On September 14th, another tragedy hit the headlines. Poor, little 13-year-old Tyre King, was shot dead by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio. After the tragic incident occurred, social media boomed with reactions and comments towards the shooting of such a young innocent kid. People raged on about our racist society, abuse of power by the police, innocent versus guilty, and every other negative perspective you can take on what happened. I read through several articles trying to wrap my head around this saddening news, but a certain aspect of each video and article popped out to me. Every video specifically mentioned that Tyre King was black and that the officer, Bryan Mason, was white. I understand that those descriptions might be used in the articles because it helps you visualize the people involved, but when I am watching a video and seeing pictures of the people, I do not need to be told what race the person is. All theses horrible headlines take on different perspectives that spur deeper problems within society.
Here are some of the problems:
1. Social Media
Social media goes out of their way to make sure people understand when someone involved in these tragedies is white or black. This draws a thicker line between the two races that struggle each and every day to live more united in a society that has always elevated one race over the other. This makes the headlines seem as if they're are discreetly saying black vs. white. There is no need to so clearly make it known that the parties involved were of different races.
2. Social Media (again)
On the other side of the spectrum, social media, sometimes, makes us realize how truly divided our society still remains. We must unite because only united and working together will we be able to prosper.
3. Police
These headlines make police out to seem horrible and racist; this is not always the case. Especially in cases like Tyre King's, which are so controversial. I say this because, although, Tyre was only 13, he was holding what seemed to look like a real firearm, He was said to have pointed it at the police trying to take him into custody, so it is hard to argue that the police should not have felt threatened. In 2013, 89% of all police officers were white. This drastic percent completely explains why most officers that end up in headlines are White; they are the predominant race in that work area. It makes total sense. We must also take in notice that hundreds of shootings happen a day, but only ones that highlight racism or are astonishingly dramatic make it to the headlines.
4. Police (again)
On the other hand, I agree that sometimes police abuse their power. They use their firearms when they could find other ways to stop the instigator of the crime. They are trained to react in many different ways, and the use of a gun does not have to be the first one. A policeman's last resort should be the use of a firearm.
There are so many things wrong with all these tragic headlines, but there is a lot of bias behind them, too. We must learn to live more peacefully and unite as a human race rather than as single races. We must embrace our differences, but cherish our similarities.
My prayers go out to Tyre King's family.
