The media exacerbates racism. Over half the racism you see on TV doesn’t exist.
I heard this statement while I was listening to a podcast on Spotify.
I get it…the media is the devil. They blow up every tiny problem and feed it to the masses to incite more chaos and panic. I mean, journalistic integrity is a lost art these days.
However, that doesn’t absolve what I see in everyday life.
Does the media exacerbate racism? I wouldn’t put it past them. Seeing those videos of George Floyd and Ahmad Arbery losing their lives was like viscous pornography to me – it put me in a state of crippling depression for months.
So yes, the media does make racism more visible. But you can’t discount the fact that there are Black People that see this shit every day. Just because YOU haven’t seen a lot of racism in your life, doesn’t mean it isn’t real. In fact, it’s quite insulting to everyone’s intelligence to reduce racism down to some sort of hypnosis done by the media.
If you want to find some hell-holes littered with racism, here are some places you should check out:
- Every prison — If you watch the documentary Thirteenth, you’ll get a much better sense of just how racist the prison system really is. Trust me, it’s gruesome.
- Predominantly white high schools — I went to one and it felt like hell going there sometimes. Everyone around me was racist. I’ve witnessed racist memes in group chats, a bunch of n-words from white people, and tons of K.K.K. jokes in front of my eyes.
- A rich neighborhood — These are predominantly white neighborhoods and they are policed to the bone. I drove through one a few times and every time I pass through it I’m afraid I’ll get arrested. If one car even looks out of place, the cops will get called on you.
Also, White People are inherently freaking racist.
Just because you don’t see something as violent as a slave master whipping a Black person doesn’t mean those thoughts aren’t floating around in a White person’s mind. Even though overt racism may be gone, COVERT racism is still alive and well.
I’ll end with this:
People have the power not to watch the media. I promise you I don’t wake up in the morning to turn on another video of police brutality, or anything else for that matter. I barely know what’s going on in the outside world anymore – but I still believe racism is running rampant through America.
I don’t need the media to hypnotize me to see that. It’s a known fact. So please, stop acting like we’re dumb.
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Previously published on medium
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