TOW #13: "‘Black Lives Matter’—but Reality, Not So Much"

http://www.wsj.com/articles/black-lives-matterbut-reality-not-so-much-1441755075

This article was written by Jason L. Riley, an acclaimed African-American journalist who writes for The Wall Street Journal, the most trusted news outlet by both liberal and conservatives according to Business Insider. This article, titled “‘Black Lives Matter’—but Reality, Not So Much”, describes the flaws in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that has surged in popularity recently. The author, being black, has automatic credibility in being able to openly criticize the movement without public backlash. He goes on to explain why the movement is counterproductive by creating more problems for the people it supposedly helps as well as explain the dishonesty behind the movement’s motives.

              In 2014, Michael Brown of Fergusson, Missouri was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson. This event caused the BLM movement’s popularity to increase exponentially. All around the country protestors chanted the “Hands up, don’t shoot!” slogan that Michael Brown shouted before he was killed. The thing is, Michael Brown did not say this. As Riley explains in his article, “The reality is that Michael Brown is dead because he robbed a convenience store, assaulted a uniformed officer and then made a move for the officer’s gun.” Despite this story being a known lie, BLM continues to protest around the country two years later about rampant racism in America’s law enforcement. Riley writes this article to the protestors to show that their anger is unjustified.

              Some of Riley’s strongest rhetoric comes in his rapid-stating of facts. He says, “The reality is that a cop is six times more likely to be killed by someone black than the reverse. The reality is that the Michael Browns are a much bigger threat to black lives than are the police. Every year, the casualty count of black-on-black crime is twice that of the death toll of 9/11,” He then goes on to explain how the spread of BLM’s falsehoods has a negative impact on Black Americans. He says “New Orleans to Baltimore to St. Louis and Chicago. The Washington, D.C., homicide rate is 43% higher than it was a year ago.” He is overwhelmingly effective in his argument simply because he is able to eliminate his opponent’s (BLM’s) credibility, but also their support, which he does by explaining their falsehoods and their negative impact.

TOW #12: "Maus" Part 1

              Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” describes Art’s sessions with his father, Vladek Spiegelman, who tells him the story of his experiences as a Jew during the Nazis’ invasion of Poland in WW2. As someone who experienced the war himself, Vladek has the greatest Credibility possible, a first-person account. Art shares Vladek’s story of his engagement before the war, his call to action following the 1939 invasion of Warsaw, his capture by the Nazi soldiers, his time in the POW camp, and his liberation from the camp, all in the first half of this novel. Vladek’s incredible story, combined with Art’s artistic talent, got “Maus” the first ever Pulitzer Prize awarded to a graphic novel.

              “Maus” was written for a post-Holocaust world. The purpose, as is the case with most accounts of war, is to bear witness. Vladek’s story aims to give the average civilian an idea of how traumatic war truly is. “Maus” was published in 1991, 52 years after the German invasion. Expectedly, memories of the event had been slipping away ever since it happened, and Art aimed to use his father’s story to remind society of the dangers that it holds.

              This being a graphic novel, the rhetorical devices appear, for the most part, in picture form. The main use of rhetoric is the extended metaphor of Jews being depicted as mice (hence the title, “Maus”). The imagery used shows the Jews as a helpless minority at the mercy of not only the Nazi soldiers, but eventually their neighbors. This imagery is also used to depict the Nazi soldiers as pigs and cats. The lack of any human pictures conveys the dehumanizing nature of war. The imagery is so effective because of how well it utilizes our tendencies to associate the assigned animals with certain characteristics. This is aided by Art’s ability to depict emotion through facial expression on the creatures.

TOW #11: Thomas Paine's "The American Crisis"

              “The American Crisis” by Thomas Paine is written as an argument to why America should want independence from Great Britain. The majority of the first chapter consists of anecdotes from Paine’s experience in fighting battles and how the soldiers who were currently fighting in the revolutionary war should learn from them. Paine establishes his credibility early on by stating that he served as a soldier. He shares his stories from the battle of Fort Lee, in which the Americans were forced to retreat by the British in 1776.Thomas Paine is most widely known for his book “common sense” which outlines why it was logical for America to be independent from Britain.

              The audience of Paine’s book is quite clearly the American citizens, specifically soldiers, fighting for independence against the British. This becomes evident no later than the first sentence, “These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” It is clear that this book was meant to be read during the miseries of war, times when the soldiers were freezing and hungry during the winter at Valley Forge.

              Paine motivates the soldiers with powerful diction that appeals to the readers’ pathos while also managing to connect with the soldiers reading it. He says “I once felt all that kind of anger, which a man ought to feel, against the mean principles that are held by the Tories.” This reassures the miserable soldiers that there is an end to their sufferings and that there is a purpose meant to their misery. This motivates the soldiers to push through and be victorious. One can only imagine the effect that such strong words would have had on someone shivering in their hut in Valley Forge. Paine’s writings are certainly a partial reason for America’s victory.