“What if Layli Long Soldier had used the quote ‘everything is in the language we do NOT use’ instead?”
Both Morgan Parker and Radley Balko touch upon subjects that are very relevant to the current climate of our nation. One of my favorite lines in Morgan Parker’s poem is “When he opens his mouth, a chameleon is inside, starving.” I think that Parker means to connect political figures and chameleons. When threatened, chameleons change color in order to hide from their prey and escape, much like political figures do when speaking of controversial issues. Many political figures change their tune or ‘color’ so that they gain the favor of the country, a “weaselly” tactic politicians use when caught red-handed. Balko’s article speaks more to me of the language we do not use in comparison to Parker’s. Balko states and points to areas of a case where grammar is used to cover up intentions and makes the case muddy. With the language not used, Balko gives three different scenarios on how the shooting happened, thus removing blame and responsibility from the officer.
To add on to what you said, I also really liked Balko’s article and to me he gives a lot of examples of what cops are doing wrong. He shows how there’s times where cops will say one thing but do another which makes us the people look at them as criminals rather then hero’s. I really enjoyed both articles tho!
It is a very interesting quote you picked out. No matter what, a politician will try to avoid the blame because they want to stay favorable in the eyes of the public – similarly to how Balko referenced a police department. Consequently, I suppose it is the public’s duty to be the predator and “hunt” down the chameleon if the politician is switching sides when discussing a controversial issue. Therefore, only if we do our job successfully and confront the politician or vote them out of office will we be able to cement change.
I agree with your statement about the chameleon changing its colors being similar to Obama changing his wording to fit the general public opinion on the word ‘black’. This is common with several politicians. I believe that the word made him uncomfortable because of public opinion which is why he changed it to please them.