cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/31091610
Since we keep having to remove the video posts, here’s an actual article on it:
I really dislike the passive voice in news coverage about this kind of thing. “Reporter hit by rubber bullet”? Fuck that. “Police shoot reporter.”
Shoot would imply a lethal bullet.
No, it doesn’t. You can shoot someone with a water gun.
And even if it did, rubber bullets are lethal. It’s why youre supposed to shoot them so they bounce off the ground, which this officer didn’t do. This makes them “less-lethal”, which is still lethal.
And this implies she was just coincidentally hit and the police had no involvement in what could have been a fatal shooting. This kind of passive voice helps the villain.
Yeah not sure how you are getting that idea but… Moving on
Are you unfamiliar with how the passive voice works?
“Man shot by police” vs “Police shoot man” are very different sentences.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/active-vs-passive-voice-difference
Passive voice often gets criticized as a weak and evasive form of expression. But it is useful for those instances when you want to emphasize the fact of an action having taken place rather than who performed the action. It is also helpful for instances when the doer of an action (also known as the agent) is unknown.
[ … ]
The passive voice gets called out on occasion as a tool for expressing the avoidance of responsibility, like when one says “Mistakes were made” rather than “We made some mistakes.” Sometimes, as in our Elm Street example, it is criticized for placing what appears to be a burden of responsibility on the person who receives the action (i.e., the victim) rather than the person who performs it.
Passive voice is for when the state does violence. Active voice is for when a protester does? Got it
(emphasis added)
Less lethal is still sometimes lethal
Pro-tip - If you can’t tell who the reporters are, maybe try NOT shooting at people holding microphones and talking into cameras? 🤔
Unless the goal is press intimidation… but then when is it not?
Nothing has changed since the George Floyd protests. Cops still do what they want, to whomever they want, without consequence.
BIG disagree. Things have changed since the George Floyd protests…for the worse. Now trump and his fascists can do whatever they want legally since being given a literal green light to commit crimes by the supreme court.
That asshole cop deliberately aimed and fired at her, completely unprovoked. He knew she was a reporter and didn’t care.
Dude was watching her report, and when she stopped talking and stepped aside, he casually shot her. I think he was hoping to get her when the camera was off. What an asshole.
Nah, assholes at least serve a function. That man is a subhuman pig who deserves to be drawn and quartered.
I can’t confirm this yet, so no link to post, but I’m being told ICE in Vancouver, WA just took a couple who were dropping off their kid at school.
