Medium of Mayhem

So since I'm a teacher, you all know I have to educate a little bit. Did you know that the singular form of the word "media" is "medium"? I'm sorry I had to do that because some people really don't know and I wanted you to be able to understand the title. Enough with education, let me get to "My Thoughts".

In lieu of the steroid allegations swirling around Alex Rodriguez, yet another baseball player who tested positive for performance enhancers, I decided to write a post about how our media plays a big part of our opinions and emotions. This post might be a little long so if you wish to turn around now, I won't even be mad at you. But if you would like to take this ride through history with me, then sit back and enjoy. ("Enjoy yourself!"-Rick James well actually Dave Chappelle...I know, I'm so damn random lol)

We as Americans have always looked to our media to bridge the gap between what we already know, and what's going on in the world. Everyday you turn to your local news, CNN, MSNBC, etc. to listen to reports about what has happened in your neighborhood, city, state, country, and/or the world. But have you ever felt that these news programs have been controlling your emotions? No? Well listen to this.

In 2001, right after 9/11, the government instituted a terror alert that used colors to let you know the level of concern that you should have in respect to another attack occurring (Instead of colors, I think STD's would've been more effective. I definitely wouldn't have gotten on a plane if it was level Herpes, but I might've taken a chance on level crabs lol) Every time the level went up, people ran out and stocked up on food and supplies and decided that they would spend a little more time at home (like a nuke wouldn't take out your whole area). I might just be a conspiracy theorist, but I honestly thought this was a ploy to play with the emotions of the American people because you can control a whole country if you scare them to death. Now, in this case, I believe the media was just a pawn used by the government to control us. Some of you are going to say, "this didn't really affect me". And to you I say, let me continue.

So, since my last illustration didn't mean much to some of you, let me dig deeper into history. Tupac and Biggie's feud went public when Tupac was shot after an attempted robbery at a New York recording studio back in 1994. An attack through dis records and magazine articles ensued. Now, even though this "beef", if you will, started between Tupac, Biggie, and Puffy (or whatever he's calling himself now-a-days) rappers who were in the inner circles of both artists quickly chose sides. Since both artists were from different parts of the country, the beef soon became a "coastal" war. This "East Coast, West Coast beef", which was a phrase coined by a newspaper columnist and not the artists themselves, was ignited by the media outlets that were covering the story. This much attention made the every day hip hop fan choose sides (if you were on the east coast you know you shouted "fuck the west coast" a time or two, and vice versa). At the end, not only were the lives of two of the most influential figures of hip hop lost, but other artists were threatened and assaulted because they were on the wrong side of the country. The media strengthened our pride in the coast that we belonged to by making us so angry at the other coast, ultimately forcing each coast to bond together. Now this wouldn't have been so bad, if it didn't turn into a hatred that cost a few people their lives. And all this to sell a few magazines and newspapers. Damn shame right? Don't agree? Well keep reading.

For this example, I'm going to switch it over from the media controlling the emotions of the people, to the media's court of public opinion. Last week I made a comment on facebook about the Chris Brown and Rihanna situation. When I went to check my status, I saw that there were a lot of supporters of Chris Brown who felt that I shouldn't have made that statement (even though it clearly stated "IF he messed her face up like that, he needs his ass whipped"). One of the comments that I received, spoke to the notion that you're innocent until proven guilty. Now, how many of you believe this? Okay, before I tell you to go kill yourself, I'll consider that this is what we've been told for so long and in the court of law this is correct. But this is the court of the public opinion, and it is the exact opposite. In the media's eyes, you are guilty until proven innocent! And if this weren't the case, then why would we have indicted Chris Brown before we ever had the chance to hear his side of the story? (Well some of you Chris Brown fans believe that Rihanna must have done something for that to happen to her) Why were pictures released? Why have different media outlets released their own version of what happened? I guess, because if someone throws out an allegation about you, it must be true.

Still not a believer? I gave you two examples of how our media is able to control our emotions and one example of how they can persuade our opinion. Still aren't sold? Then nothing I can write will sway your opinion. So we can just agree to disagree. Which ever way you feel, "It's Just My Thoughts, Just What I Was Feeling at the Time"