Rhetorical Précis

In the New York Times editorial board's opinion "Political Lies About Police Brutality" (October 17th,2015), they argue that politicians are taking advantage of police brutality and protecting the police officers from public opinion. The author first presents their claim by providing direct quotes from politicians; they then show how right wing their way of thinking is by analysis their quotes; and to conclude they show just how often police racially profile African Americans by providing the reader with data on how much more likely a African American is to be pulled over. Their purpose is to show the reader how politicians protect police officers by targeting African Americans as the cause of the incidents in order to show just how bad the issue has gotten and how the United States political leaders ignore and shy away from the issue. They seem to have a left wing and a minority audience in mind because they show just how misguided the right wing politicians are and also show how bad it has gotten for minorities. 

Visual on police brutality

This cartoon by Keith Knight shows an alleged police application question asking what the officer sees in the picture. The picture shows 4 urban kids and the officer is saying that he sees target practice in the picture.

What Knight is referring to in his cartoon is that police officers have the misconception that young African American boys are dangerous and that they shouldn't be trusted, causing the officer to use an excess of force when dealing with them. The cartoon depicts the ongoing issue in the United States about innocent African Americans being killed by the police just because of their appearance. Knight is raising awareness about this ongoing issue to try and bring justice for the victims of police brutality. 

                     Work Cited

Knight, Keith. "Cartoonist Keith Knight Takes “They Shoot Black People, Don’t They?” on the Road in 2015 @ Green Galactic PR." Green Galactic PR RSS. 16 Jan. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016. <http://www.greengalactic.com/2015/keith-knight-cartoonist-tour/>.

Op Ed on police brutality

The op-ed "How more female police officers would help stop police brutality", by Kathrine Spillar argues that there is a easy way to lower the number of police brutality incidents and that is by simply enforcing more women as police officers. Spillar claims that women are better at handling dangerous encounters because of their superior communication skills and the way women treat their job, which is in a less authoritative way. Spillar uses previous studies to show that over the years women police officers have been involved in less police misconduct incidents because of their ability to prevent situations to escalate and thus making those situations nonviolent.

This op-ed is arguing that the only way to stop police brutality is by pushing aside traditional gender roles and letting women work on the front line. Strength and force and the qualities that make a police officer great but having the communication skills to prevent violent situations is what makes a officer a good one. Until police departments are able to ignore the old notion that women can't be effective police officers the ongoing issue of police brutality cases will go on.

                      Work Cited 

Spillar, Katherine. "How More Female Police Officers Would Help Stop Police Brutality." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 2 July 2015. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/02/how-more-female-police-officers-would-help-stop-police-brutality/>.

essay on Thoreau

Thoreau believes that in order to rid the world of its social problems and to be truly happy, one should rid themselves of all materialistic things and should only have with them their bare necessities. He believes that all you need is "Fuel, shelter, clothing,and fuel" (11) to live a simple and therefore a happy life. As he states in his second chapter, “Where I Lived”, Thoreau preaches simplicity and to live a spartan like life. To him living a secluded, simple life is the best possible life.

While what Thoreau is preaching could have possibly been possible in the 19th century, his ideal life is all but a pipe dream in the 21st century. In today's world it’s virtually impossible to live a simple life due to all the products a person has at their disposal. To live a life exactly how he did is impossible because consumerism has been embedded in people's brains for generations and to reverse that trend is something that can’t be done.

Others might argue that living a Thoreau style life is the best way to live but it’s very naive to think that a person could live like that in today’s time. Society has made people want the next best thing and it is as if people have become brainwashed to always pursue the newest products. As much as people would love to live a life like Thoreau, it’s something that can’t be done anymore.

Op Ed on police brutality

The op ed "Political Lies About Police Brutality" by the NewYork Times editorial board shows how mistaken some government officials are on the issue of police brutality. People such as New Jersey governor Chris Christie and director of the FBI James Comey aren't taking the Black Lives Matter movement seriously and how they are accusing either the president or the average citizen for an increase in crimes. The Times is trying to show that people in politics are trying to blame everyone except the police officers for an increase in crime and the spread of viral videos showing police officers abusing African Americans.

This op ed is trying to demonstrate that some political figures haven't accepted the fact that police brutality is a real problem and that African Americans are in fact being discriminated when they are pulled over by the police. Until the head of police departments realize that police brutality is an actual issue and that African Americans do indeed have a higher chance of being killed by a police officer, this issue will never end and the outcry from the public will just increase.

                     Work Cited

"The New York Times." Political Lies About Police Brutality. The NewYork Times, 27 Oct. 2015. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/opinion/political-lies-about-police-brutality.html?referer=>.

Current event summary on police brutality

The article "White Privilege: The Reason I Can Be Angered by Police Violence Instead of Terrified" by Benjamin Powers talks about that because he is white he has no reason to fear the police but he can have anger towards them for their actions on the colored community. Powers says that because he is white, he has the power and influence to lead to change because people of color don't have "white privilege". This shows that the power in the United States still rests solely in the hands of white people and that in order to stop the killings of colored people by the hands of police white people have to be behind this movement in order for it to change.

                     Works Cited

Powers, Benjamin. "White Privilege: The Reason I Can Be Angered by Police Violence Instead of Terrified." The Huffington Post. 31 Jan. 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/9121758>.

Rhetorical Précis for Op Ed

In Stacy Schiff's op-ed Anger: An American Hate (Dec. 18, 2015), she asserts that hate has always been a part of the American way. The author first asserts this by claiming that even though hate sounds un-American, it's actually a big part of America.; she then provides the reader with past examples of ways that Americans expressed hate; and to conclude she shows the reader how even in this modern time, Americans continue to target specific groups of people. Her purpose is to show the reader that hate constantly plays a huge role in shaping American history in order to support her assertion on hate. She seems to have a right wing audience in mind because Schiff is trying to show hate is fueling the front runner of the republican presidential candidate.