Wendy AP Language

In “The Freedom to Offend” from the New Republic, Ian Buruma begins by commenting on the outburst that Mel Gibson caused with the insulting words he said about the Jews.  The unusual part was not actually about what he said, that is nothing new, but of the strides he took after for “healing.”  Instead of looking towards the Jewish community as a whole, he wanted to “meet with the leaders.”

Obviously, racial prejudice is still very common, but now it is looked down on.  You cannot say something offending without being called out on it.  It has become this way through organizations set out to make the community a better, more accepting place.  Sometimes, methods are taken too far, for more reasons than one, to the point where it “interferes with free speech.” 

Leaders and governments have great control over what people can and cannot say.   Sometimes the leaders just decide that a term is no longer socially correct and suddenly no one can say it without being offensive.  It can also go too far so that people cannot even discuss the subject without the worry of saying something wrong.  Buruma gives examples of situations where out of fear of being called out on being prejudice, people were prevented from doing things that would seem perfectly acceptable.  Since the leaders and overseers were afraid of being taken to task for it, however, they could not risk it. 

The power of un-elected leaders is getting to be out of hand.  They claim to know exactly what is wrong to say about their racial, social, or religious group and can get so defensive that people cannot even talk about that group at all.  Most people when speaking of a certain group of people are criticizing their beliefs and opinions, not the people themselves.  We should be able to speak freely of our opinions without the threat of their “leaders.”  Some people do not even wish to be put under the category of their race or ethnicity.  People coming to the United States don’t want to be represented by those leaders, they may just want to be considered a US citizen.  The idea that people would rather be represented by their “community leaders” rather than the elected leader of his or her country just gives more power to the community leaders and makes people stop thinking of themselves being “individuals and citizens.”  In the United States, we are very lucky to have the freedom of speech and sometimes a price must be paid to earn that.  Immigrants should be the last people interfering with that.  We should be appreciative of the rights that we have as US citizens and not let a little criticism get in the way of that.

Vocab

junta- noun- a council or committee for political or governmental purposes; especially : a group of persons controlling a government especially after a revolutionary seizure of power

pander- verb- to provide gratification for others’ desires

delegitimize- verb- to diminish or destroy the legitimacy, prestige, or authority of

syndicate- noun- an association of persons officially authorized to undertake a duty or negotiate business

espouse- verb- to take up and support as a cause : become attached to

Tone

annoyed and slightly angered; knowledgable

Rhetorical Strategies

Anaphora- “As though no one else but leaders would do; as though these supposed leaders were priests, psychiatrists, or yogis in the business of personal healing. As though anti-Semitism were a would inflicted on Gibson by the outisde world.” (22)

Anthypophora- “What’s in a name? Quite a lot, actually.” (23)

Exuscitatio- “Where exactly is the border between criticism or ridicule and ’stirring up hatred’?  Who defines the meaning of hatred? And who decides when it has been stirred up?”

Malcom Gladwell’s “What the Dog Saw” from the the New Yorker begins with a story about Cesar Millan and how he helped a “monster” named Sugar turn into a “sweet, lovable dog” and obey her owner, Forman.  The beagle had a bad habit of chewing up everything in sight, including the arms of her owner.  Cesar was able to calm the dog, and in the end all she needed was discipline.  When rules were set, the dog would back off.  Cesar was able to work a miracle through just one simple step.

Cesar owns many dogs, most of which previously had some sort of social problem which he was able to fix.  His way with dogs is natural; he has done it all of his life and has never had any training.  He just knows what to do.  Because of this, he has his own television show called “Dog Whisperer,” where he basically works a miracle in every episode.  He does this though his presence and by showing authority.  

As Cesar is giving a tour of the Dog Psychology Center, he demonstrates a perfect example of how the way he presents himself is the most important thing when training a dog.  The dogs are playing, chasing tennis balls, and practically going insane, and with one, short whistle, everything came to a stop.   All he did was make a whistle of authority, and every one of the forty-seven dogs obeyed him.

Gladwell then presents another story, where Cesar is called to tame a dog name JonBee, who is a behaving, loving dog when outside, but becomes a nightmare once inside the house.  As Cesar tries to control the dog, he struggles and bites Cesar, but eventually something happens that causes JonBee to obey.  Basically, Cesar won the fight.  He has shown his position as the alpha male.

So what was it that caused this dog to start a fight?  Dogs watch humans very closely.  They can sense many things from your body language, eye movement, and tone of voice.  They are watching our every move and are always willing to look to us for help.  Dogs love humans almost to the point where it is obsessive. 

What JonBee saw in Cesar was his walk; he had an unusual, very flowy walk.  He walks slowly and upright, “not taking up any space,” and his hands are by his side.  People who study humans can mostly agree that someones posture and the way that they walk is parallel to his or her personality.  How Cesar was walking told JonBee that he is going to take things slow and was not going to cause any harm.  The key to taming the dog was not to fight agression with agression.  Using “quick and light,” non-aggressive discipline, it gives the dog a chance to calm down.  Cesar uses specific timing and movement that a dog understands perfectly.  This is something that even JonBee’s owner did not have.  Dogs watch very closely, and as humans we need to make sure we are sending out the right message to them. 

Gladwell then makes a parallel between the fight between JonBee and his Cesar and a young, autistic boy and his therapist, Tortora.  Both Cesar and Tortora try and get on the same level as the dog, or the boy, and get into their world.  They copy their actions and use non-aggressive forms of touch to calm them down.  The two were not “commanding,” they just reacted the right way to the situation. 

Cesar has not always been this good with dogs and people.  He was married at one time, but did not treat his wife like she wanted.  He wanted himself to be happy, but did not try to please her.  Cesar could connect much better with his dogs.  But it was through his marraige that he learned that in order to connect with the dogs, he needed to understand the people too. 

On one episode of Dog Whisperer, Cesar had to work with a very aggressive Chihuahua whose owner loved him and felt sorry for him.  The dog attacked her son, and instead of punishing the dog, she took him back into her arms.  This is when Cesar realized that most problems are not the dogs, it is their owners.  The body language and touch of the owner must match what is going on inside your head.  The dog owners who are most successful have mastered this technique, otherwise, you may be needing Cesar to come by for a visit.

Vocab

deep-pile carpet- pile refers to the length of the thread; thick, luxurious carpet

imperceptibly- adv- not perceptible by a sense or by the mind : extremely slight, gradual, or subtle

Jindo- a breed of hunting dog from Korea

Tone

knowledgable and argumentative

Rhetorical Strategies

Personification- “She had a particularly destructive relationship with newspapers, television remotes, and plastic cups.” (87)

Otomotopia- “Woof. Woof, woof, woof. Woof.” (90)

Anaphora- “People saying ‘I love you’ with a touch that didn’t mean ‘I love you.’  People saying ‘There, there’ with gestures that did not soothe.  People saying ‘I’m your mother’ while reaching out to a Chihuahua instead of their own flesh and blood.” (102)

In “A Carnivore’s Credo” from Harper’s Magazine, Roger Scruton discusses the morality concerned with the treatment and consumption of animals.  By exploring the ethics involved in that, we also can learn something about the nature of the consumer, or ourselves.  In Scruton’s opinions, there are three pillars that make up the moral life, which are “value, virtue, and duty.”  All are important and deserve equal attention.  Piety, however, is also of utmost importance as all creatures around us deserve reverence through our actions, and most humans feel the need to exert this piety. 

The thing that differentiates humans from other animals is our self-conscious nature and the fact that we have values and opinions.  There is no greater love and companionship than that we recieve from our pets, and after experiencing this some people believe that all animals should be treated like and loved like our pets.  It is here that we face a problem: eating.  Humans are obviously considered more important than animals in our minds; even when dead, human corpses are treated with respect, while we think nothing of eating a dead animal.  In every culture some sort of piety is shown to a human corpse.  Humans naturally feel this way.

Pets are very special to us as humans, and we would never even consider eating them.  There are also religious beliefs that prohibit some from eating meat.  The reason that meat is prohibited, however, is not because of the animals, but the fact that it would “defile” the person eating it. 

When humans eat, it has always been an event that is social or sacrificial, where everyone can spend time together.  There is always meaning in our meals.  Fast-food has changed these traditions.  The time spent together is replaced by the “solitary stuffing of burgers, pizzas, and ‘TV dinners.’”  For this reason, some people become vegetarians in order to “reestabilish contact with our roots.” 

So, if we are to be kind and virtuous people, what part of that tells us that we are allowed to eat animals?  For one, there is a difference between our pets at home and the animals brought up specifically for consumption on a farm.  If they are treated kindly growing up, and have a humane death, maybe that would be better than animals who are treated cruelly.  We see “Traditional livestock farming” everywhere.  Vast, beautiful farms that scape the countryside.  It is a comforatble habitat for animals and a place where our food is grown.  These animals have dignity, and those may be okay to eat. 

However, from the vegetarian viewpoint, most people no longer see meat as a gift, as it has been considered all through time.  We have to realize what goes on in order to get that one burger.  If no one appreciates the life that has been taken for the meal they are eating, why should an innocent animal be killed?

Scruton’s solution is not to stop eating meat altogether, but rather “remoralize” our habits.  We should try and erase some of the bad habits caused by fast-food.  Scruton says that if you really care about animals, you should eat meat.  This is how “compassionate farming” exists.  It is our duty, as people who care about animals, to raise awareness so that more animals are raised kindly.   

Vocab

deontology- n- the theory or study of moral obligation

onus- n- burden

abattoir- n- slaughterhouse

multifarious- adj- having or occurring in great variety; diverse

agribusiness- n- an industry engaged in the producing operations of a farm, the manufacture and distribution of farm equipment and supplies, and the processing, storage, and distribution of farm commodities

solipsistic- adj- having a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing

hubris- n-  exaggerated pride or self-confidence

Tone

passionate/concerned and persuasive

Rhetorical Strategies

Allusion- “All this you will find beautifully evoked in the scene between Achilles and Priam in the Iliad, when the old king comes to beg for Hector’s desecrated body…” (261)

Irony- “I would suggest that it is not only permissable for those who care about animals to eat meat… compassionate farming would cease.” (265)

Appeal to Pathos- “Reduce meat to an object of solitary greed like chocolate and the question naturally arises: Why should life be sacrificed just for this?” (264)

Louis Menand’s “Name That Tone” from the New Yorker investigates the “Mosquito” ringtone that supposedly cannot be heard by anyone over the age of twenty because it is so high-pitched.  For younger listeners, however, the sound is very obnoxious and “ear-splitting.”  This ringtone is yet another way for youth to rebel against adults, although it’s quite uncomfortable for the teenagers who hear the sound.  Yes, this is an easy way to trick teachers so they do not know you are getting text messages, but it is more than that.  The “Mosquito” tone is just another thing that reminds people that they are getting old.  As people get older there become more and more things that constantly remind them of “the gradual yet irreversible atrophying of their faculties.” 

Maybe the “Mosquito” tone isn’t such a good thing after all.  Maybe it doesn’t even matter.  As human beings, we are constantly growing and changing to suit our bodies and opinions.  People gain more knowledge from not being able to hear a teenager’s ringtone.  As you get older, you appreciate other people and things that did not seem important before.  When we grow older, we may lose certain aspects of our bodies, but our minds continue to learn and grow.

Vocabulary

presbycusis-  loss of hearing that gradually occurs in most individuals as they grow older.

Tone

arrogant, most likely insulting to teenage audience, comical to adults

Rhetorical Stategies

Simile/Allusion: “The Mosquito tone is like the squirrel’s heartbeat the George Eliot refers to in Middlemarch: “If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heart beat…” (156)

Anaphora: “Try getting a teenager to appreciate a grilled ramp. Try getting a teenager to appreciate another person…”