ABSTRACT
THE preparation of this commentary on Donal Carbaugh’s essay coin- cides with a series of noteworthy events in Los Angeles, where I have lived for the past 10 years. Most salient, of course, is the trial involving four police officers accused of using excessive force under the color of authority in violating the civil rights of Rodney King, which has been in full swing for several weeks. High-profile coverage in both national and local media has been insistent (some say, irresponsibly unrelenting and inflamma- tory). Not surprisingly, here in LA, one predictable communication effect has been a definitive circumscribing of the conversational/interactional agenda: Not a day passes among family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers without some mention of the progress of the trial or the impending verdict or the projected aftermath.
