Ga Isak Wash

RUNNING HEAD: POLICE BRUTALITY
Police Brutality
Isak Washington
The University of Texas at El Paso
Police Brutality
Introduction
For many years now, police brutality has been an issue in America. However, the issue is not
being solved no justice no peace for Americans. Police often tend to abuse the power they have
by going as far as even killing a person, people of all ages know about it and even some children
are trying to get their voices heard. What the readers are going to be reading is a comparison
between two genres, one is an article from Slate magazine called Blame The Police published
on July 22, 2015 about Sandra Bland a women who was killed in the custody of police officers.
The other is an image with two African American children at a protest are holding posters with
the words stop police brutality no justice no peace.
Audience/Purpose
Both genres have the same audience. Since both the article and the photograph were published as
part of online news magazines an audience member must have access to the internet and a
computer. Furthermore the audience must read and understand English in order to read the article
and understand the words that are on the poster that the children are holding in the image. In
addition the audience probably has some interest or preexisting knowledge on the topic which
led them to locate these sources online. The audience age can range from Middle school- elderly
aged people. Although the subject matter is dealing with a topic that is targeted towards African
Americans any race has access to these genres.
The purpose of the article is to inform people on the facts on what happened in Sandra Blands
arrest and subsequent death in police custody. The purpose of the photograph is to document a
poignant moment during a protest against police brutality.
Police Brutality
Rhetorical Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Ethos
Ethos is a rhetorical appeal which relies on credibility in order to make a point or statement. The
article
Blame the Police by Jamelle Bouie does in fact contain ethos. Since the article was
published in Slate we can assign a certain level of credibility due to the history of the
publication. Slate was first published in 1996 now nearly 20 years old. It is a subsidiary of The
Washington Post which is a reputable news organization. This article is also credible because
they site their sources. Next the author, Jamelle Bouie is the chief political correspondent of
Slate. Given his title we expect accurate reporting and credibility. The article includes video
footage of the event in question and direct quotes from the police report. Both of these aspects
contribute to the overall ethos found in the piece.
In the second genre the photograph from The Free Thought Project conveys much less ethos than
the Slate article. The photographer is not identified and there is no date of when the picture was
taken. Furthermore the subjects of the photographs were not identified. There is no way for an
audience member to verify that this picture was actually taken at a protest and that it was not
staged.
Pathos
The article shows little emotion with the exception of the title and the dash cam video of what
took place during Sandra blands arrest. The title is emotional because it is stating the authors
opinion which shows that he is upset. In addition this title is inflammatory given the political
climate when this piece was published. The fact that the author chose to put the video in the
Police Brutality
article shows that he was relying on some pathos because the video is graphic and difficult to
watch.
The image relies on pathos much more than the article because the fact that the children are
subject to the photograph. The image has young children holding up signs with words stating
stop police brutality, no justice, no peace, and for children to be conveying this message with
sad expressions on their faces shows pathos. The audience may feel sad, depressed, and uneasy
after seeing the photograph of these two children.
Logos
The article portrays logic when talking about Sandra Bland because it states the facts and and
when reading the article it is clear on what is being said and what the article is about. The reader
may not have a problem reading the article even if the reader has never heard of Sandra Bland
the reader will understand what the topic is about after reading the article.
The image is not all there logically for many reasons. There is not enough information to as what
is really taking place the only thing the audience can see is the two children holding up signs and
what the signs say, but does not show a background of where the children are or the environment
in which this photo was taken so logically the article carries more because it has more to offer
than the photograph.
Conclusion
At the end of the day both genres had something to offer, the article offers more credibility and
more logic comes with the article and with the image it lacks the credibility but some may say it
is a strong emotional piece. The genres were about the same topic and gave the same message on
police brutality needs to be solved.
Police Brutality
Reference List
Bouie, J., (2015 July 22). Blame The police. Retrieved from
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/07/sandra_bland_s_arrest_
and_death_are_a_national_scandal_brian_encinia_and.html
Mowlin, M., (2014 April 5) Police Brutality and Abuse Is No Longer The Exception, It is the
Norm. Retrieved from http://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-brutality-abuse-longerexception-norm/

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RUNNING HEAD: POLICE BRUTALITY

Rhetorical Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, Logos

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