Adetiba and Almendrala’s article details the traumatic side effects to viewing videos of police brutality, focusing specifically on its impact on Black people. While discussing the side effects, which are similar to that of post-traumatic stress disorder, the authors explicate the reasons as to why the Black community is particularly vulnerable to these symptoms. Citing a psychologist, the authors explain that since the majority of these videos feature Black victims, Black viewers see themselves as the victims, resulting in feelings of anxiety and danger.
Although this article presents the downside to these videos, the authors offer n opposing viewpoint, explaining the political benefits to the videos of police brutality. The author notes that these videos often act as a check on police power and can encourage justice for those involved, which is an important opposing viewpoint to consider when crafting my paper. This article, although published on a news blog, proves to be credible through its citation of credible experts, like Monnica Williams, a clinical psychologist, and Deray Mckesson, a popular activist.
Additionally, the subject of the article focuses on my audience, Black Americans. Ultimately, this article proves to be relevant to y subject and a thorough analysis of the impact videos of police brutality have on the Black community. In this article, Jamiles Lartey describes the psychological damage caused by watching videos of police brutality. Citing multiple psychologists, he explains how the viral and pervasive nature of these videos reinforce negative thoughts within the viewer, resulting in anxiety, depression, nightmares, and an irrational fear of the police.
Lartey also describes the concept of collective trauma in the context of Black Americans, relating it the trauma caused by the outbreak of these violent videos, which is a henomenon I plan on including in my paper to stress the urgency of this issue. Lartey then goes onto explain the ethical controversy surrounding these videos, providing both arguments for and against the sharing and watching of them. Some argue that these videos promote justice for those involved and allow ignorance to be diminished, claiming that it’s the press’s duty to share and spread these videos.
On the other hand, others argue that the videos themselves are being used as a tool of oppression due to their uncensored nature and lack of consideration for the Black community. This article, published n The Guardian, considers both sides of a controversial topic, citing both psychologists and news editors to get a wide array of opinions. However, the inclusion of quotes from everyday Americans makes the article slightly less credible, despite it providing a wider spectrum of opinions. Nonetheless, the article provides a thoughtful depiction of the controversy surrounding the watching and sharing of police brutality videos.
Referencing multiple incidences of police brutality caught on tape, Kenya Downs explores both the psychological repercussions of these videos as well as the controversy urrounding them. Citing Monnica Williams, a clinical psychologist, Downs details the symptoms of watching these videos in the context of the black community, which are remarkably similar to that of PTSD, and refers to this phenomenon as racial trauma. This trauma can lead to numerous ailments, such as depression and psychosis, and exacerbate already present conditions, like high blood pressure.
Furthermore, Downs describes how many therapists may lack the cultural understanding in order to aid patients suffering from racial trauma. Thus, the damage done by watching these videos is not easily healed. Downs goes on to explain the controversy of sharing these videos, citing April Reign, a former attorney and current editor of Black Broadway, who argues that the viral and violent nature of these videos is comparable to when white people would sit and watch the lynchings of black people in the South.
Throughout this article, Downs prioritizes the psychological health of Black Americans when deciding whether or not people should watch and share videos of police brutality. Specializing in both racial issues and education, Kenya Downs proves her credibility through her referencing of various xperts, like activists, editors, and psychologists. Furthermore, her writing dwells specifically on the topic of police brutality videos, making the article especially relevant.
This article ovides both ethical and scientific evidence for my argument that the trauma of Black Americans is far more important than the spreading and sharing of police brutality videos. While many argue that videos of police brutality promote justice, Stuart believes that this argument is wishful thinking. Stuart provides an example of when a homeless man was brutally beaten by officers from the LAPD. Although there was video evidence, the cops controlled the story and claimed they were beating him to save him from eating crack cocaine.
Stuart additionally cites incidences where footage is lost or incomplete, leading to little to no repercussions for the police involved. So although these videos provide explicit evidence, they often don’t result in justice and just create unnecessary trauma to its Black viewers. Being a peer reviewed article, in addition to being written by a professor, its credibility seems more than adequate. Despite it being biased, these incidences act as incredible vidence to help me refute the claim that videos of police brutality help to combat injustice, making it incredibly valuable to my paper.
Furthermore, the article centers around Black Americans, which is the demographic I plan to focus on when writing my paper. To be brief, this article remains a credible and useful source, providing evidence in support of the censorship police brutality videos. In Wortham’s article, she interviews Monnica Williams, a clinical psychologist, to discuss the psychological effects of racism, in the context of racially motivated police brutality. Wortham, as a Black woman, notes that many of her friends and colleagues have expressed their distress due to the publicized incidences of police brutality.
This phenomenon is referred to by Williams as racial trauma, which can cause depression, intrusion, anger, loss of appetite, and apathy. Additionally, Williams discusses how many therapists don’t empathize with racial issues, causing African Americans to be more likely to drop out after only a few sessions. Although slightly biased, this article remains credible through its referencing of an expert psychologist. This article, lthough not explicit in my topic, remains relevant through its demographic, Black Americans, and its explanation of racial trauma, which is an effect of watching police brutality videos.
Furthermore, I plan to use the issue of misunderstanding therapists to prove that racial trauma cannot be treated easily, making videos of police brutality causing immense and almost untreatable harm. In summary, this article provides useful evidence about racial trauma that can be connected and used to support the censorship of videos depicting police brutality. Van Der Molen’s article details the psychological effects violent ews broadcasts have on children. Research has shown that exposure to realistic portrayals of violence can result in heightened levels of aggression, immediate fright reactions, and fear of the world as a scary place.
Additionally, frequent viewing of real violence depicted on news programs can result in desensitization of others’ distress. This article, written by pediatricians, aims to encourage other pediatricians to inform their patients and their patients’ families of the negative effects of watching violent videos. However, they do not advocate for censorship, nor do they advocate for rampant exposure to iolent videos, displaying their lack of bias and their credibility.
While my research demographic is not children, this article provides evidence for the traumatizing effects violent videos, like videos of police brutality, have on its viewers. Much like children, adults tend to feel unsafe after watching violent videos. In the context of Black American viewers, police brutality videos can reinforce the idea that the world unsafe for Black people, resulting in psychological problems. Thus, this article provides support for the censorship of videos of police brutality.