Bullet Points

Bullet points are often used in persuasive argumentation to show the key points of a problem that needs to be solved or a solution that needs to be implemented. Here, the bulleted list both introduces Brown’s plea about police brutality and is a dark pun on the idea of gunshot wounds. Brown utilizes four main “points” in the body of his argument to highlight the problem and its fallout. First, Brown includes examples of the fate of several minorities in recent police custody (Lines 1-10), showing the severity of the problem. Next, he shows how these incidents create a loss of trust in the police due to personal risk (Lines 10-19). He builds a personal component into his argument by showing his own longing for a so-called average American death (Lines 21-25). He makes a prediction regarding his possible death near a police officer (Lines 25-27) and adds an ethical appeal to the preciousness of human life (Lines 27-31). Brown’s argument concludes with a condemnation of privileging bullets over people (Lines 32-33).

Rhetoric meant to convince draws on facts, examples, and testimony to persuade the audience. Brown does this as well. His first lines reference the deaths of Huerta, White, and Bland as evidence.