Politics and social issues are a directive for change, yet 2016 has got it entirely wrong, as the media is telling the American people what think. In fact, the media is stirring the pot and we are their puppets. If you have opened a newspaper, turned on the news, or used any form of social media within the past year, you have probably heard a reference to the Black Lives Matter Movement, speculation surrounding politically correct gender pronouns, Donald Trump being a racist bigot, discrimination against females, and the topic of racial oppression being discussed countless times.

Like most people, I am done with it. In theory, the purpose of the media is to inform. Inform. Yet, the media has taken this definition and interjected falsehoods which in turn, become a reality. Interestingly enough, most media coverage includes pitting a particular group against another. A typical headline will read: "Black Male Shot By White Officer". Yet, this is where the purpose of "informing" gets lost in translation and we lose the substance of the issue at hand. Why does a person's race have to be included in the headline? By doing so, we are insinuating that a physical appearance is more imperative than the actual crime or issue at hand. Unless a specific description for the purpose of sending out an alert is needed or there is a prevalent safety concern, including race and ethnicity is irrelevant and unproductive. By putting race, gender, or sexuality in front of the actual source of conflict is one of the most pressing, yet overlooked issues facing America today.

A person is robbed. Ask anyone who is liable, and they will say the robber. A person is robbed and held at gunpoint. Who is liable? Still the robber. A person is robbed and the perpetrator is armed and threatening to use force, and a cop steps in. The robber would still be said to be the one at fault. A black man is robbing a man and a white cop steps in and when the robber threatens to use his weapon, but the cop beats him to it. This is where the line becomes less-clear cut. Once race is interjected, or even physical descriptions are included, do the opinions truly begin to fluctuate. This is the power of headlines and the media as whole. None of the facts changed, just the way that people have begun to look at them have.

In the end, what's the goal of this? Equality? Equality is something that we have come to achieve in our nation, as a black female has the same opportunities that this country provides as a white male does. By creating the divide that the media exemplifies, we are moving backwards. By asserting race to be more significant than facts and issues hints that we aren't equal. If the media wanted to paint the picture that a person is a person as we are all equal, then race, gender, and sexual orientation would be meaningless in the face of the media. This is the very deceptively of the media, as they have pitted countless groups against one another.

Shouldn't the fact fact that a life was lost or there was a shooting or a person was stabbed illicit a response from us? In what way is ethnicity crucial to forming a stance on a case of incivility? It's not. The focal point of a case should be able to be achieved without the incorporation of physical appearances, especially if a case is truly that pressing of an issue. At the end of the day, a perpetrator, a criminal, or someone who acted out of irrationality needs to be held accountable; Black or white, heterosexual or homosexual, man or female. We accept equality in the positive sense of equal opportunity. Yet, vice versa when the consequences are less favorable, equality diminishes and appearances have become a fall-back for a lack of accountability or a source of civil strife we can't accept. A divide has been created within our society, and we are only provoking it by portraying each crime, controversial issue, and debate as a race-driven issue.

The media and news outlets should not have to affirm or bring to attention that it was an African-American person who was shot, or that it was a Caucasian person stabbed. The concern is the legality and moral aspects of the case. A person was shot. A person was stabbed. A person.