English 2100 x 81: Fall 2020

Category: Blog 9/9

A Short Reflection on “The Grammar of Police Shootings”

I liked both of these texts, but the text that stuck out at me the most between the two was “The Grammar of Police Shootings”, by Radley Balko, probably because it reminded me of a joke I heard in a piece of stand-up comedy before. I believe the special is on Netflix to this day. Titled “Michael Che: Matters”, the special revolves around a series of genuinely important topics, but the largest of them being racism and the problem with police brutality, as the special came out soon after the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Michael Che notes the grammar that is often used when referring to events that had heavy impacts on the racial standings in the United States, saying, 

“They don’t tell you black lives don’t matter. That’s not what they say. That’s not the argument. They hit you with that slick shit. Like, ‘well all lives matter.’ Really? Semantics?… Why do we always have to get over shit every time we bring some shit up? Slavery. ‘Oh that was 400 years ago.’ Segregation. ‘Oh, well you got black history month. We gave you February.’ Police Shooting. ‘That was two weeks. C’mon still? Still?’ 9/11 ‘Oh, never forget.’ That’s why this september I’m getting a t-shirt that says all buildings matter. We’ll see how that works.” 

Che’s point is simple: everytime the topic of racial events in America comes up, it is always brushed off as unimportant, old news, or irrelevant, but other events that have nothing to do with race never recieve the same reply. I don’t think Michael Che is trying to downplay the horror of 9/11 and the effects it had, but his point still remains. There is a massive difference in the way these two types of events are talked about, and more often than not, the most prevalent difference in that juxtaposition is race.

Michael Che criticized for transphobic Caitlyn Jenner joke on 'SNL'

Above is a picture of Michael Che on SNL.

Module #3: “Everything is in the Language We do not Use”

The quote “everything is in the language we do NOT use” refers to the idea that through the absence of diction one is able to distort the truth. For instance, one could say “It is raining, and I am outside”. This statement implies that the speaker was wet, but if the speaker was under a tent shielded from the rain then the statement might deceive the reader without the speaker ever lying. The absence of a causation implies a statement without explicitly mentioning it. Nevertheless, Balko argues that the police department uses this same idea, but in a different fashion in order to shield it from responsibility. Specifically, Balko discusses that the police department’s use of passive voice creates doubt among what occurred shifting blame away from the deputy who was involved. Furthermore, Balko mentions that instead of directly stating that the deputy fired at the child, it says that the situation is “unclear” and it is unknown whether the deputy was responsible for the accident. Therefore, the police department is able to avoid the backlash of its negligence while accepting that the incident occurred. 

The writer sheds light on these practices in order to expose the police department and reveal to the public the truth behind the vague language. Additionally, Balko believes that the police department is deceptive in an attempt to hide the truth and protect themselves without obtaining justice for the victim. Consequently, these articles raise awareness for these issues which will eventually produce change and end this deceitful nature.

Everything is in the language we do not use

If Long Soldier named her poem “everything is in the language we do NOT use”, this would suggest the true meaning is not usually explicitly expressed, but implied or hidden under the language. For example, the name Minnesota meant turbid water in Dakota, possibly linked to the historical past of which the exploitation on native population was imposed by the government. Similarly, in Morgan Parker’s poem, she was trying to deliver the message to the readers without using the explicit language. She titled the poem with revelation that The President Has Never Said the Word ‘Black’, while ironically avoided using the word ‘black’ throughout the poem, expressing her disapproval, mocking this behavior.

The president is all like
five on the bleep hand side.

Five on the black hand side.

The president be like
we lost a young      boy today.

We lost a young black boy today.

The pursuit of happiness
is guaranteed for all fellow      Americans.

The pursuit…..guaranteed for for black Americans.

What color are visions.

Human eye does not perceive black light for it is the the absence of light. This can be Parker’s way of indicating black being neglected. President Obama himself a black descendants, never mentions the word black.

It is not so difficult to open
teeth and brass taxes.

But it is so difficult for him to mention this word.

In the article written by Radley Balko commenting on grammatical tactics used with police shootings events. Balko, quoted from LAPD’s announcement, pointed out the vagueness of the facts stated in the announcement, misleading the audience by not providing the details of the incident, why it happened and how it happened. Instead the department uses rhetorical tactics that aiemd to deflect responsibility from itself. Everything is in the language we do not use. In both readings, the authors wanted the reader to see the facts not usually present in our sources of news and information, they intend for us to feel the irony behind the rhetoric of officials and reveal how truth may not be present in front of our eyes but hidden in the language that we use.