Media, Stereotypes & the Perpetuation of Racism in Canada Essay

Media, Stereotypes & the Perpetuation of Racism in Canada - Essay Example The media – print as well as television is one of the most powerful sources of mass communication in today’s times, and its accessibility and vast outreach has further added to its sheer power to influence the ‘minds of the masses’. The issues portrayed by the media are almost invariably regarded as ‘truthful’ and assumed to be accurate by the audiences, which lends even more power in the hands of those who control it. The media, world over, has recently attracted severe criticism for the negative portrayal of critical events, and especially for irresponsible reporting by hiding the facts and reality and sensationalizing the news through willful and deliberate misrepresentation of issues which can have a strong negative influence on those who consume such blatant lies. One of its several outcomes is the perpetuation of racism, on account of the negative portrayal or racial stereotyping of the ethnic minorities. This paper critically examines the portrayal of minority communities by the Canadian media, explores the manner in which they are represented – i.e. misrepresented or underrepresented in the media, and its ultimate impact on the masses, culminating of such news into a negative image of members of such groups, there by attracting harsh and often discriminatory behavior towards them by the dominant groups. This study is an attempt to study the highly complex relationship between the minority communities and their gross misrepresentation by the Canadian media, the role of the media in shaping national identities and influencing peaceful or destructive inter racial relations and / or harmony depending on the media representations. â€Å"Racisim is prejudice or discrimination against other people because of their race or because of what is thought to be their race (their biology or ancestry or physical appearance). It involves the assumption that peoples birth or biology

Exclusionary Rule Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exclusionary Rule - Research Paper Example This aims to safeguard people from being prosecuted if at all the due process of evidence collection was not followed. It is also true that this principle is there to prevent prosecutors and law enforcement agencies from admitting evidence into court after the search and seizure of evidence is complete (Maclin, 2012). This paper shall inspect the application of the exclusionary rule, and how it affects the daily lives of both citizens and law enforcement agencies. The principle behind the exclusionary rule prevents police officers from violating an individual’s constitutional rights. This is because; it is not possible for police officers to ignore the basic rule that governs their responsibilities as law enforcers. Their duty is to ensure that the constitution and all its principles are upheld. The exclusionary rule may not be embedded in the constitution, but it is one principle that the Supreme Court thought would work toward protecting an individual’s right as constituted in the Fourth Amendment (Maclin, 2012). The Fourth Amendment is there to protect against the illegal search and seizure of an individual, or their property. This means that even suspects cannot be searched until a legal document forces them to do so, if they were not willing to oblige to an arbitrary search. It is the belief of countless individuals that the rule must not be enforced at all times. This is because, at times, there might be instances where lives are at stake when it comes down to searching a suspect and their property. In such instances, it is considered unnecessary to wait for a warrant to search and save any lives that may be at risk. However, police officers who do this might need to prove that there were no doubts as to the suspect’s intentions, and thus; their actions as law enforcers were legitimate. Unfortunately, if police officers intentionally violate an individual’s fundamental right against arbitrary search and seizure, then the rule must apply.