Two weeks ago, Kim Kardashian was flour-bombed at a red carpet event as she celebrated her new perfume line. The story exploded (just bag of flour), with headlines, tweets, and blogs blowing up all over the country. It seemed like thousands joined Kim and her family in the fight for justice against the attack and the attacker.

The next day, 100 miles south of Hollywood, an Iraqi woman was shot and killed in her home and left with a note that read: “This is my country. Go back to yours, terrorist.” The crime, obviously motivated by hate, elicited alarm from some, showing up in the occasional tweet or blog post, but, for the most part, it remained overshadowed and under-covered.

Around the same time, headlines came out informing the American public that U.S. troops had been involved in an airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. This story received little attention on social networks and blogs, and several days later — when it was announced that no disciplinary action would be taken against the soldiers involved — people were still preoccupied with calling for Kim Kardashian’s vindication.

While these three events are not comparable in many ways, the varying levels of attention they received from the nation reflects an alarming pattern: media focuses more on celebrities than other people, no matter the tragedy. The bottom line is: Kim Kardashian’s flour bombing should not outrage the public more than a hate crime or a military blunder resulting in the death of 24 innocents.

The problem is two-fold. The media can be found culpable for playing to what the public want to see and hear. They know what sells, and, ultimately, that’s what we get. Even the most reputable news organizations emphasize and sensationalize certain stories while downplaying other, less palatable headlines. But when it comes down to what sells — what society cries out for — that’s quite simply up to us.

So maybe we should all do something about it. Use the social media at your fingertips to spread important stories, stories that are about social justice, equality, and racism. Media should not be controlled by a small few. Take control of your media, social and otherwise.