People in the United States are scarred to talk about race. In everyday conversation we shy away from the topic. We are afraid that talking about race will provoke some sort of passionate argument or maybe a violent altercation. But race and ethnicity are a part of who we are. We naturally define ourselves black, white or Hispanic, but to talk about it in a conversation has become a sort of cultural taboo.
The case of Trayvon Martin it is an understandably heated topic. A 17 year-old African American boy was shot by a 28 year-old Hispanic man (George Zimmerman). Naturally, people are going to be saddened and even angry and there are going to be questions raised as to the motivation of the shooting.
According to Zimmerman, he shot Martin in self-defense but the trick is that we will never know Martin's side of the story. So how do we know what is right? As a journalist, this is an extremely difficult case to cover.
However, although I feel that this case is important, I must ask myself, why is this story the one that is receiving such heavy coverage when there are probably many killings that are race related? In order to cover this story accurately, I think I would have to keep it in perspective of past racial crimes. I would understand that at times certain cases seem to grab ahold of the media but I would not simply ride the wave of popularity, but I would try to keep the facts in perspective. Most importantly, I must keep in mind that the majority of the news surrounding the case is simply speculation. If I am going to cover the story I would speak directly to the eye witnesses but I would not try to make any personal interpretations because ultimately, we will never know the full story because Trayvon Martin cannot speak with us.
People all around the country, from all walks of life are protesting the case taking pictures of themselves in hoodies and collaborating in demonstrations to show their support for Martin. I believe that people should uphold their beliefs and I would encourage others to do so however, I think that the media has created a huge uproar based on shady facts and speculation and people need to be careful of jumping to conclusions before they know the whole truth. It is a tragedy that a boy was needlessly killed but as a journalist I must evaluate all the facts myself and keep my personal biases out of the story so that I do not convey an inaccurate story to an already passionate audience.
The case of Trayvon Martin it is an understandably heated topic. A 17 year-old African American boy was shot by a 28 year-old Hispanic man (George Zimmerman). Naturally, people are going to be saddened and even angry and there are going to be questions raised as to the motivation of the shooting.
According to Zimmerman, he shot Martin in self-defense but the trick is that we will never know Martin's side of the story. So how do we know what is right? As a journalist, this is an extremely difficult case to cover.
However, although I feel that this case is important, I must ask myself, why is this story the one that is receiving such heavy coverage when there are probably many killings that are race related? In order to cover this story accurately, I think I would have to keep it in perspective of past racial crimes. I would understand that at times certain cases seem to grab ahold of the media but I would not simply ride the wave of popularity, but I would try to keep the facts in perspective. Most importantly, I must keep in mind that the majority of the news surrounding the case is simply speculation. If I am going to cover the story I would speak directly to the eye witnesses but I would not try to make any personal interpretations because ultimately, we will never know the full story because Trayvon Martin cannot speak with us.
People all around the country, from all walks of life are protesting the case taking pictures of themselves in hoodies and collaborating in demonstrations to show their support for Martin. I believe that people should uphold their beliefs and I would encourage others to do so however, I think that the media has created a huge uproar based on shady facts and speculation and people need to be careful of jumping to conclusions before they know the whole truth. It is a tragedy that a boy was needlessly killed but as a journalist I must evaluate all the facts myself and keep my personal biases out of the story so that I do not convey an inaccurate story to an already passionate audience.
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