HI! My name is Amari Brooks i am a 19 year old freshman at the College of Coastal Georgia. I am here today to discuss with you a topic the is sweeping the nation and the world but has been partially looked at in a place that is close to home and that is violence and its effects in Chicago. The particular article we will be discussing is one published on The Washington Post called “Gun violence, police reform loom over Chicago election” , written by Kari Lydersen. Lydersen is a former Washington Post staff writer and is now a freelancer and a frequent contributor to The Post. So without further ado let’s get started.
Throughout this article Lydersen makes many valuable points but the main point remands consistent that this years mayoral election can change the identity of Chicago and its future. Some of the main points that she made point out the vast majorities of homicides go unsolved and the suicide rates of police officers in Chicago is high above the normal average. She also brings up some points about corrupt government officials who were elected to help make changes are now the root of many issues. Thought these statements are not explicitly stated they are implied by the choice of examples and diction used throughout the article. I think Lyndersen’s main purpose of this article is mostly inform people about what really goes on in the cities and worlds around us and to truly wake them up by giving many shocking statics and short say stories that truly path into your emotions and by showing that bad leadership affects everybody not just those of high class.
One thing that truly stood out to me about this article is how unbiased Lydersen remains thought the entire article. In most articles i have read that speak about politics the author usually tends to get extremely bias towards their political views and the reading or debate turn from informative resources to persuasive advertisement broadcasting more of what the authors thinks or feels then the cold cuts facts and truths. The fact that Lyndersen uses a lack of inflammatory language and denoting phrases to help her remain unbiased truly speaks to her credibility, something that is important when trying to reach certain demographics. I feel that her article is particularly targeted to people of voting age from young to old. By using a quote at the end of the article by an 18 year old girl named Destiny Harris who says “This is a big race. It's a huge deal.” this shows young voters that their option matter and they can help to make a change for their future. Lyndersen also uses a few professional sources like the Crime Lab at the University of Chicago and a 2017 investigation done by the Department of Justice to help boost the overall credibility of the article. While Lyndersen does not share any personal experiences of her own she does tell stories of a young toddler being critically shot and a gang leader being assassinated to show this violence is widespread and truly play onto the pathos or emotions of a person. By giving the example of the ex-police officer that was only sentence to about 7 years for the second degree murder of a young 16 year old boy and comparing it to how most African Americans with drug charges have longer sentences truly plays into the ethical dilemma of the entire justice system and the unfair treatment of blacks. Lyndersen uses statistics like 60% of police offices--0 have killed himself in Chicago in the past 2 years, shares that only 1 in every 6 murder cases in Chicago get , and about i recent investigation into the longest serving aldermen in the Chicago government was being charged with attempted extortion to further show how deeply rooted this problem is and how a huge reform is needed.
Overall i agree with the points that were made throughout this article and it has opened my eyes to things that were going on in my own hometown right before my eyes. I feel that this is a very well written article, is very informative unbiased but yet not boring,and i truly like it and would recommend it to my peers. Again my name is Amari Brooks and thanks for coming the Mari’s Discussion Room. See ya soon!