Are you With or Against Them?
President Trump a.k.a "Twitter Fingers" has already seemed to make a lot of people angry even though he's only been in office for a month. Trump has already tried and failed with his immigration ban and now he’s back at it again with his law making strategies. Trump’s potential law: ban transgender restrooms in public schools.
The first article I came across was written by Bustle.com and this article discussed how Trump has pledged to protect the LGBT community. Of course Trump went to Twitter and thanked all of the LGBT supporters for supporting him and his campaign. The tweet he posted on June 14, 2016 read “Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hilary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs”. This tweet was posted just days after the traumatic shooting at a gay nightclub in Chicago. The other article that I read was by MSNBC and comes from the perspective of the Democratic party and how they feel as if Trump is taking a few steps backwards instead of forwards.
Both of these articles have their own opinion on Trump’s recent endeavor however the article written by Bustle.com seemed to be giving Trump the benefit of the doubt. The article gives praise to Trump to standing up for the LGBT community and how he has vowed to protect them. The article written by MSNBC however, has a bone to pick with President Trump. The MSNBC article states that Trump’s claims of him being “Pro LGBT” are simply false. The Bustle.com article backed up their claims that Trump was supportive of the LGBT community by explaining how he has donated money to AIDs foundation , waved a gay flag during one of his campaigns and supported Peter Theil openly stating that he himself is gay at a Republican convention. The MSNBC article goes as far as to say that Trump isn’t a “cultural warrior” and isn’t concerned about LGBT youth. This article even said what Trump does is more important than what he actually thinks.
The demographics that are being targeted in both articles are directed towards a young and older audience, specifically anyone who is apart of the LGBT community or those who support the LGBT community as a whole.
The Bustle.com article gave evidence to support their way of thinking by listing what all Trump has done to show the LGBT community that he stands by their side. They also stress the idea that even though Trump is apart of the republican party he still is for the LGBT community. These examples enhanced their idea of persuading their audience that Trump isn’t as bad as everyone may think.
The article written by MSNBC includes quotes from the Trump administration that stated that Trump plans to remove former President Obamas notion of transgender bathrooms in public schools. This article also includes a quote from Sen. Markey which could be a form of testimony since he is a Senator and the audience may value his opinion.
Lol... "Twitter Fingers"...
ReplyDeleteThis post seems to involve a number of different ideas and potential directions. When the idea of "supporting" the LGBT Community has been raised, the most notable action taken by the Trump administration has been to undo President Obama's executive order allowing students to use bathrooms consistent with their chosen identities - which many have described as "taking away the rights" of trans students, but his action also alleviate concerns about federal funding which were tied to President Obama's order.
You also mention the support of businessman Peter Thiel for Trump. Mr. Thiel, an openly gay Republican (how unusual is he?), raised many eyebrows by becoming a Trump surrogate and convention speaker. You allude to the support of LGBT voters - and the Trump campaign actually performed much better than the Romney or McCain campaigns in a number of demographic categories (though I'm not certain about the LGBT community as a voting bloc). Mr. Trump also enjoyed the public support of Caitlyn Jenner, which may or may not have impacted voter behavior.
I appreciate that you mention a number of sources, but please remember to cite things properly. I like this area, but your post leaves some questions about the specific direction you want to take for your paper - and that's ok, but only for now. Consider how you might focus your attention on a more specific issue or conflict. Remember that the goal of your term paper is to do a comparative analysis of the competing narratives which emerge from any public controversy. We want to develop our capacity to recognize persuasive strategies and tactics as they are deployed by persuaders.
Good stuff here. Let me know how I can help.
Thanks. Dr. Ron for responding to my blog. I have reread my blog and I completely agree with your comment about how I should focus my attention on the bigger conflict about this topic being the way that trans students and citizens in general are not being given the same rights and others.
DeleteOne question though: Should I include the various persuasive tactics that are used in each article?
-Thanks.
The focus of your term paper ought to be exactly on the persuasive tactics used in each article - and also how those same tactics are used more broadly in a narrative sense.
ReplyDeleteConsider all the different perspectives that could be said to represent a significant portion of the American public with regard to all the recent attention on LGBT rights. Some wish to be totally supportive and respectful. Some are hateful and distrustful. Most are some combination of "live and let live" or "do what you want as long as you aren't hurting people" or "why do I have to see any of that?" or anything in between.
Importantly, I think different narratives have emerged regarding different LGBT debates. Most, at least in many states, are fine with same-sex marriage. Fewer, perhaps, are supportive of the newly-emerging "trans" class. Remember too, that yet another debate is occurring over what "rights" are to be "protected" by the government, and what that "protection" ultimately amounts to.
Come see me and we can talk more in depth about your project!