Monday Matters #5

"Rick Reilly Mailbag: Sept. 25, 2013"
By: Rick Reilly
Link: http://espn.go.com/blog/rick-reilly-go-fish/post/_/id/1272/rick-reilly-mailbag-sept-25-2013

Rick Reilly talks about the responses he received from the previous post he did about the changing of the Washington Redskins name. He received many different responses, some with him and some against him. Reilly believes that its not his choice as to whether it is an appropriate name or not, it is up to the Native American people. "I just know that on many Native American reservations, they don't think so." This is his position. He says that mostly white American sports writers should not have a say either. Reilly goes on to respond to certain comments and agree with some and disagree with others, while providing more information on the issue.

"How the Hashtag Is Ruining the English Language" Response

1: The author's claim is too biased because he doesn't give any compelling evidence as to why the # is bringing down the English language. The article is more of a rant of why he hates people using the #. When teenagers in the 80's started saying "that's cold", it never ruined the the English language. There have been many other examples of this as well. It brings down the validity of the article.

2: The author uses Irony at the end of the article. After he rants about how much he hates the #, he end his article with "#FML". This is something that is supposed to make the audience chuckle a little.He also appeals to pathos in a way. His complaining might and constant references to other uses of the # and why it is stupid might reel in some of the audience to his side.

3: The use of the # by the author detracts the purpose of the article. If he were to use it sparingly, it would be ok. Using it multiple times in the article makes the audience believe that the issue is not that big of a deal. He used the #s sarcastically, but too much.

4: A large majority of the audience disagrees with the author. Some claim it to be a very opinionated article, while other bring up some interesting points. "Just dropped my girl off at GameStop shes gonna bey me Call of Duty cause were both high LOL #winning" This example was used by the author to explain why he doesn't get why they put the #winning at the end. One commenter brought up a good point. The example has many uses of slang and lack of punctuation. Like "gonna", "bey", "cause", and the lack of punctuation. The commenter argues that the # shouldn't be the reason the English Language is going down the trash. It's the spelling, grammar, and punctuation that should be our number one priority.

Monday Matters #4

Link: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9689220/redskins-name-change-not-easy-sounds

"Have the people spoken?" By: Rick Reilly

The Washington Redskins name will most likely be changed because it "offends" Native Americans, even though 90% of Native Americans say it doesn't bother them and most of the 90% actually like the name. Schools around the country with the same name wear it on their shirts with praise. The people dealing with this issue are white Americans, and even though most Native Americans do not care about the name, they feel it should be changed. They feel obligated to protect them by putting up walls on the outside, like a Native American reservation.

Monday Matters #3

Link: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZMkha0QWqL7hf6b_jh4_nedFfd4cXOsx-beYSGC0a_wzLudhePhdGrMYG9FpXaItvNuFzuyyGrWjANIVKnlAGjjVJFHXGUg-MmEEMl5Ce5dx4Ka0TUE5TAu3EzwFrLlaGH8yI_fYcbgE/s1600/340391949_f7a115b357_o.jpg

This is a good example of how visual rhetoric can be used effectively. This picture shows the simplicity of Apple and its emphasis on a sleek, beautiful product. In contrast, the picture shows Microsoft to be very complicated, time consuming, and aggravating. It shows this by depicting cars as a representation of both companies. One car, being Apple's, is nice and sleek to show how beautiful it is. It also shows a ON/OFF switch where the engine for the car should be. This shows Apple's simplicity. The other car, being Microsoft's, is not as nice looking. Its shows an engine with multiple parts that seem complicated. Also, there are tubes, cords and cables hanging off the side of the engine compartment. Another way it shows this is the n=mechanics sanding by the cars. The Apple mechanic is nice and happy standing next to the car. The Microsoft mechanic seems very frustrated and tired, sweating and scratching his head. The effect of this picture on the reader is that the reader will most likely feel inclined to buy Apple products instead of Microsoft products, for its simplicity and sleekness. Ad hominem is used to put down Microsoft by accusing them of things that aren't necessarily true. Pathos is used to appeal to the readers emotion about their views of each company, by making them think Microsoft isn't as good as Apple.




 

"College Football: Pay Players or Ban it Altogether?" Response

The article by Sean Gregory of Time Magazine has the more convincing argument. Gregory has a lot more information than Bissinger. This makes his argument stronger and more compelling. The writer also appeals to logos by providing statistics that show how much money they schools make of of college sports, and why a portion of this money should go to the students who are actually performing. The writer also uses process and analysis by explaining how college football politics works. Process and analysis is used to exemplify the flaws in how the colleges repay the players for their performance to bring the school money.

Monday Matters Week #2

The writer talks about how adults on social media are killing their children's social lives, as well as social fads. Before social media, it took adults a little more time to experience these fads and kill them. No kid wants to do something their parent's do. Now with social media, parents that participate in social media have easy access to these fads. Also, they have an easier way of monitoring their children, causing children to think twice about what they post. Some just decide to find a new way to express themselves.

"Have Sports Brought Down America's High Schools?" Response

The author's thesis for this article is very clear. She claims that the education of high school students aren't sufficient, and high school sports are to blame. The writer uses narration at the beginning of the article by talking about a student who was attended high school in Poland. She compares her own kids' lives with the kids in Poland. She goes into cause and effect, saying that if we improve on our education in math, science, and literature, our test scores will improve. The article is persuasive and convincing. The way she compares America to other countries make the reader feel as though the United States isn't the best, that improvements can be made. This is what the writer wanted to accomplish, and she succeeded.

"Work and the American Culture" Response

2 Examples of Ethos: "And what I have been thinking in the weeks leading up to this weekend is very simple: "Thank you, God, that I have a job." May more of us be able to say those words on Labor Day 2014." he writer's character is expressed by saying that she is a working class citizen who contributes to this country. She knows what its like to work.

"What is needed now is a political leader on fire about all the possibilities, not one who tries to sound optimistic because polls show optimism is popular but someone with real passion about the idea of new businesses, new inventions, growth, productivity, breakthroughs and jobs, jobs, jobs." This is an example of what the speaker believes in. These are the principles she stands by. She is trying to get her audience of pumped by saying there is still hope for this great country, we just need to vote for better politicians who care about American jobs. By doing this, the audience is more willing to be on her side and appeal to her character and ethics.

2 Examples Pathos: "To today: I've been thinking about the big bad stories of the summer, the cultural ones that disturb people. The sick New York politician who, without apparent qualms, foists his sickness into the public sphere again. The kids who kill the World War II vet because they're bored. The kids who kill the young man visiting from Australia because they too are bored, and unhappy, and unwell. The teacher who has the affair with the 14-year-old student, and gets a slap on the wrist from the judge. The state legislator who's a sexual predator, the thieving city councilor and sure, the young pop star who is so lewd, so mindlessly vulgar and ugly on the awards show." I included this whole paragraph because the speaker is trying to stir up the audience's emotions. By mentioning pop culture and other news, we can relate to where she is coming from. She mentions that this doesn't shock us anymore, we are used to it. She said all these terrible things might be what we consider ourselves as Americans. The speaker says we shouldn't stoop that low. We need to think better of ourselves and have hope for change, that we can change things.

"Conservatives have been concerned about our culture for at least a quarter-century." This is the speaker trying to convince you to come to her side. The speaker, being a Conservative, says that the Conservatives have been trying to address this issue for a long time. By saying this, we get the feeling that they are the good guys. We are swayed by our emotions and feel bad for the Conservatives, who have been trying to help us out all along, and the liberals were the ones to get in the way.

The speaker's audience is the American people. She also considers herself as one. Her position on this topic is that we should vote for politicians who care about our workforce. The purpose of this article is to show Americans that the number 1 issue facing the United States is unemployment and jobs. 

Source: http://politic365.com/2012/12/31/latino-immigrants-receive-fewer-unemployment-benefits/

MONDAY MATTERS #1

Link= http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/30/tech/social-media/social-media-teens-parents/index.html

Teens have run into the recent problem of parents and grandparents using social networking sites. Teens want to be free and express themselves on the internet, while parents try to monitor their children but no be intrusive. Some decide to block their parents' accounts from seeing their information, and some just make some ground rules with their parents. Teens have also started to use lesser known social media sites to communicate with their friends without their parents watching them. Teens seem to know no to post pictures they wouldn't show their parents. Usually they just decide to coexist with their parents on social media sites and make agreements to not embarrass each other.