Where do you get your news? Do you solely rely on social media? Or do you go to a higher authority — perhaps the newspapers or the news channels on the television? I personally just have the apps downloaded to my phone. Both the New York Times and the CNN app usually give me enough information to hold a semi-intelligent conversation about current events. But the problem with all of these different media outlets is that we never get the whole story.
I realize that it’s impossible to hear every side of every news story that comes across our newsfeed, but the thing we should be cautious of, as consumers, is always believing every thing we read. Always have in the back of your mind the thought “What are the reporters not telling us?” or “Whose voice hasn’t been heard in this situation?”
No one is a bigger spokesperson for this point than Conley Gibbs Jr., the minister of the Ferguson Heights Church of Christ in Ferguson, Missouri. When Gibbs was on our campus on Feb. 1–2, he made a point to tell us that Ferguson, despite the shooting of an unarmed teenage boy by a police officer on Aug. 9, really is a safe place. However, the media have focused all its efforts on reporting the strife between the police force and the community. And as a result, the entire U.S. thinks Ferguson is a hotbed of racism and turmoil.
The media give the impression that this issue has polarized race relations. I do not believe all African-Americans have the same view. Neither do I believe that about all Caucasians.
“In fact, the news would have you believe all the protesters are African-American and that all the Caucasians are outraged about the protests,” Gibbs said in chapel. “There is a vast, considerable number of Caucasians of all ages who participated in the protests. Many Caucasians share the concern about excessive policing, economic disparity and the injustice they witness in the treatment of others.”
What the media is not reporting is the positive effort the community is making towards restoring peace. Another minister from the town of Ferguson, Joe Costephens, has been organizing various community service projects all over the city since the shooting. Many others like him are also pouring their time and resources into similar projects.
The point of all this is: be wise. Be cautious. Be savvy when you take in information. Do some digging on your own if you are curious about a story. Don’t just be consumers, because the media can paint a pretty bleak picture of our world. Be intelligent, be informed, be light-bringers. Recognize that there is still beauty in humanity. You’ll be better for it.
