All of this violence is morally wrong no matter what point of view you look at it from. It's time the media and America stops finding and creating excuses for the violence and realize that it’s time to make some changes.

News flash: violence isn’t new. All of the cameras and the media coverage is what's new. Violence was an issue before cameras and media coverage; however, as media and social media have grown over the years there are more outlets reporting current news. News sources report more bad news than they do good news. So it's no wonder with the constant bad news people develop biased opinions and start to expect the worst in people. The media has a huge influence on what people think about violence in America, since they are the ones who report the news. They can portray it however they wish and viewers will typically believe it. Broadcast stations could easily report as much good news as much as they do bad news, but do they? No, because that wouldn’t make people tune into their show.

In today’s media-based world anyone from a certain group can give that said group a bad reputation. Because there are people within groups who act a certain way towards others or make bad decisions, outsiders are quick to think that everyone in that group is exactly the same. Just because there are police officers who go against their oaths, does not mean all cops are bad. Just because there are blacks who are convicted criminals, does not mean all blacks are. Just because there are whites who are still racists does not mean all whites are. America is heavy on labeling and judging others. It’s 2016, we should not be labeling an entire group of people based on the actions of some morally-challenged, demented idiots. Slavery ended in 1865, yet 151 years later there is still a good amount of racism in America that cannot go unnoticed. Every life should be treated equal until proven otherwise. One person’s actions do not represent an entire race or community of people.

Jay Stalien, an African American police officer, spoke out against all of the recent televised violence between African Americans and police officers. A popular statement that he proved wrong was, “Blacks are the only race being killed by police." Stalien proved this wrong with research on police killings in 2016. Did you know that 238 white americans have been killed by police in 2016, and 123 black americans have been killed by police. Surely you’re smart enough to read the amount of whites killed by police in 2016 surely surpasses blacks killed by police. But why aren’t we making a big deal out of white deaths like we are with black deaths? The media rarely reports about white deaths by police as it does blacks. Obviously a hour long news cast cannot report every crime that happens in a day, but it can pick which ones it televises. The media has a way of creating stories that are not even there to begin with. It’s been proven by the FBI that blacks kill more blacks than police do, but since they’re killing within their own group the media does not make it a huge spectacle. So basically the media is saying it’s less of an issue if a group is killing within its own group, but if someone with authority or of a different race is involved, its a huge news story. Killing is killing, and in these circumstances, it's never ok.

People might say: “There is a higher rate of blacks being arrested than there are whites." That may be true for areas, but it all depends on demographics. In highly populated white areas there will be a higher rate of whites being arrested because they make up most of the population. But in places where the black population is higher than the white population, obviously the crime rate of blacks will statistically be higher than whites in that area. It’s not because whites are better than blacks, its because the area is populated by the black community. So one cannot base the fact “that blacks are arrested more than whites” by depending on large media coverage, because clearly they leave out the important demographic information.

It’s all in the media and what individuals chose to believe. The media creates a false narrative of cops, of blacks, of whites. The division of America is becoming greater because more and more people are believing media sources that report situations without having complete information at that time. Most media outlets rush to get stories out before other outlets can, so they can get their ratings up. However, investigations take time. Police and investigators cannot gather all the information of shootings or crimes in the amount of time it takes for a news source crew to be all up in their faces. After time all the facts fall together, but people begin to assume things right as they read or watch that first news report.

But even with all the recent news stories of violence nothing is being done to stop the violence. Is it being acknowledged? Yes, but just because you acknowledge something does not make it go away or fix it. America needs to be proactive about the violence in America. Let’s start living up to the name, United States of America, because clearly we’ve lost the united part. It is up to our generation and the generation to follow us to fix America, and make it great again. Clearly some people have forgotten what it means to live in “the land of the free”, and are abusing their freedom.

Results of actions should not be about color, they should be about the law. If you do wrong, whether you’re brown, black, white, or orange, or hold a certain rank in society, you should be held under the American law for your wrong actions. It is commonly said, “that actions speak louder than words”, but that does not spell out violence. As a nation, we should mature enough to not react with more violence. Stick up for what you believe in and what is right, but violence is never the answer.

To the policemen who rightfully and willingly protect us everyday with no hatred toward specific groups, thank you. Thank you for protecting us citizens, and continuing to do your job in a time where America is full of such hate and violence. Thank you to those of all races sticking up to end racism. Thank you to those who do good each day and prove their race is not all bad. These people, whether they’re cops, blacks, whites, etc, are husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, grandfathers, wives, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, cousins, and friends. Every life matters, and no life should be treated higher than another’s.