Blog Post Number Five

A representative of the Toronto Police Department was quoted saying that women should avoid dressing like sluts to not be victimized. Soon after this statement the public erupted in shock and disdain, giving birth to the Slutwalk Movement. This movement aims to change the negative connotation associated with the word "slut" and end slut-shaming. They also aim to end rape illiteracy and encourage people of all genders to live freely without feeling like they are to blame for terrible things happening to them. Slutwalks (orchestrated walks through major cities that are to done to further their movement) are put on all around the world, helping grow this 3 year old movement.

One in four college women report surviving rape or attempted rape since their fourteenth birthday, and even more have been sexually assaulted. Of these women, about half of them believe that something they have done was the cause of this. The Slutwalk: Toronto website issues a mission statement that aims to transform perceptions of social reality and mobilize for action. In order to do this they try to identify with the public and reframe the word "slut". Many members of the movement label themselves as "sluts" in a positive light. The Slutwalk movement is also known for their numerous slogans that are witty and controversial.

Blog Post 5

The Bolivarian Revolution refers to the political and social movement in Venezuela led by the late president Hugo Chavez. Chavez came into power after Venezuela found itself in an economic downturn. He took advantage of the low spirits of the Venezuelan people and ran for president, promising to bring Venezuela back to the prosperity that it had seen not so long before then. He won the campaign and was elected president. With the phrase "“Motherland, socialism, or death”, Chavez began the Bolivarian Revolution, rooting for the lower classes and promising to give them better lives, while also making corrupt changes to the Venezuelan government in order to move towards socialism. After time, the Venezuelan people began to acknowledge Chavez's promises as empty ones and began to view him as a dictator. 

For my  rhetorical artifacts, I have a speech and documentary that I will analyze. The speech that I have is one that Chavez gave to the UN where he proceeded to acknowledge the steps that he had taken in order to begin and continue with the Bolivarian revolution.  For this artifact, I will analyze how Chavez used pathos and his credibility as a world leader, in order to convince the UN of his actions and how they were benefiting Venezuela in a positive way. I chose this speech because it can easily show how Chavez might have used his speech giving skills in order convince the Venezuelan people of his good intentions in order to be elected as president. The documentary I found goes into the heart of Venezuela, showing how the political process has affected the citizen of Venezuela, as well as interviewing the people of Venezuela and asking their opinions of Chavez and his radical actions. I decided to use this documentary because it is unbiased in its content and will be a good artifact to analyze how the Venezuelan people have reacted to the changes that Chavez has made. 

Overall, I plan to focus on Chavez as the center of the Bolivarian revolution and how his changes in government have affected the Venezuelan people. 

Blog Post 5

During the late 1960’s the Vietnam War had already gone on for some time. Anti-war movements had already begun to take place in various collegiate institutes causing a division in the American society. The social movement that I will be focusing on is the latter half of the antiwar movements that were geared more towards President Nixon. Initially during President Nixon’s election he had told the nation that his intentions were to bring the troops stationed in Vietnam and Cambodia home within a year’s span. When secret bombings started taking place in Vietcong sanctuaries as well as the release of the infamous Pentagon Papers the American Public started to get very angry with Nixon. 

I will begin my essay by analyzing different speeches President Nixon gave during the late 60’s and early 70’s addressing the nation about the Vietnam War. I will analyze how he tried to change how Americans perceived the war by trying to relate to them. The speeches he gave during this time are a prime example of rhetoric being put to use. President Nixon often referred to the past of how America is viewed as a super power and how it is important that Americans maintain that status. 

Then I will continue my essay my analyzing the point of views of the protestors and the millions of Americans infuriated with President Nixon. Other sources that I chose to analyze include various posters and newspaper articles depicting the massive anti war protests that occurred in Washington D.C and multiple other big cities in the United States. These protests were even supported by soldiers in Vietnam which will also be another interesting fact to talk about. 

Throughout my essay I will go back and forth from protest to Nixon’s speeches talking about them till I reach the end of President Nixon’s. I think that by doing this I will find out why this social movement developed the way it did.

blog #5

        The anti-war movement for the Vietnam war in the United States was heard throughout the country, although this movement was really represented and pushed within college campuses in the U.S. Whether it be from burning of draft cards to sit downs and marching around campus, college students played a big role in the anti-war movement. With the beginning of the draft being raised to 33,000 in 1965 college campuses grew uneasy and later on organizations and protests began to rise up and fight against the Vietnam war. In this presentation I will show what events and actions led to the uprising and protests for college students and what kinds of protest(s) and actions the students did to show their resistance to the war and lastly; how effective these methods were to bring back U.S. troops to the states and end the war in Vietnam. Free Speech Movement
           What set off and began most college campuses to begin protesting the war effort in Vietnam was the rise of the draft in 1965, it led to 33,000 American citizens a month to be forced in a war that was already very controversial within the U.S. Students who resisted the war movement and the draft would rip up or burn their draft cards. Though this rise of the draft was only the beginning, organizations and groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Free Speech Movement in University of California and other student protest organizations opened up throughout the United States. These organizations/groups gave this war resistance movement a leader(s) and a set "rules" to follow through with (when I mention "rules" I refer to protest(s), sit ins and strike(s) dates, and what/how the college protestors will carry out these protests and sit in and strikes). With these groups and organizations leading and fueling the anti-war movement for college campuses various protests and strikes evolve. Sit ins in campuses around the country had students not attending class or lectures as a sign of resistance towards the government funded schools. Also protests and strikes were held throughout the country but mainly on college campuses, the most note worthy one was at Kent State University which resulted in the death of 4 students and injury of 8. This action led to over 4 million students throughout the country, not only college campuses but high-schools, protesting against the war.
      Through the information of the protests and sit ins I have from the various online documents I will go more in depth and explain the cause and effect portion of these actions. Also I will go more in depth of the different tactics students used in the effort to bring an end to the war in Vietnam. The information and analysis provided throughout this paper will show the impact college students have in our country. I will end this paper with the repercussions, effects and successes these protests, sit ins and acts of defiance had on college students and the governments decision in bringing troops back to the United States and ending the war in Vietnam.

blog 5

Bullying is an intentional act used to provoke fear or intimidation on another person. Bullying can be both emotional and violent, and has thought to be a factor in suicide.  Bullied victims can be anywhere from two to nine times more likely to attempt to commit suicide than those not bullied. In the early 2000’s an active fight to end bullying began, known as the anti-bully movement. Through seminars, celebrity endorsements, legislation, and other methods the movement has worked to not only end bullying, but also provide legal punishment to those who bully. However, in the past two years the anti-bullying movement has reached an all time high as it has spread to more and more countries. Their efforts have not halted and they continue to aim for bullying free environment.

The main artifacts I have chosen to analyze are two children’s websites, sponsored by an anti-bullying organization.  I will from there analyze the rhetorical strategies used when targeting children specifically. These artifacts have a clear audience, which are children. They have a specific call to action, which is to end bullying in schools. The website creates polarity, by including a “take a pledge to end bullying” section. This separates the “us” (those who want to end bullying) and the “them” (those who don’t want to end bulling). This site uses methods of storytelling and personal anecdotes to unite a group and give them a single goal.

If possible, based on the limited word count, I may also analyze how the rhetoric used on kids is different than those used on adults. From what I have found so far adult based artifacts tend to be more factual based. In addition they often show harsher consequences, such as suicide. Doing this would provide an interesting comparison between the tactics and could potentially show the different outcomes of the different tactics. 

Blog Post

Society today has been witnessing the battle of LGBT rights through the cis-white Gay male perspective. It is believed widely that homosexuality is accepted more in the White community compared to communities belonging to minorities. Specifically so in the Black Community, homosexuality strays away from the hyper masculinity and structural foundation of the Black church and is not largely accepted. Because of the intensely perceived homophobia given by the black community, Black members of the LGBT, specifically males, have been forced to 'wear the mask' that has been in place for years; a mask that hides the true being as a way of survival. 

Since the mid-1990’s there have been many laws and amendments prohibiting same sex marriage within states. And within the time, of which the article was written, of two decades, nondiscrimination ‘laws’ have threaten the rights of same-sex couples specifically Black couples. Due to all the discrimination there has been comparisons to the Civil Rights movement in the 1950's and 1960's. Unlike the Civil Rights movement, where the church acted has the staple for the black community, the black church has turned its back on those who identify under the LGBT umbrella. 

The documents I have chosen support the notion that the lack of the black church in the social movement of LGBT rights through the black lens is preventing any real progress in LGBT rights and halting the spread of AIDS. The documents also combat the belief that the black community is more homophobic than the white community. I will discuss how the two interplay and how they form the true picture of what really is seen in the black lens of the LGBT community and what the picture actually is. 

My primary artifact, for now, is the article "Reading the Bible as Queer Americans: Social Location and the Hebrew Scriptures" which offers "the lost" view point of the Bible. It delves into how the church and word is still present in the heart of Queer Americans, how it is not a choice to be gay, that there are gay people in the Bible who receive no recognition. And from all of this it umbrellas into how Gays, specifically Blacks, are use to the phenomenon of hiding themselves and how hyper masculinity is lost. 
 
 

Blog Post #5

The Black Panther Party for Self Defense was established in 1966(October 15) by Co-Founders Huey P Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland California. To this day, the Black Panther Party is known as one of the most involved and successful Black Power movements during and after the civil rights era. In its essence, the Black Panther Party was an organization not only devoted to the protection and defense for the African American community but also the self fulfilled movement of the black community. The stigma of the party though and the thing that discouraged most national  and even civil rights groups was their “By any means necessary” approach which basically meant that if worse came to worse (police brutality within the community), the party would not sit back and allow nothing to be done. They armed themselves and the community. All the while, leaders also stressed a sense of community. Even though the party had plans and programs for self defense, they also had great plans for sustaining and helping the community. Through its Community Survival Program, the party founded things such as Free Breakfast for Children (which later became a nationally recognized initiative), free busing to prisons, free food campaigns and many more programs that showed the community that with or without the help from the country in which they lived, they would still live and make it with the help of each other. These programs also helped to instill a greater sense of community within the party.

My first and primary artifact will be a speech given by Black Party Co- Founder, Bobby Seale. In the speech, he lays out the Ten Point Plan which basically explains the wants and demands of the party. The Program also establishes what they will and will not stand for. Through this, BPP did not only express their grievances but set up their hopes for change.

  Another artifact I will use is the document that list all 65 of the Black Panther Party’s community programs from 1966-1982. The parallel and also similarities between these artifacts will establish just how successful the party was at not only fighting for the protection of black people and their neighborhoods but also the initiative they took in order to make sure the community would strive no matter the assistance given.  

In my paper, I will showcase the ability of the Black Panther Party to fight back against police brutality and a government not willing to help out while also providing for its own people. I am not sure yet how I will set up the topics within paper but I am somewhat sure of the structure. I will begin with setting up the importance of both sides of the BPP; the defense and the aid.

This information will be used in a way that it is used now with the recent emergence of the New Black Panther Party. People can take the tactics of the BPP and their approach to helping out a community while fighting for it in processes of making their own systemic changes. 

Blog #5

               Ever since it’s establishment in 1948 Israel’s borders have been constantly expanding. To many this is a positive change; The Jews have rightfully returned to their homeland Israel as proclaimed in the Hebrew Bible. But for the generations of families that have lived there since the Ottoman Empire, this brings about an unwelcome transformation. With the foundation of Israel brought about initially a militaristic view to counter new Jewish immigrants. The Palestine Liberation Organization was formed to take back the ‘rightful’ lands of the arab people. Yasser Arafat lead many raids against early Israeli settlements and later became the chairman of the PLO. As time went on and the borders of Israel continued expanding, Arafat led the movement from a paramilitary arrangement to a social movement willing to compromise. I intend to use Arafat’s speech at a UN address as well as their claims made on the organization’s website to analyze the PLO as a social movement. Looking at the movement I will also explain the movement today and discuss themes such as violence vs peaceful means of coexistence(Fatah vs Hamas). Studying the PLO and how and why it is organized the way it is helps illustrate the cause of conflict in the middle east. Understanding the Palestine Liberation Organization’s movement and it’s need for aid and change brings us one step closer to the ultimate goal for both sides: peace.

Blog Post 5

On September 11th, 2001, a terrorist attack launched by Al Qaeda struck two planes into the World Trade Center in New York City, another into the Pentagon, and a final plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Thousands of innocent American lives were taken and the United States was left in shock and disarray. These attacks almost immediately lead us into what came to be known as the War on Terror.

The evening of the attacks, President George W. Bush gave a speech that would set the tone for the way the United States would handle this horrifying incident. The President’s words brought the nation together, putting partisanship and all differences aside. For awhile, we were not Democrats or Republicans, white or black, but solely Americans who were standing up for their country. Although the attacks briefly unified the nation, they would lead to changes that would alter daily lives of many citizens. Laws such as the Patriot Act were passed that allowed easier rights of passage to those defending us in the air, in the water, and on the ground. It allowed easier exchanges of information between agencies, and prohibits harboring terrorists.

I plan on using the President’s speech, the details of the Patriot Act, among other articles as evidence of institutional responses to the September 11^th attacks. Government response to the attacks was strong and fierce, with declaration of war nine days after the attacks occurred. What was anticipated as a war with strong opposition by citizens, turned out to be strongly supported. Many were in agreement with the war and supported it for a long time.

A strong emotional tie was made regarding the attacks. If you ask ANY American where they were when they found out about the attacks, they could tell you exactly where they were. The same photos of video montages were played on repeat on every news network for months and years to come. The falling towers and citizens running, desperately, away from the smoke and debris have been engraved into our minds. It could have been anyone, which is what the terrorists were targeting. They brought the civilians into the event, instead of military as in previous wars.

           

Through US leaders words and touching into the emotions of citizens, I plan to analyze how these attacks and the war that followed have had effects on Americans every day since. 

Post 5

Prohibition is a term used by Americans referring to the 1920s when the 18th amendment declared the production, transport and sale of alcohol illegal. Orginally Volstead Act was designed to be a progressive piece of legislation, but the 18th Amendment only ended up being a major failure. The 21st amendment repealed the 19th amendment in 1933, which many Americans were happy about. I will discuss the events and time period that lead to prohibition and the time of prohibition itself but I will mainly with morals and goals of anti-prohibition groups in America during the 1920s and ‘30s.
During the time of Prohibition there were many groups opposed to the new laws and what the federal government was trying to do. The main group that successfully challenged the 18th Amendment and the federal government was the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment. The types of rhetoric this group used was very influential in gaining support from both important leaders and figures in American society and also from the American people in general. Women also played an important role in the repeal of the 18th amendment.  I will discuss the views of the leaders of both the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and the Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform and how they influenced both their own organizations and the views of American citizens.
I have found many sources that are from the 1920s that are speeches, fliers, and letters that were given to the members of these anti-prohibition associations. I will evaluate them to see what kind of language and persuasion methods they use to get people to believe what they believe. An article written by William Stayton, the founder of the AAPA will also be useful when writing my essay. The facts and statistics these sources provide give good proof that the 18th amendment did not do much to better American’s lives like the federal government thought it would. 

Blog Post 5

With the rise of student protests and a new youth upheaval brewing against the Vietnam War in the 1960’s, a fashion movement amongst the adolescence was formed, a deviance from the norm, a counterculture. The 1950’s were filled with conservative ideals and strict society outlines. Hoop skirts and early curfews created a society revolved around “keeping up with the Joneses.” As young men were returning home from their time in World War II, they began starting families, which lead to a huge baby boom. This crop of young adults would eventually create a culture all their own. The hippie movement involved a mass of young people with ideals that were far from the accepted ones of the time. These kids weren’t concerned with the white picket-fenced social norms, they believed in peace, love, and long hair. They were against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Their abnormal fashion ways were a protest from the “straight” way of thinking and also commercialism. They wore bright colors, flowers, tie-dye, fringe, headbands, sandals or barefoot, and beads. The women wore little or no makeup and usually went without bras. I will analyze the view of the movement from the hippies themselves and from the side of the “establishment”, “big brother”, “the straight way” and “the man” for which the hippies revolted against. I will use what it means to be a hippie from an essay from 1967, a book that includes accounts from people who participated in the movement and a documentary on the Summer of Love to shape my viewpoint from the hippies. I will use several books that summarize the 60s as a whole and how each different book has a slightly opposing way of discussing the movement, it is clear to see their view of what happened from the wording in the descriptions of the events.