Black Journalists Suffering From Panic Attacks

[Troy]

Heat flushed Natelegé Whaley’s body as she wrote a news article about the shooting by police that killed Breonna Taylor. Ms. Whaley, a journalist, figured she was tired. Then came the mental fog, digestive issues and blurred vision. When these seemingly separate issues snowballed into a panic attack and a trip to the emergency room in late May, Ms. Whaley, 31, who lives in Brooklyn, connected the dots.

 

“I’m writing about the suffering of someone who looks like me,” she said. “We just keep going and going and going and going because we feel like that’s what we must do, and that’s not healthy.”

 

Read the rest at the New York Times.

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No, it is not healthy.  I've mentioned numerous times here that I simply will not subject myself to all the negativity spewed forth by our media. Now, I'm no wimpy shrinking violet, I just know we are better served by a balance or uplifting stores with the negative rather than a deluge of terrible ones the media loves to cover.

 

I had not considered the adverse impact on the people who cover these stories. Personally, I have no idea what level of stress one must under for it to manifest in a panic attack and a visit to the emergency room -- but whatever that is, but that would be one activity I would never engage in more than once.

[Pioneer1]

We're BOTH in agreement in our desire to turn away from this negative shit.....
Although my work requires me to stay on top of most things happening in the community to atleast be able to discuss it.

Mainly for the reason that is being reported in the article....the STRESS of it.
Anxiety is caused by either chemical imbalances or stress...especially stress over things you THINK you can't control (do anything about).

I had a panic attack ONE TIME when I was younger and I didn't like that feeling at all.

 

 

If you're living in a society there you're constantly being humiliated and getting your ass kicked and their is SEEMINGLY little you can do about it, that's enough to stress most people out.  
It's called the system of White Supremacy.

 

I'm of mixed thinking on why so much of this is being reported lately though.....

-I'm wondering is it because the media is getting more advanced so they can report and show so much racist violence and brutality while it's happening, and THAT'S why so much of it is being shown???

-Or are the racists who control the media INTENTIONALLY showing it more and more in order to make the victims of it feel even more and more helpless and hopeless??

-Or is it a combination of both?

[Troy]

I believe the media reports on this stuff because it makes money. The inherent racist bias of the media skews it to be more detrimental to Black people.  

 

As of November 24, 2020, 864 civilians were shot by police, 192 of them were Black the vast majority of them were white.  Far more white people will be killed by police this year by police officers, though Black people are killed at a the highest rate per capita.

 

Still, given the sheer numbers of police shooting and killing of white people, how often do you read about it?

 

White owned and run media have no problem constantly stoking the fans of racism and triggering Black people for profit. White people are largely spared this stressor, while Black people are overwhelmed by it.

 

Seemingly many of the remaining Black owned platforms copy what white platforms do, for largely the same reasons.

[Pioneer1]

I guess.........

However how much "monetary" incentive is expected to be gained by reporting on so many AfroAmerican men being killed by police when each killing risks mass protests, property damage, and calls for boycotts?

I sense there must be some ulterior motives like brainwashing/programing or desensitizing going on with reporting the same sickening images over and over again with seemingly no resolution or justice being brought to the killers.  
Like you said far more Caucasians are killed by the police than AfroAmericans and I believe that is correct....although I must say many of them are almost FORCED to be killed by the police because they tend to put up far more of a challenge to law enforcement when they engage in reckless and criminal behavior.

The average White man will cuss out a cop, call him all kinds of names, threaten to sue him for violating his "rights" and even rip up the ticked and drive off with seemingly no fear of the consequences....lol.

[Stefan]

Troy,

You mentioned that the media reports on racial crimes because it makes money. I disagree.

Blacks are not as numerous as White people and by and large, the majority ethnic groups in the United States exhibit scant sympathy when it comes the victims of racist murderers. It seems to be changing. but we will see. We remain the most blamed ethnic group that's condemned due to collective guilt by association.

So, these news reports of Blacks horribly victimized in racist attacks are more likely to be disputed and in the main, dismissed. If a news organization cannot sell ads, they ain't gonna be business long. And many advertisers do not want their commercials running amid news reports of racist violence.

The mental and emotional connections are too hard to miss. 

The most immediate reaction to such news reports is Anger. From Blacks because it has happened too many times and from Whites who will complain that they're in for more protests and negative press. Which is why there's almost always a quick a proclamation that the victim just HAD to be a criminal.

Look at the most recent heavily discussed racial murders: Trayvon Martin (long time juvenile delinguent), Breonna Taylor (boyfriend was drug dealer) and George Floyd (previous criminal record).

Now when it came to the evening local TV news in the evening, there was a long held axiom: "If it bleeds, it leads."

This referred to crime stories where violence or the victim's identity guaranteed viewership and follow-up stories. Reporters always hoped to be assigned to or to break a story that had "legs," a potential for follow-ups.