A year has gone by, yet the families, both by blood and by badge, have not forgotten the sacrifice of the two fallen Hattiesburg police officers, Liquori Tate and Benjamin Deen. Yet, the general population has forgotten. While these two men gave their lives serving the very community I currently reside in, if you echo their names through my college campus, you will be looked at like finals are probably getting to you, and you should lay off that Starbucks and all-nighters.
However, go to the fountain in the middle of my campus and shout the name Michael Brown, and you will be met by the shouts of “God Rest” or “Black Lives Matter.” Michael Brown, you know, that man who had just committed strong arm robbery and had jumped through a patrol car window to attack an officer when he was shot and killed. The slain man who caused riots and important political figures to speak on his family’s behalf. Oh wait, I didn't have to tell you that, CNN made sure you saw live coverage of every piece of information released.
In comparison, after a week news coverage halted on Officers Tate and Deen. Of course, the families still grieved, and the infamous thin black line across every Mississippi police officer's badge reminded them daily of their lost brothers. Still, the country as a whole forgot. Worse than that, the people of our country did not seem to care. This lack of consideration for police is obviously incredibly disturbing. But the reason the public does not seem to care about the life of police officers is not entirely their fault, nor is it our government’s fault. In short, it is the media's fault.
Now, don't get me wrong, every human has a brain, and should use it to form their opinions freely, while not letting media control what they believe. However, in this day and age, that's a tall order to ask anyone to fill. We are surrounded by news outlets like never before, and how they portray stories, as well as how much emphasis they choose to put into a story will ultimately decide how a story will affect the public’s mindset. So, when the news outlet chooses to portray Mr. Brown as a gentle boy who was needlessly killed by police, instead of a gang affiliated man who was attacking a cop after committing armed robbery.
The public is going to go up in arms and defend the Black Lives Matter movement through ignorance spewed by the media. All while burning and looting their own neighborhood, because that makes perfect sense. The national media chooses to show Rev. Jackson preaching from a podium of the white injustice throughout our legal system, instead of President Obama’s chill bump producing ten minute speech of the sacrifices men and women in uniform.
The national media chooses to show the live footage of the riots of Ferguson, Missouri, yet did not show the live footage of a very moving funeral procession for the beloved, fallen officers of the Hattiesburg PD. The national media chooses to display the most shocking articles in order to get views, no matter what the cost is to our men and women in blue, and our communities as a whole.
I urge everyone now, to do your own research, to form your own opinion. I beg you to look beyond the badge and realize a father and a husband, a mother and a sibling lives behind that piece of metal. Know that black, white, brown, or purple, law enforcement officers as a whole are here to help you and want to better every community they work in. Finally, I ask you never forget Officer Tate and Officer Deen, the fallen heroes of Hattiesburg Police Department.
