Ish's Eng 2150 – GTRG Blog

I found this article to be very shocking as well as frightening. Two 12-year-olds Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyeser killed their friend over an imaginary character they worshiped as a fantasy. Bella and Anissa both had Morgan in common. All three of which became friends. So theee friends who spent time together and hung out together led to the murder of one of them, Bella. Anissa and Morgan first attacked Bella but Bella wasn’t fully aware of what they were trying to do. So she continued to hang out with them and was drawn into the woods for a game of hide-and-seek until Morgan pushed Bella over and stabbed her 19 times. Morgan recalled saying “Stabby stab stab stab”. Clearly, there is something going on with Morgan and Anissa that leads then to commit this heinous crime. But why, why murder their friend? It was due to a powerful and compelling character known as Slender Man. Slender Man preoccupied Anissa and Morgan. They all in one way or another we’re obsessed with imaginary creatures and evil. Their friendship was built upon this. Anissa and Morgan both shared obsessions and loved imaginary play. They wanted something more thrillling than their reality, they wanted to do more. Anissa and Morgan were both apart of their fantasies but they weren’t able to separate their fantasies from their realities, even though they may have been aware that they were in a fantasy world. Anissa Rolf police “He does not exist,” referring to the Slender Man. This story seems like something that comes out of a movie. Two friends plotting and murdering a third wheel they’ve come to resent. It’s crazy to think that these 12-year-old girls were capable of doing what they did. I wasn’t surprised when I read Morgan was mentally ill, cause that may be the reason as to why it happened.

Riots aren’t just people destroying their own communities in senseless violence. There’s underlying issues behind riots and sometimes people fail to see that. Some of these underlying issues include police abuse, residential  segregation, economic inequality and racial tensions.  Riots don’t only just cause more attention but  can lead to real reforms in local police and departments and governments. Riots are important in that they shine light as to the reason of rage and feelings of neglect in the communities. This is good in that it helps us understand why these riots happen and how to prevent them from happening in the future. The reasons for riots isn’t just the opportunity to steal and destroy property but an attempt at enforcing change in their community. For example, between 1963 and 1970, several hundred riots happened due to the confrontations between the police and African Americans, which is a great underlying issue. Many riots occurred in Los Angeles that resulted in the death of more than 60 people and thousands injured. The underlying issue behind these riots was the climax of anger in black and Hispanic communities over years and years of economic inequality and police abuses in Los Angeles. Riots are fueled by years of issues, even if a single event triggered the outbreak of a riot. These single events that triggered the years of issues include Freddie Gray’s police death in Baltimore and Keith Lamont Scott police shooting. Freddie Gray’s neighborhood suffered from severe poverty as more than half the residents were unemployed and buildings being vacant or abandoned. Keith Lamont Scott’s death has been led up by years and years of racial segregation and racial issues with police in Charlotte. Riots aren’t just extreme acts of violets and have a much bigger meaning behind them.

 

The Central Park Five was a very interesting documentary about five teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of rape in the late 80s in Central Park. In New York City during that time, the crime rate was high, 6 crimes happened in a day. This case stuck out because it was more than just a crime or wrongful conviction. It was a issue with race, the police and the media. The media portrayed the teenagers as they would do such a thing, saying things like “they deserve for what they did”. Racial issues led to the wrongful conviction of these five teenagers, they were vulnerable. The families of the teenagers didn’t have much experience dealing with the police and didn’t know how to handle the interrogation. In addition, the policemen left the teenagers and their parents in the dark about the confession, legal process, etc. The teenagers were unfamiliar with the whole legal system and scared. One of the teenagers, Santana, said he was interrogated for 15 hours and faced loads of pressure by the the police officers. He was only 14 years of age, so it’s understandable that he was afraid of what he experienced. He had no prior experience talking to policemen and didn’t have his parents to tell him to do as he was being interrogated alone. So he “co-operates” with the policemen doing whatever they said. The confessions by these teenagers were inconsistent, there was no DNA test done,and  the policemen faked the confession and fingerprints as evidence. These are the reasons they were convicted, which is unlawful.

In Joan Didion’s essay, she speaks about the case of a jogger who was raped and brutally beaten in Central Park in 1989. A group of black and latino teenagers were convicted for the crime, even though there was never enough evidence to prove it. Because of this, Didion explores the problem with the media often incriminating minorities while talking about whites as, in a way, superior to them. And why society has come to accept this belief without much hesitation and questioning. She also explores the other issues that go on in New York that usually go unnoticed, such as corruption. She exposes New York for its flaws. Didion’s main concern in my eyes are the racial inequality that is presented in the media, specifically when it comes to crimes against whites, and the underlying issues that happen in New York. She provided many examples of headlines that were in the newspaper after the incident with the jogger. After lookin at these headlines, they clearly portrayed the accused teenagers as violent, thugs, and wild, while they portrayed the victim as an inspiration and referred to her very highly. She also discusses other crimes that are closely similar to this one that did not receive much media attention.

The text “‘Backpacks vs Briefcases’: Step Towards Rhetorical Analysis” discusses the importance of rhetorical analysis and how rhetoric is used to make decisions and conclusions everyday. The text also talks about where rhetoric can be found and how to recognize the different aspects of rhetoric.

Rhetoric is an important idea in daily life. Any form of persuasion or communication will include some form of rhetoric. Rhetoric is the use of language, writing, or visuals to successfully persuade one’s audience. Rhetoric is important to understand if one has to make conclusions when being influenced from outside resources.

There are many different components of the rhetoric. Rhetoric is used commonly in everyday judgments and impressions. When looking at the context, identify the situation or reasoning. The rhetor presents the argument to cause the audience to believe in something and it is how the rhetor goes about persuading the audience. Argument is the core of rhetoric, which can only be reached through effective persuasion. 

Lastly, comes analysis. Analysis is done through carefully studying a piece of rhetoric. It is important to ask questions after viewing a piece of rhetoric to see if  the rhetoric’s argument was effective and accurate. The analysis of a piece of rhetoric requires the audience to draw conclusions and how the example rhetoric fits wit in the context. Questions to think about are does the rhetoric work? And does it address the problem effectively.