Publicized rhetorical situations heavily influence the
publics and individuals reactions. The
news channel is an example of a host for these rhetorical situations to take place
and the news channels are a major source that the public gets their information
from. Since these news channels are such
a big influence and source of information, their representatives’ reactions to
rhetorical situations and arguments are widely reflected on the audience’s
behaviors when it comes to related situations in real life. An example would be Bill O’Reilly’s reaction
to racial issues (as displayed in my last blog). His defensive reaction to accusations of
racial bias displays a desire to ignore the topic. By having someone like Bill O’Reilly react so
profoundly to racial topics, the audience sees it as a topic that shouldn’t be
disclosed in a public eye, kind of like something taboo. If people on TV continuously talk about race
in a taboo fashion, then racial issues amongst the public will never be
publicly approached. In order to fix
that, the public needs to be presented with open discussions in order to emulate
in real life, therefore heading towards the directions of racial awareness and
equality.
I agree that the forum and way in which people publicly discuss racial issues need to change. Many people on television and news stations who debate racial issues, inhibit the discussion by claiming againsts racial bias. The term "racially blind" is frequently used to show that people do not see color when examining racial issues, in an effort to show how their thoughts will be pure. However, in doing so, people are afraid to say anything that would give them a label as being racist, and thus the discussion generally goes nowhere. I am not sure how to improve the discussion because race is such a touchy subject. I think improved discussion comes from the top though: government, legislation, news, and anything else in the public eye.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the method that people discuss racial issues is really not the best right now. The fact that the topics of race and ethnicity are such taboos in social life make it challenging to discuss them properly in settings such as TV and news. Instead, a discussion is necessary in a place where people are willing to talk about this sensitive subject of race without the fear of judgement by the public.
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