“Everything is in the language we do NOT use”

After reading the poem titled, “The President Has Never Said the Word Black”, and the article titled, “The Grammar of Police Shootings”, I realize more and more how important language is in communicating a message, or rather the lack thereof. Long Soldier said it best when she said, “Everything is in the language we use”, however there is meaning to, “Everything is in the language we do NOT use”, as well. That can best be seen in these pieces of writing. In the article, police are seen describing a shootout not involving them with very accurate details of how it went down and with timestamps as well. However when it came to shootouts that involved them, the officers were very careful in wording how the situation went down. They downplayed the possibility of intended harm on the victim and left the cause of the problem to open possibilities, never giving a definitive story. As for the poem, Parker notices that the president at the time, who I am assuming is Barack Obama based on the timestamp, leaves out a very important word that would otherwise severely impact the message of his speeches. That word being black. I noticed this based on the title of the poem and the extra space left between some words where it fits in perfectly. By leaving this word out, the president fails to address the true root of the problem and thus inadvertently allows for the problem to continue and grow. These writers want us to know that it is important that you include every word you want to say into your message/writing in order for the message of it to be loud and clear, and that simple words or a word can significantly boost your message and give it a whole new deeper meaning.