Originally posted by: InfoDroid
Well, this is where I'll have to agree with you. The media DOES sensationalize things like this in order to create fear. And it does start to erode the infrastructure of our country.
Between the emphasis by the media of cops shooting unarmed blacks in urban neighborhoods for petty crimes, and hateful rap lyrics promoting cop killing...it's tough. It pits the people against the cops and cops against the people. That's never a good thing.
It makes officers more wary and perhaps more suspicious or aggressive toward the general public. After all, most cops are just trying to make it home alive every night. They have a right to be on the offensive, their life depends on it.
But to blindly say that every cop in every city in America is Officer Friendly and never has a corrupt thought, or wouldn't ever think of abusing their power, I think that's an equally unfair representation. If officers have broken the law it should be reported, we shouldn't bury it or withhold that information from the public.
Well, this is where I'll have to agree with you. The media DOES sensationalize things like this in order to create fear. And it does start to erode the infrastructure of our country.
Between the emphasis by the media of cops shooting unarmed blacks in urban neighborhoods for petty crimes, and hateful rap lyrics promoting cop killing...it's tough. It pits the people against the cops and cops against the people. That's never a good thing.
It makes officers more wary and perhaps more suspicious or aggressive toward the general public. After all, most cops are just trying to make it home alive every night. They have a right to be on the offensive, their life depends on it.
But to blindly say that every cop in every city in America is Officer Friendly and never has a corrupt thought, or wouldn't ever think of abusing their power, I think that's an equally unfair representation. If officers have broken the law it should be reported, we shouldn't bury it or withhold that information from the public.
The media's tendency--conservative and liberal alike--to sensationalize everything is one of the biggest problems with our society. Things like Virginia Tech, or political debates, yeah, those need to be reported. But Alec Baldwin yelling at his daughter? Jack Thompson blaming video games for school shootings? Donald Trump's stupid feud with Rosie O. Donnel? Every little possible crime or half-scandal? It makes me want to throw things at the TV.
Trivial things like that are blown so out of proportion that it puts people in a mindset to think the whole world is a rotten, awful place.