Stereotypes break this country down when we need to build up

Pandemic limits print days for some



 

 

It’s time to throw away the broad brush. Past time, actually. Long past time.

It is worn from overuse.

It is used to paint cops as all the same. And African Americans. And Muslims. And new Americans. And reporters. And substance abusers. And those who are obese. And those who are Hollywood stars.

It is absolutely and irrevocably clear that most law enforcement officers are conscientious people who chose a difficult and dangerous profession because they believe it is important and positively effects the lives of others. To paint them all with the brush that is used to paint Derek Chauvin is an injustice.

It is absolutely and irrevocably true that African Americans have many talents and make untold contributions to science, and medicine and athletics and more. To paint them all with the brush that is used to paint someone whose criminal actions are reprehensible is an injustice.

It is absolutely and irrevocably true that Muslims believe in one God and in kindness to humanity. To paint them all with the brush that is used to paint someone who flew an airplane into the World Trade Center is an injustice.

It is absolutely and irrevocably true that thousands of new Americans are decent human beings who fled horrific dangers in search of better lives for their families. To paint them all with the brush used to paint a drug-addict is an injustice.

Stereotypes have been with us a long time and have never made a positive contribution to communities or to society in general.

They start as an idea or experience with a certain group and are extended, wrongly, to all members of the group. Most people have been part of a group of “those people” who are maligned for one reason or another.

Recently a social media post by someone I know, love and respect talked about the bad rap that law enforcement officers have been getting since the killing of George Floyd reawakened the Black Lives Matter movement.

It’s true. The reporting on the movement has often focused on systemic racism in law enforcement agencies. But the post went on to blame “the media” and “the mainstream media,” suggesting that all those who do media work have bias against all those who do law enforcement work.

That’s just as wrong and just as destructive as those who say all cops have bias against African Americans.

In either case, and dozens of others, the stereotyping breaks down relationships, creates hard feelings and sows distrust and division just when unity and trust have become increasingly important. These United States have become far too divided.

The solution is in individual responsibility. Individual responsibility becomes more central than liking and repeating divisive social media posts that tend to resonate with already held points of view. In other words, consider whether the comment or post is true of an entire group, or just of some members of the group. Consider, too, whether comments unite or divide, foster understanding or tear it down.

Just as cops are different from one another, so are journalists and farmers and bankers and football stars.

And those differences make us better.

Ink on paper

The coronavirus pandemic has hastened by years the transformation of newspapers from ink on paper to pixels on screens.

In North Dakota, just one of 10 “daily” newspapers is now printed on paper seven days a week. The rest have all reduced their printed editions, many to two per week, and focused on digital editions that are much less costly to produce and deliver.

Readers have become increasingly accepting of this move, primarily because of pocket book incentives offered to them. If it costs $400 a year to have a daily newspaper delivered daily to your doorstep and $100 to have it delivered to your digital device, well, most of us can easily find use for an extra $300.

For weekly community newspapers, the incentives remain to produce printed editions, using digital as a complement rather than a replacement. That’s in large measure because the requirement for publication of legal notices is for print.

For someone whose grandfather claimed to have ink in his veins and whose father spent a lifetime putting news on paper, that’s a good thing. This reader will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the digital world.

Besides, think of a world without stacks of newsprint in your garage.

Certainly you’re not going to use your laptop to line the bird cage.

Definitely your mobile phone won’t help when you’re packing breakables into boxes.

Of course your desktop won’t put that sheen on when you wash your windows.

Start the presses.

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