The image that depicts police brutality in the 1960s is a picture of two African American men during the Watts Riots. The rhetorical technique of kairos is exemplified in this picture because of the time period that this was taken in, and the background information of this time period gives insight to the picture's message. This riot was sparked after an African American male was pulled over by a white police officer for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. He was then unlawfully arrested, and tension were high between police officers and the man. Their were multiple witnesses to racially motivated abuse by police officers, which in turn sparked the riot. Many people in this community were outraged at this incident, and did not want to let this abuse keep happening to people in their community; they wanted to bring about change. The people of the Watts community began to protest, and it turned into a riot. Many stores were looted, buildings were burned, and much more violence. During this time period there were already high tensions between white police officers and African Americans. There had been multiple instances of police unlawfully abusing African Americans, and people were trying to put a stop to this injustice. This was the perfect time to bring about change because it was very relevant to this time period since it was a common occurrence.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/watts-riot-begins
I appreciate how your group placed the kairos blog first. This gives a perfect background to the photo and will help the audience of this blog thoroughly understand the remainder of your posts. Good work!
ReplyDeleteThe people in the picture have smiles on there faces. It seems like they are doing what feels right to them. I wonder who started the riot at that protest.
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis of how kairos plays an important role in the photo is really well done. Without the background information, you miss the significance of their actions altogether and can even misinterpret them. I think the kairos, as you mention, is almost felt in the photo itself. The two men, as Asiyah points out who are smiling, seem to be taking advantage of the kairotic moment to take a stand and diverge from what they view as not right.
ReplyDelete~Eva