Oh, those Golden Dangling Slippers…

Students of the English language: Read the New York Times and weep. Here, according to the Times, we learn that Los Angelese people commit no crimes with rubber bullets, bean bags or batons, yet get whacked by the cops. Yep, that’s what this March 11, 2021 story says. Now, you ask, what the hell is that? Well, it’s simply another illustration of the Times editors’ love of dangling modifiers. Here’s the story lede:

“The Los Angeles Police Department severely mishandled protests last summer following George Floyd’s death, illegally detaining protesters, giving conflicting orders to its rank-and-file officers, and striking people who had committed no crimes with this rubber bullets, bean bags, or batons, according to a report released Thursday.”

Well, I can see that the cops were angry. Innocent people with rubber bullets and batons might be a threat, and when they are with a bean bag, that’s serious stuff.

File under: Dangle this.