Book-Banning and Group Rhetoric (2 posts in 1)

Although Emily admitted her bias for being sympathetic with opposers of book-banning and censorship, she proved that she made attempts to present her material objectively and to examine both sides of the argument. This representation constituted her ethos. The book-banners try to appeal to pathos by using negatively suggestive words to describe controversial content; however, their telos is unachieved since many of their statements are far fetched. The presentation was epideictic; I did not realize how prevalent the practice of book burning was, and I had never heard of 'stealth censorship' before.

Melody's presentation was a unique choice of topic. A testimony to their subtlety, we do not often think of the rhetorical effectiveness of cartoons, but they are truly influential. Cartoons do not only depict politics, but also the social culture. I was intrigued to discover that visual rhetoric is considered to be a fairly recently developed branch of the discipline. However, tying in with previous presentations, the fact that it has recently been more manipulated and extended into the advertising industry is evident. Melody clearly illustrated that although cartoons are typically satirical they can have the same and even an increased impact compared to speeches. Visuals allow subtle persuasiveness.

Jacquinna spoke rapidly, but I believe I gathered the telos of her presentation. The appealed to every American's belief in equality and efforts to maintain this value. The fact that equality is such a long-standing and pervasive quality makes the topic forensic and diminishes the epideictic nature of the argument. However, the fact that SC has one of the least diverse benches in the nation and the quota controversy make the topic didactic. Two points of the presentation I question: the claim was made that the officials disallowing equal representation are only following the example of our current president. I would have to research the validity of this assertion. I also wonder if the quote and comment concerning the use of pathos-oriented word choice and specifically the phrase "people of color" was given by an African American or by a White Caucasian. Is that what African Americans would rather be known as?