking its toll.
I've noticed that mainstream media doesn't report on the good changes local and federal governments are enacting in response to this issue. They are actually doing something about it but those stories aren't as shocking or radical and therefore don't sell as much. It seems pretty irresponsible.
ReplyDeleteI love this example! I feel like this is so pertinent to our current society. We seem to be highlighting all the weaknesses and shortcomings of officers instead of recognizing all the good they do for us. They are human too so it should be no surprise to us that they're not perfect. They make mistakes too. It is such a shame that this "single story" is overshadowing the wonderful service they do for all of us!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do agree that there is definitely a single story of cops currently portrayed in the news, I do not think this has been an entirely bad thing. News trends fade and I believe so will this idea of "the evil police" the media has currently latched on to. However, the reforms that this movement has caused are excellent and should have been made a long time ago, in my personal opinion. More cops are wearing body cams now, and if they were never doing anything scandalous or questionable to begin with than they have no reason to be upset about the current reforms. I think this single story may have actually caused some good, it's not entirely awful.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a very strong example of a single story. I have several family members who are police officers, so I have a lot of exposure with them and it's hard to see society hating the people who go out every day and risk their lives to protect them. It's sad to think that children being raised today will grow up thinking that cops are the bad guys. If that is the mentality of society, then who are we to turn to when we need help?
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog article and I agree with cops being a little harsh but honestly they're just doing their jobs.
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