ACLU advertisement

Rationale:

The content of the task is linked to a part of the course studied, which was Language and Power. Language and Power being a tool for operating in social interactions has an ability to show its power of influence. Language can be bent in certain ways to make us behave differently and adopt certain behaviors so it is important to understand its power. This is particularly showed in media and advertising. This advertisement is trying to influence the reader’s view on the subject in order to raise awareness and support for ACLU.

The task is intended to explore how audience and purpose affect the structure and content of the task. The text type chosen is a blog, which allows the content to be of multiple opinions. The task explores the conventions of a blog and how they reach out to people and express personal opinions where the audience can interact with their own opinions in the comment section. The purpose of the text is to engage the reader in a discussion and try to build an understanding of the topic discussed. This is done by including exclamation marks and seeming enthusiastic. Also a personal story of how the blogger came about his interaction with the advertisement to give a story telling feel to the blog to increase interest and a hook to keep the reader engaged. The conventions of a blog are included and the text looks very much like a blog with comments, a side bar, and introduction to the blog, dates etc. The language used in the comments is loose and abbreviations such as ‘imo’ is used to display different people commenting whether they are of higher or lower education, different nationality, background, or gender. These give the blog an authentic look.

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This my friends, isn't just a blog, it's a conversation!

I strongly encourage you all to participate and comment whatever you think about the topic. As you know I love when people stir up a discussion.

So let's get started! 

This is the advertisement that I saw yesterday when I opened my NY Times Sunday Magazine and it is the basis of our discussion today. A poster with the Title: ‘The man on the left is 75 times more likely to get stopped by the police while driving than the man on the right.’ On the right, Charles Manson and on the left, Martin Luther King Jr. The opening sentence struck me quite hard. And no it's not because I was shocked by the fact that Luther King is more likely to be stopped by the police than a murderer. It is the fact that they present the information in such an obviously unfair way! First of all, the to men chosen are chosen because of their acts and their skin colour. Martin Luther King Jr., a man who was a great leader and perceived by the majority as a man who fought for the rights of African Americans; a very sensitive topic to the Americans. On the right side Charles Manson; a murderer and criminal hated by Americans. It's an unfair comparison. When the people see the advertisement they won’t believe why the man on the left is more likely to get checked because he is not a criminal while the man on the right is! If the criminal was Martin Luther and the respected leader was Charles Manson the advertisement wouldn’t have the same effect. A preconceived idea is planted into the minds of the people who see the advertisement. This is not a fair perception because the actions of the two have nothing to do with their skin colour. It would be more fair to have a normal and neutral black man and a normal and neutral white man. The shocker effect is based on their mens actions. Doesn't it obviously stand out that the creator is trying to manipulate the view on this matter?

Well at least this advertisement had caught my attention which so many other thousands have failed to do. So I decided to read on in a quite critical mood.

‘It happens everyday on American highways.’ That is a bit of a hasty generalization as the only evidence of racial profiling the text refers to is Florida. Including the numbers and facts in the small text makes the advertisement even more believable and trust worthy because the statistics agree with the act of racial profiling. Although there is no source to this information! How can we trust that this is not made up? Surprisingly enough I found that according to Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 11% of Florida’s drivers are Hispanic or black, more than twice as many as the advertisement claims!

While the facts do speak for themselves and show how unreliable advertisements can be, I wanted to focus on whether it is racial profiling. To look at statistics allows the police force to be more effective in their ways of limiting crime. According to Statistics provided by the Florida Department of Corrections’1997-1998 Annual Report 85% of the convicted drug dealers in Florida, who could be likely targets on the road stops in a state where drug trafficking is a major problem, are Hispanic or black. While black males constitute 6% of Florida’s population they commit 50% of the serious crimes. These statistics are very sad but should be the factual basis and defend the state’s law enforcement policies. An efficient way to work towards a safer state to limit crime is based on real statistics unlike the one given in the advertisement. Police officers are not racist but are looking in the right direction rather than using resources irresponsibly and looking in all directions.

It concerns me how these things can be put out and displayed, as some people will blindly accept whatever is being said because they believe once it is published it must be true. Especially if it is a full-page advertisement on the inside cover page of the NY Times Sunday Magazine. Although when it comes to forcing the information into peoples mind I must praise the techniques used. The advertisement was certainly thought provoking to me and effective in grabbing my attention. Although I strongly suggest to staying to truthful means.

The role of the police is to enforce justice in society and make society as a whole a safer place. This role is fulfilled through experience and empirical evidence that is a source of information used to make their jobs effective and society a safer place. The job of the police officers should have a high standard when it comes to moral and ethical judgment and certainly has so. This advertisement can certainly not justify the police’s work as illegal or humiliating nor as violations of the constitution.

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Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/30/business/media-business-advertising-aclu-taking-provocative-madison-avenue-route-raise.html

http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=24392