headphones 3 WAYS TO LISTEN

1. Listen to the full article here:
2. Right click here and “save as” to save an mp3 of the article to your computer.
3. Listen to sections of the article by pressing the play buttons that appear before a set of words in the article below.

READING LEVEL 7

Why I Don’t Watch TV News

David DiazDavid Diaz

It might seem extreme, but I don’t watch the news on TV anymore. I’ve noticed that the media seems to be filled with negative accounts of African Americans and Hispanics. I don’t want my young son, Jyzeah, to be exposed to these hateful accounts.

I believe that no human being is born racist. People learn these behaviors because they are taught to us. Before I got full custody of my son, I noticed that when we were out in public, if an African American, or anyone with a dark complexion would walk by, Jyzeah would stop being talkative. On his face, I could see fear. He would quickly come closer to me like a magnetic force and grip my hand. As time passed, I picked up on his behavior. I had a talk with him. I asked him if he felt uncomfortable around African Americans and his response was, “Yes.”

I don’t know where or how he picked up this fear towards a specific race. The media may have had something to do with it. I’m not sure. But I am grateful he is now in my custody, because that fear no longer lives in him.

In Social Studies class I have been learning about the Declaration of Independence and how the 13 colonies worked together to become independent and give future generations great opportunities. I’ve learned about the first ten Amendments to the Constitution called the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment gives the right to free speech. That means people have the right to make racist comments and other people have the right to say those comments are racist. The media has the right to speak about any topic they want. And I have the right to write my opinion here in this magazine.

But just because they are saying it, doesn’t mean I have to listen to it. My solution has been not to watch the news. My son doesn’t see violent images and I’m not listening to negative talk about the black and Hispanic races. It’s working for us!

David Diaz is 33 years old, was born in New York, and raised in Massachusetts. He has been blessed with a son, who is 8 years old. David has a passion for making music and videos, which can be viewed at facebook.com/ShowDivineRazz, YouTube: ShowDivine & Razz, or SoundCloud.com/Razz_ShowDivine. David’s goals are to complete the HiSET, enroll in community college, and continue making positive music. He is a student at the Methuen Adult Learning Center in Methuen, MA.


Back to Issue 42