More recently, police brutality has been on the rise and continues to disrupt the lives and progression of African-Americans. Their was a recent investigation into a North Carolina man who not only was openly racist, but was a state trooper. This article is from NBC news and details the events leading to his investigation. He overtly went on a racially bias rampage on social media via Instagram. His rampage went on to detail his strong opinions on issues such as the media, the president, and the NFL (Fieldstadt, 2018). His name was Sgt. Jonathan K. Whitley, and he was being investigated after making such outrageous statements. He went on to accuse people who may be guilty of a suspected crime as getting “what they deserved” (Fieldstadt, 2018). This comment revealed his justification for police brutality and was bias on his behalf as a public servant.
He also went on to attack African-Americans personally, by making statements that he “didn’t own a slave and I owe you nothing. Including your HUD housing and EBT card,” (Fieldstadt, 2018). This not only was racially motivated, but it implied that black families are reliant upon low-income institutions. To add insult to injury, he commented his disposition against the NFL, but pleaded his love for this country’s flag (Fieldstadt, 2018). This was also a shot towards African-Americans as popular former quarterback Colin Kaepernick made headlines. He decided to take a knee during the singing of the National Anthem in silent protest of police brutality against African-Americans. This caused outrage to many people including Donald Trump, amongst other political figures. However, Whitley also expressed his love and support for Trump stating he would not be impeached and he couldn’t wait to vote again for him (Fieldstadt, 2018). While also discrediting the Democratic party, the media and their efforts in the progress. This is a direct result of the impression that Donald Trump leaves on this society. Many of his supporters are backing this unorthodox leader while he continues to divide the country putting the wealthy in position while overlooking the lower and middle class populations.
This is a problem because he is in a position that requires him to not be bias and not hold such prejudice mindsets when dealing with the public. As a state trooper he takes an oath which “affirms their standards of integrity, bravery and honor to the community and law” (Lourdes, 2017). Instead, he blatantly expresses his anger towards African-Americans and his reasoning for police brutality. When having people with this mentality employed in such positions it turns out crucial. Especially, for the people on the opposite side of law enforcement who don’t match the criteria of being Caucasian.
This is when the media should be involved to publicize on such outrages acts. These types of situations should raise red flags all across the United Sates of America and through all mass media new outlets. When we have a corrupt justice system mixed with even more corrupt mindsets it is a recipe for disaster. In order to make change, we have to internally fix our systems to be free of racial disparities and mistreatment. Which could call for an investigation into law enforcement, deeper background checks, complex psych evaluations, and any preventive measure to ensure our system is filled with people who want to help and not be the problem. Until we get a real President and politicians who actually care about the issue, laws, policies, and socially embedded racism, it will not disappear. It is also left to the citizens to protest, get informed, and fight for their true equal opportunities. This is where the intersection of politics and media should come into play in order to inform the public and get a response.
Fieldstadt, E. (2017, December 7). N.C. state trooper on desk duty over Instagram post defending police brutality. Retrieved April 4, 2019, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/n-c-state-trooper-desk-duty-over-instagram-post-defending-n945236
Lourdes, M. (2017, November 21). Do Cops Take an Oath? Retrieved April 4, 2019, from https://work.chron.com/cops-oath-22507.html
Politics 