Ferguson, USA: 50 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a Ferguson doesn't need to happen.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/daniel-henninger-ferguson-usa-1408576137
The Wall Street Journal, 20 August 2014
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Daniel Henninger, a writer for the Wall Street Journal, addresses the Ferguson-Missouri incident in his recent article concerning its strange timing. 50 years after the Civil Rights Act, Henninger writes, occurred this incident that is but a reflection of history. The rising racial tensions and rioting outbreaks took place in the streets of Detroit and Newark in the late 1960s, albeit on a much larger scale. Henninger investigates the crisis and delves into the question of why it happened: this transitions the piece into what feels like a lengthy digression. He targets education and its failure to suffice real-world needs as it is reflected by plummeting employment rates, especially within black youth. Henninger, in effort to convince his audience of the severity, sets forth several statistics drawn by a multitude of credible sources and studies. The author finalizes his piece with a supported claim revolving around the need for change within the classroom.
Henninger's central contention, although slightly obscured by the introduced topic, can be derived from the rhetorical question he proposes and analyzes: "Why don't more young guys in places like Ferguson have a job to occupy their days?" Much of his support can be seen within his appropriate use of quotes and statistics, often delivered from reliable sources such as Obama himself, the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Pew Research Center. Henninger's numerous references to other studies indicates his appeal to logos and its prominence within the piece. To further his rhetorical strategy, his article almost follows Jolliffe's framework--it begins with the situation's exigence and purpose (in the form of a question) then transitions into his several appeals.
First off, your writing is so easy to read. It flows really well and is just overall pretty amazing. Anyway, I can definitely see Henninger's reasons for using so many statistics. With such a heavy topic, the only way to accurately portray facts with such controversy is through statistics. How do you answer the rhetorical question he asked himself when writing the piece?
ReplyDeleteHenninger, I think you must be addressing the wrong idea concerning the Ferguson-Missouri trial. Are you claiming that, because people have nothing to do, they riot? It seems to me as though you digress heavily and almost without reason. Perhaps it would be better to analyze the situation and take a closer look into what is happening. One reason stores in Missouri are being ransacked is because it was a while cop killing a black man: racial issues are quite obviously reflected in this occurrence. Education seemed to me like a rather far-fetched tangent to go with and makes me feel as though you haven't properly scrutinized the truth of this event and its impact on American society.
ReplyDeleteI commented on Joe's blog, Mary Beth's blog, and Alex Dumas' blog.
DeleteYou had a pretty good discussion of what the author wrote about and his central argument. I like the fact that you mentioned the specific point where the piece feels like it transitions to a different type of writing. Your author seems to have hit the correct points in his argument, and the reference to the civil rights movement is effective. At least in my case. I can see a pretty large connection between the two events
ReplyDelete