Official Negligence- First Reading

So much of this narrative directly demonstrates biases and forms of logic that were discussed last class.  In order to demonstrate this, a couple of key examples will be pointed out.

Ad- Hominum is present in the discussion of George Deukmejian, the Republican Governor of California in the 1980's.  His characterization is a clear attempt to blame him for being unaware of, and in turn, inappropriately handling the aerospace decline.  He is described, "Deukmejian was an unassuming and unimaginative governor with a passion for prison building. [...] Also like Coolidge, he was oblivious to portents of economic catastrophe" (Cannon 12).  While these facts may be true, it is through word choices like oblivious and catastrophe that his shortcomings are made readily apparent.  Much less abrasive phrases could be used to portray a similar message, but they would do less to question the Governor's character.

Next the reader sees bad news bias.  The author seeks to describe a survey in which citizen's were asked to report their current outlook.  "Of those responding, 83 percent said life was good, but 43 percent were pessimistic about the future" (Cannon 15).  While it is unfortunate that 43 percent had a less than favorable outlook, the 83 percent is an incredibly high number.  Here the author pinpoints the negative in order to demonstrate the consistent negativity seen in the news.  His word choice also has a similar effect, "The survey was accompanied by an article on the lives of six families that catalogued horror stories of congestion, traffic problems, and crime" (Cannon 16).  While these problems are bad, the word horror makes them much worse.  There are terrible atrocities occurring on a daily basis, and many of them are far more catastrophic than having to sit in traffic.

Visual bias is an important one to consider, as it speaks to the attempt to portray events in a very specific light.  If the media  can provide their audience with a visual, the story becomes that much more real and horrific.  The news source with access to the Rodney King video footage speaks to this fact, "'We edit tape so we get the most dramatic footage that tells the story,' Cereghino said.  'We do it all the time"' (Cannon 22).  Here someone is admitting to editing in order to make the story look a certain way.  If the story was not incredibly dramatic, it would have much less of an effect on people, and would be much less talked about.

Status quo bias seeks to rely on maintaining the power of things like the law and politics.  Often the truth is covered up in order to keep some semblance of order.  In Rodney King's trial, an attempt to follow this bias was incredibly apparent.  "Neither the prosecution nor the defense in the subsequent trial wanted to dwell on the awful possibility that the LAPD officers are simply too poorly trained or ill-equipped to take physically powerful and combative drunks into custody without beating them into submission" (Cannon 46).  To focus on this information would undermine the law and bring about a whole other series of complicated issues and questions.  Instead, people tend to stick to what they know, an activity that often revolves around keeping the powerful on top.

Propaganda is also apparent, particularly when considering Latasha's murder.  In order to avoid racial issues and implications, the police painted the story inaccurately.  "What the authorities were actually doing, to the extent they were doing anything at all, was trying to prevent a race riot by misrepresenting the racial context of the killing" (Cannon 117).  The commander of the LAPD described it as "just a business dispute" (Cannon 117).  Doing so makes it easier for the police to deal with the problem, for if it became an issue of race, riots could break out again.  Propaganda serves to shield the general population from the truth in order to make solving a problem simpler.  But the world tends to miss out on the truth in these instances.

Much of these initial chapters are grounded in portraying Los Angeles before, during, and after the Rodney King beating and trial.  Doing so allows the reader to understand the desperate attempts to create a city grounded in optimism and economic success.  While these facts by no means exonerate the police who were responsible for the beating, it adds a new facet to their behavior.  It seems they were attempting to restore order and return to the idealized Los Angeles they believed could exist.  But through both a historical analysis and a portrayal of two brutal crimes, it becomes clear that this idealized conceptualization of Los Angeles probably was merely a dream.  One gains a greater understanding of both the Rodney King situation--particularly through a more detailed telling-- and the incidences surrounding it.  The author seems to be arguing that Los Angeles was probably largely unequipped to handle these heinous crimes due to its nature and the subsequent implications.

A continued tension lies in being able to characterize Rodney King.  His coworkers described him as a kind and timely person, yet his criminal record is pretty astounding.  While these chapters did bring some clarity to the situation, it is still hard to understand King.  He lies on both sides of the law, and perhaps will always appear this way.

Important details revolve around just how racially charged these incidents really are.  It is interesting that the Du family never reported any of the crimes committed in their store until a murder was involved.  This creates a highly racial situation, and makes the issue even more complicated.  While reading these chapters allowed for a greater understanding, there are still some details that need to be filled in.