Dear President,

There are several issues that plague our country. As you’re running for President of the United States, I’m positive you’re aware of this. If I tried to talk about all of these issues, it would take me years to cover half. I’ve decided to focus on one issue that happens to be a major thorn in society’s side at the moment. The topic I’ve chosen to throw my two cents in on is social injustice and the horrible effects of the media. I’m only a junior in high school in Southern IN. This means I don’t know every single detail of what happens, but I’m exposed to social media day in and day out so I have a pretty good idea of what’s reported. I know the effects of social injustice and I know how common communities interpret the media coverage. This is insight you don’t have easy access to because this isn’t a topic you’re very familiar with. The general concept circulating media and mundane mouths alike is based upon the belief that social injustice is supposedly based on race, ethnicity, or stereotypes and I strongly feel stricter protocols could help this.

I’m taking a side that you probably don’t expect, but I’m sticking to the side of the law. I understand that crimes are punishable and each crime receives a slightly altered version of the same punishment. The common people of America don’t seem to understand this concept to the extent they should. The “Black Lives Matter” activists came to be when African American men were being killed by police forces without an apparent cause. They claim this is the result of police brutality and racism towards African Americans. I have a different point of view. If a crime is committed, whether it be resisting arrest, robbery, attempted harm towards an officer, murder, assault, etc., it is subject to punishment. If you’re running towards an officer and disobeying his orders to stop advancing, you’re liable to be shot. It is his duty to not only protect the community, but himself as well.

Is this due to racism or is it due to legitimate infractions of the law? Statistics have been gathered and police officers are 18.5 times more likely to be killed by an African American than a cop killing an unarmed African American. So obviously, the problem isn’t on the law’s end. That, however, is not how the media portrays the events. The media outlets all make it seem as if these individuals were walking along the road and were gunned down by malicious officers without due cause. In reality, these are people who have committed a crime and have to be dealt with accordingly. Now, there have been cases where police officers became a little too “trigger-happy” and did break laws themselves. These officers have received punishments.

Less media coverage could be supremely helpful. I understand that the American people want to be aware of what’s happening, but they need to stop the contortions. Instead of saying, “Unarmed Black Man Fatally Shot by Vicious Officer” they should be saying, “Criminal Shot Due to Insubordination”. Do black lives matter? Yes. As do all other lives regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity. Reduced media coverage is just one of the steps we can take to fix this problem.

Sincerely,

A junior in high school begging for a change.