Daniel Bourne
WRTG 3020
7/25/2011
Racial Profiling
Today, the American society is synonymous with the core values of liberty, justice, and the famous constitution line: “All men are created equal”. Ironically, Thomas Jefferson, the man who coined the phrase, owned slaves himself. Perhaps Mr. Jefferson is reflective of our society today. I’m referring to a society that preaches tolerance and acceptance, but doesn’t act on it. For decades, minorities have had to deal with this hypocrisy that continues to affect generation after generation. The Civil Rights era certainly put a damper on prejudicial attitudes, but the battle is far from being won. In a more narrow sense, these prejudicial attitudes have often plagued police departments across the nation. So much so that it has sparked riots (most notoriously the L.A. riots of 1992) and even murder. Thankfully, comedians have attempted to lighten the mood up by mocking the profiling that has gone on. Chris Rock, for instance, has come up with a hilarious comedic routine aptly titled “How not to get your ass kicked by the police!.” Mr. Rock’s routine may harness some laughs on the outside, but a deep analysis into his work shows a man with a plan: to fight the profiling that is ubiquitously occurring and to put an end to the mayhem[K1].
The first thing that needs to be addressed is the audience Mr. Rock is targeting. What age group is the most likely to be pulled over by the police? The youngest drivers. Those between 16-25 years of age are those who can expect to get pulled over the most. [K2]This might be because these drivers tend to be, as my grandfather once put it, the most “suicidal on the road”. Or, it might just be to impregnate the minds of the youth with fear that you will get stopped if you do something illegal. Whatever the case may be, there is no doubt police look out for these kinds of drivers. Anyone watching Mr. Rock’s comedic routine can no doubt relate to what he is referring to, especially the youth. In terms of race, I don’t believe Mr. Rock is targeting a specific group, even though he features an African American driver throughout the entire routine. Mr. Rock wants everyone to be aware of what is going on, and thus tries to not shut off any race from his audience[K3].
Audience is such a crucial component of rhetoric. So much so, that it has been given its own frame termed “Kairos”. Would Mr. Rock deliver this exact routine at the annual White House Correspondents dinner? Doubtful, since the topic is a bit touchy (especially considering that government employees are being criticized here). He knows who his audience is. He knows his audience has come for a laugh. He frames his message in a satirical and humorous way in order to please his audience, while still conveying his message across.
Chris Rock wants to make his audience feel exactly what he is feeling. He does this by utilizing the pathos. He tries to appeal to the audience in an emotional way. Even if some of the members of his audience haven’t been through what he’s been through, they can still feel his pain and suffering. His voice might be monotone throughout the entire skit, but one can easily feel the passion in his eyes[K4].
But what normally makes Mr. Rock’s comedic routine so hilarious? It’s his ethos. According to the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle, ethos includes the expertise and knowledge of the speaker (Wikipedia-ok to use or…?). If a Caucasian were to come on stage, making a comedic routine out of racial profiling, it simply would not be funny because he/she doesn’t possess the expertise and knowledge that Chris Rock has. It can be presumed that because of his skin tone and because of his delivery, Mr. Rock has himself been a victim of racial profiling by the police. Because of this, he is qualified to deliver this specific comedic routine[K5].
Out of all the Burkean frames, perhaps none is more present in the video than the Satirical frame. One can argue that most of the video actually uses common sense. Things like “be polite” or “don’t carry a gun and drugs” are things that aren’t ironic (a crucial aspect of Satire), but rather quite obvious things we learn as children. Towards the end of the clip, however, things begin to turn drastically towards satire. “Don’t blast rap music” is obviously directed towards racial profiling. Even more blatant is the line “have a white friend in the car”. [K6]This is what Mr. Rock is trying to prevent. Stereotypical things people associate with African Americans is a reason why they are unjustly getting pulled over. Mr. Rock’s tone of voice may seem calm, but bitter antipathy is echoing through the chambers of his soul[K7]. What may seem like African American culture to many (rap music) is just a red flag for the police, unfortunately.[K8]
One rapper who feels the pain felt by Chris Rock is Jay Z. An African American himself, Jay Z’s hit song “99 problems” contains a line that addresses exactly what Chris Rock is addressing.
I heard Son do you know why I'm stoppin' you for?
Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hats real low?
Just like Chris Rock, Jay Z has the ethos, kairos, and pathos on his side. In terms of ethos, he has the knowledge because it is a part of the world in which he lives in. Could a rich, white, suburban kid rap the same lyric? No! Otherwise that kid would get labeled as “soft” or “not real” by the rap community.[K9]In terms of kairos, Jay Z knows who his audience is, similar to Chris Rock. His audience is young and willing to listen, unlike the audience of the “Glen Beck’s Program”. Lastly, the emotional appeal put forth by Jay Z is echoed through his voice and the instrumentals accompanying it. When listening to the song, notice how during the aforementioned line, the instrumentals are essentially turned off. Jay Z wants his listeners to hear his emotional appeal to the world. He is begging his listeners to hear his cries for change. Jay Z’s lyrics are often not praised for its deeper meaning, but here he asks for an ear so that the practices of racial profiling can be known by all[K10].
In a comment posted by user “SteveSabbai” on youtube in response to the Chris Rock routine, he writes:
How not to get your ass kicked by the police!" 1. Dont be black! 2. Remove the NWA bumper sticker from your '64 gold flaked impala! 3. Dont be black 4. When responding to the officer Talk "white" not "JIVE". 5. Dont be black. 6. Use the greeting "hello officer how are you doing" NOT "Sup cracka ass pig motha fucka! 7. Dont be black 8. Dont offer the officer a "swig of my OE". 9. Dont be black. 10. DONT BE BLACK!!!...
Assuming this user is not a racist, he echoes the pain felt by Mr. Rock and Jay Z. However, this user does it in a more blatant way than Chris Rock did. Chris Rock didn’t pit white vs. black against each other until the very end. Everything this user is posting is contrasting the two races against one another. Perhaps this method is most effective. Perhaps we need to be this blatant when calling out a problem[K11]. The repetitiveness of the line “don’t be black” resonates loudly in the readers mind. African Americans aren’t allowed to demonstrate tid-bits of their culture without being pulled over, so it seems.
On a very tragic note, Weitzer and Tuch (2002) report that African Americans who are less educated are less likely to complain about being the subject of racial discrimination than better educated African Americans.
Higher education fosters greater exposure to media reports on police actions and thus greater awareness of the profiling problem (Newman et al 1992; Wortley et al 1997)
You may or may not agree with that statement. On one hand, it does make sense. From a personal standpoint, I know I never used to watch CNN before I went to college. Now, it has become a daily occurrence. Education doesn’t just leave us with answers, it makes us wanting more knowledge[K12]. But these authors fail to realize the affect that Chris Rock and Jay Z have, and the audience they broadcast to. Jay Z himself never graduated high school. Who do you think his audience members are? This makes this article all the more important. These authors show that without people like Chris Rock and Jay Z, the message of racial profiling may not reach a certain audience: The audience that is being affected most by this travesty. I’m talking about those who are uneducated, poor, and unable to realize the scope of what is occurring. These two entertainers successfully extend their message not just to the elite, but to all who have their ears open.
The reason why they are so successful is because of who they are, who their audience is, and their passion to change what is wrong. Chris Rock exemplifies this through extraordinary measures. While his message is being broadcasted across the globe, millions of people are being awakened to the reality among them. Is our society what it claims to be? Are all men truly created equal? Whatever the case may be, Chris Rock triumphantly succeeds in winning the hearts and minds of all those he targets. Bravo Chris Rock, bravo[K13]!
Work Cited
Weitzer, Ronald and Tuch, Steven A. (2002). Perceptions of racial profiling: race, class, and personal experience. Criminology, 40. 435-452.
Modes of Persuasion (n.d.). Retrieved July 25th, 2011 from Wikipedia.
SteveSabbai (2011, July 23rd). How not to get your ass kicked by police. Message posted to
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[K1]I like the introduction. It gives a little bit of background and then shows the direction you’re about to head
[K2]This could probably flow better
[K3]You should give a little background on what his skit is all about. Not knowing much about it makes this part a little confusing
[K4]Even the people in the back row? :P
[K5]The last part of this paragraph is good, but there is something awkward about it. Maybe it’s just because it says white people don’t know anything? lol
[K6]Good examples to help your argument
[K7]Nice!
[K8]This last sentence seems like it could be reworded. Or maybe take out the rap music part since you explained that earlier?
[K9]I think those rappers usually fall into “nerd-core”
[K10]This is a good example of the promotion of pathos
[K11]This youtube comment was integrated well!
[K12]Love this line
[K13]Overall this looks like a pretty good paper! My biggest suggestion would just be to give a little background on the Chris Rock video in case the reader can’t watch it for themselves. Nice work!