In the News—Social Media Contributing to Protests after NYPD Officer Not Indicted

In the wake of a Grand-Jury's decision to not indict a NYPD officer who choked and killed an unarmed man, protesters demonstrated all over the country, outraged by the decision. The story can be read at the following link:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/social-media-help-fuel-protests-after-new-york-officer-not-indicted-over-death-of-eric-garner-1417662999

Eric Garner, a 43-year-old African American New York City resident, was killed on July 17 of this year, after a police officer choked Garner unconscious while attempting to subdue him. Protesters are outraged, as a video shows the unarmed man being taken down and choked unconscious by officer Daniel Pantaleo. Even after the medical examiner listed the death as a homicide, a Grand Jury decided not to indict officer Pantaleo.

Social media is fueling the fire for protesters, and helping to gain publicity. More and more people are joining the protests after hearing about the lack of indictment. According to The Wall Street Journal: "Soon after the grand jury’s decision, Twitter and Facebook lit up with thousands of messages organized around hashtags such as #EricGarner, #ICantBreathe and #BlackLivesMatter." The article claimed that more than 69,000 tweets were being posted every hour with the hashtag #EricGarner. The social media sites are also providing a platform for protesters to organize public demonstrations, some of which lead to the arrest of many people after demonstrations got out of control. 

In my opinion, this is where social media shines brightest. People all over the planet can find and read information and news that is related to stories such as this one. The sites also make it possible to gain followers necessary to start social movements. These movements can gain supporters and virtual bystanders who wish to push towards social change. Twitter and Facebook are currently helping ongoing social movements by contributing to resource mobilization, which "is the process by which social movements generate the assets necessary to build and sustain the movement" (Croteau, P.488). As the push for a true post-racial society continues, I believe we will see social media continue to grow into an even more powerful tool in uniting people towards a common interest.