There have been many cases of people being defensive of their cultures and races where people try to appropriate them. A section of individuals has interpreted the increased level of protest against appropriation and defense of one's culture as being people in the modern day being “easily offended.” The paper argues that this is not true. The essay is majorly based on the topic of stereotypes. It utilizes fatal police encounters with various Black men in the past to exemplify the depth of the problem of stereotypes in American society. The paper used Michael Brown as the basis of the argument. Brown was shot by a police officer in 2014, which sparked anger and protests across the country. The event led to numerous activities such as an increase in the number of demonstrations and reforms within the criminal justice system.
The essay discusses how the media perpetuates stereotypical images of Black men especially those involved in fatal shooting accounts with the police. A majority of the Black men are portrayed as criminals rather than victims in such shooting situations. However, this may have a silver lining as it has encouraged the rise of social media activists who try to fight the stereotypical nature of the portrayal of Black men by the media. The paper found that after Ferguson, the rates of protests increased when there was a fatal encounter with the police. The activists help in transmitting information across networks as well as the organization of demonstrations. However, the paper concludes that even with the increased protests, there have been little to no change in the stereotypes Black people face. The case of Philando Castile was used to show that even after protests in Ferguson, nothing much had changed. The paper concludes that the future does not look promising either. Further, the paper concludes that people in the modern day are not easily offended, they have more information and exposure to the truth, which elicits such reactions.
