Eat. Sleep. Write.

Topic 1: Media Consolidation – Comcast & Time Warner Merger

• Comcast Petition: http://corporate.comcast.com/images/2014-09-23-REDACTED-Comcast-TWC-Opposition-and-Response.pdf
• Netflix Petition: https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/netflix-fcc-comcast-twc.pdf

Topic 2: Do Muslim Women Need Saving? 

• Lila Abu-Lughod “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others” http://org.uib.no/smi/seminars/Pensum/Abu-Lughod.pdf
• Marnia Lazreg Questioning the Veil: Open Letters to Muslim Women “Letter 5: Why Women Should Not Wear the Veil” – Hardcopy

Democracy Now:

The main argument is that the police force is abusing the military equipment that they have possession of. The purpose is to alert the public of the issue and have more regulations and restrictions put on access and usage of the equipment. The primary audience are the public who can protest and ask for change. The secondary audience are politicians. The exigence is the increasing militarization of the police. A possible constraint is the police force, as they would defend their actions or take offense to it. The article utilizes pathos especially with the story of the toddler that was injured by the flashbang grenade. It’s a horrifying thing to hear that an innocent child was injured because of police militarization – it causes anger and empathy in the readers. The article also provides us with a statistic, that only 7% of raids are for genuine emergencies which is an extremely low percentage and shows that the military equipment is not necessary. Kara Danksy is the woman who did all of the research and so bringing her on to speak on it establishes creditability.

Fox:

The main argument is that some schools are using the Ferguson shooting to connect to the radical movements (as seen by Fox) of the Black Panther and Malcom X. The purpose is to show the extreme end that the schools are using and the ridiculousness of it. One of the quotes reads, “The issue of police brutality in communities of color has a long history and the Panther platform gives an example of how to turn grievances into a clear set of goals for meaningful change.” The use of the word “grievances” make the issue seem almost petty and unnecessary. The primary audience are the parents and the secondary audience are the schools. The exigence is schools are taking a radical approach to educating children on the situation. A possible constraint would be supporters of these movements and minority groups.The article defines the platform of The Black Panther Party and Malcolm X. The use of logos tries to exemplify the radicalness of the platform, hence also that of the curriculum.

Although ethos, pathos, and logos are three different rhetorical strategies, the concepts do not work on its own. I agree with Miller that in order for the piece itself to be effective, the rhetor must connect all three. And, the reader, in order to effectively analyze the rhetoric, must understand how the three are intertwined. Ethos, pathos, and logos are referred to as being a part of the rhetorical triangle. It is not simply a triangle because there are three strategies – there was no need to call it a triangle – so why call it a triangle? Because the three points are connected, working off of each other and with each other to persuade the reader that what they are saying is of merit and should be listened to.