http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0IpiATxdR4&feature=player_embedded
This video is a submission to a contest held by the White House for questions to ask President Obama. This particular one is of a retired LAPD Deputy Chief asking the President to legalize marijuana because of his stance that he has taken from his years on the job. He views the U.S. drug policy as a failure and a gigantic waste of funds. He also points out that more Americans are now in favor of legalization rather than the continued prohibition of marijuana and confronts the President on what he plans to do to change this during his term, which will soon be over. What questions does this raise about the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana? What statement is being made about America as a whole as our country progresses through this social era?
Prompt 2
ReplyDelete"#LegalizeIt @LegalizeIt Earth to Obama: Ignoring marijuana activists won't make the questions go away, just your re-election hopes, http://www.thedailychronic.net/2012/8989/earth-to-obama-ignoring-marijuana-activists-wont-make-the-questions-go-away/"
This tweet was from a user who had really strong views as to legalizing marijuana. It seems as though the community would rather have marijuana legalized than fighting and wasting money to have it banned. The disagreement that has been storming the nation was based on marijuana being legalized or forbidden. After many years, majority of the citizens on Twitter feel that it would be more productive if this issue was lifted. Many of the users on The Daily Chronic, however, are looking at the political view of this subject. They care more about the election than the true issue at hand. The comments on The Daily Chronic seem like they're based on facts but they don't have links to support their arguments so they're probably biased opinions. People on Twitter seem to only care about marijuana become legal and they're pretty happy about it. The counter arguments on The Daily Chronic try to spark a debate but they don't really prove much of a point. They're just twisting the words of the main publisher. There were more responses on Twitter than The Daily Chronic which symbolize that there's much more action within the Twitter world. Is it possible that more people care about the law than the election? Should the public care more about the upcoming election?
Prompt 6:
ReplyDeleteI believe that Stephen Downing, a retired deputy chief of police for the LAPD, raises a very serious question and issue that he addresses in his video to the President of the United States. His question as to what the President’s response is to an updated poll that shows more Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana than those who are in favor of continuing its ban is a very controversial question that many people in our country want an answer to. Mr. Downing explains that in his decades of experience, he has seen this issue first hand and wants an answer. His extensive experience allows him to have an authority on the subject and citing evidence from the Gallup Poll support his claim and cause to his questions; a statistic that he uses to persuade the President and listeners to call for a reform in our current policy on drugs, something that many people agree with. For this video to be the “winner” of a YouTube submission contest to the White House, something that I think has never happened before, says a great deal about how many people are behind Mr. Downing’s questions and demand for answers. In the video, Mr. Downing is in what appears to be his office and behind him is a shadow-box displaying his accomplishments during his time as a law enforcement officer. A rhetorical technique that again shows his experience allowing the audience to see how serious of an issue the drug policy is today and that action must be taken. The community appears to value his question and claims that the policy is a “failure” and while he does not provide any claims on how to improve the policy, he leaves that burden on the shoulders of the President. Another technique that I believe is successful in attracting the audience to agree with him. Mr. Downing was so effective in his video that it did win the White House video contest, but it is interesting to note that instead of directly commenting and being asked about this video, he talked about other questions from different videos such as late-night snacking and other topics that are not as controversial as the one Mr. Downing asks.
I think Mr. Downing raises a great point and I have to agree with the assertion he makes in the video. If over half of the voter constituency is in favor of the legalization of cannabis, then the government should move to pass legislation for it since it is supposedly representing the interests of the people. The fact that Obama hasn't presented any real plan for legalization is, to me, a disappointing attempt to appease both sides by making it seem like he supports legalization while he is actually doing nothing about it. Also, if a retired LAPD officer with years of firsthand experiences considers the war on marijuana a waste of valuable resources, why would the government continue to throw away time and money going after distributors and users? However, I feel that the video may have been more effective if Downing provided a way to implement positive changes, but I understand that the video was made to ask the President instead of himself.
ReplyDeletePrompt 7:
ReplyDeleteI feel as if the video has a large effect on the viewers, even though the retired officer is only asking for Obama to respond to his question. The effect on the viewer is because of the timing of the question and the controversial topic. Most people have an opinion on whether or not they believe marijuana should or should not be legalized. This video only reminds the viewer that with the up coming presidential election, we have yet to hear what Obama feels about the legalization of marijuana knowing that in recent polls the majority supports the legalization. This video forces them to think about what their current stance is on the topic and question who they should vote for, depending on their opinion.
Prompt 7
ReplyDeleteThis video without a doubt is doing something. It has over 80,000 hits. Whether Obama answers his question or even sees it, it generates a lot of awareness on the topic. In addition to getting a lot of attention, a retired police chief is considered a credible source by many, which will probably urge some people to rethink their personal views on the topic.
Prompt 7:
ReplyDeleteThe effect that this video has on viewers is almost immediate. The way it is portrayed makes it seem so simple and yet so powerful. Theres like this instant feeling of choosing his side that I got when I watched this. It was almost like it didn't matter what view I had, but I was on his side. The way its presented seems very effectual.
Prompt 3:
ReplyDeleteMany responses to this video deal with the idea that if marijuana was legalized that it would put an end to many drug cartels and save the government billions of dollars. If marijuana was legalized there would be no need for drug cartels and the would quickly loose their business. Also marijuana sales will be taxed by the government which will bring in a lot of money. the government will also save a tremendous amount of money on law enforcement, court costs and prison expenses because it will no longer be crime. Law enforcement will be able to put their time to better use, rather than chasing marijuana dealers.
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ReplyDelete