So here it is, the start to the new semester. We've only been in Race, Gender and the Media for two weeks and I've already had a lot of things to think about.
One of the things that keeps coming to mind was actually brought up this last week in class. We were talking about the way different races were portrayed in the media when it comes to shootings and things like that.
Someone brought up the fact that most of the time, white people who come into schools or theaters and shoot people have mental issues. But when a black person is the one who has done the shooting, it's related back to gang violence.
Now that's not all that surprising. What got to me was when someone brought up kids who are raised around gang violence and the issues in their development that could occur to being brought up in that environment.
Honestly, I had never thought about that before. Sure, I feel bad for kids that are raised in it, but I hadn't thought about the issues those kids would have!
It just made me really take a look at myself and the way I view other people and their situations. Rather than judging someone immediately, or brushing something off saying, "Oh that's just the way they were raised", I'll definitely think more about the child who had no say in what they were raised around.
Another thing that got me thinking last week is nothing new either, but something I don't give a ton of thought to. Since we were talking about minority representation in the media, we were reminded that as journalists, we are to be the voice to the voiceless.
If the way people are represented bothers us, and it should, we should do something about it and be the voice for those who don't have one.
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