At a Minnesota rally for Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump a man proudly wore a T-shirt that called for the lynching of journalists.
“Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some assembly required.”
Trump has made the hatred of the media one of the many outward displays of iniquity towards different sectors of people. The man who claims he would commit to never inciting violence at his own rallies has more than once caused members of the media to fear for their safety amongst his angry mob-like supporters.
ABC’s reporter, Katie Tur, has found herself in the spotlight of Trump’s insufferable loathing during his campaign trail and it has caused her to need secret service assistance on more than one occasion.
But let’s not pretend this country’s loathing for the media stops or starts with Trump, though his volatile fans definitely make the situation dangerous for media members. If you take a look at the entire country and what is happening around the globe, you will see that the anger towards media is not confined to this political race.
With some of the main media outlets being completely biased and run by billionaires, it is safe to say that you are not getting the truth out of any of them. Bias media is a fact of life but what isn’t is when news channels like FOX completely make up stories to insight the nation and fuel the fire that is getting bigger and bigger by the day for Trump fans.
Then you look at protests such as the No-DAPL or the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and you either have reporters being stifled by arrests and federal charges for reporting the truth, or you have media representing the big money side of things and only showing the worst of the situation to the general populace.
Democracy Now host and reporter, Amy Goodman’s charges were dropped in court after being arrested for documenting and reporting on the police brutality against No-DAPL protestors.
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are two things that make this country what it is without bindings or imposed and forced mindsets. Freedom of speech is in itself the freedom to speak openly without the fear of government restraint, yet the government are the exact ones causing this fear and this hostility towards the specific people who give the populace the news and happenings around the world on a minute to minute basis.
It is no surprise with Trump’s Hitler-like attempt at a regime that he would put fear into the hearts of citizens and try to shut down any source of information that perpetrated the truth. Without the media, Trump would be free to brainwash and dictate to the American public exactly what he wanted to without fear of the truth and fear of revolution.
Biased or not, the media is exactly what we need right now. If we lose our freedom of the press, we lose a lot more than just free speech. Think about it.
Featured Image Via Gawker
