Maria Arpa
This week
Is this OK?
Plus…
Maria’s Midweek Mindfulness
and
the Wednesday Whisper
Thug or Teen?
One newspaper reports a black man as a Thug. Another reports a white boy as a Teen. The difference is clear. But what bothered me the most were the comments on FB justifying the headlines because the black man was convicted (making it OK to call him a Thug) but the white boy had only been charged. The fact remains that both articles were published on the same day, January 22nd in the Metro albeit by different journalists but, presumably, overseen by an editorial team. I don’t think this can be justified when the article clearly has a picture of a black man labelled Thug and a white boy labelled Teen given that most people don’t read everything in detail but skim headlines. This type of labelling is commonplace. For example, after the hurricane in Florida the media referred to white people as scavengers but black people as looters. Both were up to their waists in water simply trying to survive.
I don’t have instant solutions. I do believe, though, that a starting point is for us to notice these things, become conscious of them and point them out to others so that we do not become so self-absorbed that we accept the status quo as long as it isn’t harming our own interests.
Maria’s Midweek Mindfulness
This week I’ve been thinking about social injustice and how we co-create everything. Saying or doing nothing is a major part of co-creating the way things are. And we have been programmed to stay out of things if they are not directly our business. I just don’t believe that’s OK any longer.
The Wednesday Whisper
What issue are you uneasy about but do nothing about? What small thing could you do? Where would you get support to do it?
I get quite a few comments about my blog being useful. It’s why I continue
Would you be willing to make a big effort to ask others to sign up to it?