ABUSE OF AUTHORITY

Abuse of Authority
Nikia Watson
Rhetorical Analysis
November 2015

Abuse of Authority

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From when we first learn our ABC's and 123's we are taught to call 911 in case of an emergency.
Our parents and school teachers tell us that the police are there to protect us. They are the good guys, and
if we are ever in trouble to find a police officer. It is actually quite ironic how much things have shifted.
Today you rarely hear about the police doing anything good or for the better or protection of the people.
Majority of the time, when they are on the news, it is related to something bad. I am not quite sure what it
is. Why do authority figures abuse their power ?
Let us ponder. Police officers are put in the community to enforce the rules and maintain law and
order. The problem begins when they mistake those things with a much more powerful position. They
start to think they're untouchable and can get away with anything. That is the very thing that is called into
question.
In the novel Orange is the new black there is a serious problem with figures of authority. The prison
guards and inmates have an unusual relationship. Not too usual, so to speak. The guards are told that the
girls are no more than inmates. They are treated like animals rather than humans, and the guards get no
punishment whatsoever. This does nothing but make them believe it's actually okay.
This is where the problem begins. Police officers do one wrong and faces no consequence. Instead,
it is swept to the side or brushed off because of their title. After a while they assume they will never get in
trouble because they are the law. The guards in Orange is the new black often judge the girls for being
incarcerated. They are there for numbers of different reasons, Mostly drug and Gang related.
Interestingly enough, the police have been called the biggest Gang in America. Or for shorter reference,
the Gang with badges."
As a Chicago native, issues like abuse of power and police brutality surface often. There are
many people who are victimized by authority figures who cant stand up for themselves, much like the
characters in Rent and Orange is the New Black. Whether it is not having money or not having the
same freedoms as everyone else, authority figures have abused the power they are entitled to. If the
people we hire to protect us, are hurting us, where do we go from here?

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It is safe to say that the police force is certainly not doing what they are meant to. It is
misfortunate to see injustices taking place anywhere, but especially when it is caused by those who are
expected to protect us. Personal experiences have impacted my reasoning for choosing this topic.
The first rhetorical concept that is used in both Rent and "Orange is the New Black" is mythos.
Piper Kerman tells her story by using all personal experiences. Being inside of a prison will definitely
build enough experiences to make anyone question morality. She often discusses the inappropriate
behavior of the prison guards. Larson uses mythos in Rent by displaying the relationship between Ben
and the main characters. Since the main characters could not afford to pay and being kicked out, we
endure feelings of pity. In both stories, we are able to see, first hand, what it is like to live in their shoes.
Rent is an American musical written by Jonathan Larson. The audience is let into the lives of a
group of friends who are experiencing poverty and sickness. Two of the main characters, Mark and Roger,
undergo hardship. They cant afford to pay rent, but have been living there for a year. The problem arises
when their landlord, Ben, threatens to kick them out.
Ben had promised the boys the stay to be rent free. After the first discussion, he tells the boys
they can stay again, but only if the two convince their friend to cancel her protest. Within the play, Ben
Offers them rent free stay again, but only for publicity. It is clear that he believes he can do what he wants
to Roger and Mark because he is the landlord. The audience is also shown the hardship the characters go
through in the music they performed. Roger and Mark sing a song entitled Rent. The song includes
lyrics like How we gonna pay? This displays to the audience the worry the boys were feeling.
This connects to "Orange is the New Black" is several different ways. The characters in the book
also have similar lives to those in Rent. Much like the friends in Rent, the women in Pipers story
dont have much to their name either. They all come from different place, but while they are there, social
class does not matter. Within the prison, each female has their own life story. We hear much about each
persons unique background.
The importance of Pipers stories lies within the prison. The officers who work there are often
unsuitable. They make remarks and do things that are extremely inappropriate. For instance, Piper

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explains a time she felt uncomfortable around one of the officers. She writes to the officer's boss, ... My
work supervisor sometimes speaks to us at work in ways that I find crude, disrespectful, and sexually
graphic. (Kerman 173). Here we see how the cops felt it was ok to speak to the prisoners. Piper seems to
be disgusted with the officer's behavior. As we can assume from the common theme, the officer was not
punished.
Both Kerman and Larson have different backgrounds, but the two may agree when it comes to
how they feel about authority.Kerman grew up in a nice household with both of her parents. She
graduated college and was on her way to her career. She met her ex, Nora, and everything went south. Her
being sentenced to prison is what shapes her opinion today. Kerman, like larson understands the problem
with authority abusing power. She experienced it everyday for about 18 months.
While Larson did not grow to understand the abuse of power through prison, he still experienced
a similar situation. Since Larson did not have a lot of money, he worked hard to get his show on
broadway. He knows what it is like to struggle and he displays that in his play. The main characters are
struggling artists, much like himself. When their landlord threatens to kick them out, solely because he
can, The audience gets a sense of understanding. Ben abuses his power because he has money and can
afford to do so.
Much like the abuse that has happened in Rent and "Orange is the New Black", things like that
happen in America everyday. surprisingly, to very young people. Apparently, even high school students
get treated like armed criminals too. The victim of an assault who has only been identified as Shakara
has a story much like Kerman and Larson. According to WLTX, In the recording, a female student can
be seen sitting in her chair ...an officer can be seen grabbing the student out of her desk, causing the chair
to flip over. Once the student is on the ground, the officer can be seen grabbing the student and dragging
her for several feet. (WLTX 1). It has become clear the insanity that authority has caused for some
people.
As unusual as it may seem, police officers have truly become ridiculous. According to
Consortium News,

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America is clearly an outlier when it comes to police brutality. According to The
Guardians highly useful Counted website, U.S. police kill more people in a typical
day than police in England and Wales kill in an entire year. Where police in Stockton,
California, killed three people in the first five months of 2015, police in Iceland, which
has roughly the same population, have killed just one person since the modern Icelandic
republic was founded in 1944. (Consortium).
It is evident here the pandemonium that is happening in the U.S. Over the past several years, the unjust
behavior of law enforcers has become more prevalent in the media than ever before. People like Trayvon
Martin and Sandra Bland have both been victims of police abusing their power..
The stories are different, but still so much alike. Displaying a message of authority abusing power
is not, in fact, the only thing Kerman and Larson had in common. Both had the same intended audience.
They both set out to reach everyday people. At first glance one may think Larson wants to reach people
who suffer from poverty or sickness. It may also seem like Kerman wants to reach women who have
experienced prison. However, both creators wanted to connect with the average American. Their message
comes across crystal clear. They are everyday people and they show the audience that things like what
they have been through can happen to anyone.
Both. Kerman and Larson communicated with the audience in very unique ways. This helped the
audience understand their message more clearly. While both of them covers the same topic., they execute
it differently. Whether it is through catchy song lyrics or letters from prison, the message is displayed
quite clearly. Authority figures have a hard time with doing the job they are hired to do.

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Works Cited

"Consortiumnews." Consortiumnews. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

"Feds Open Civil Rights Investigation Into Spring Valley Incident." WLTX News. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.

Kerman, Piper. Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Woman's Prison. New York:
Spiegel & Grau, 2010. Print.