Page 4 (Cultural Uses of Rhetoric)
Cultural Uses of Rhetoric
Rhetoric in culture may not be as easy to identify as political rhetoric,
but it is just as impactful.
Violence against Certain Groups
Antisemitism
With the rise in public violence that seemed to begin when Donald Trump normalized threatening behavior in 2015, there has been a subsequent rise in violence against Jewish people. Threats to synagogues and open acts of violence against Jewish communities have increased in the last six years.
In particular, famous public figure Kanye West has been known recently for his antisemitic rants, usually on Twitter, making statements like "going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE" and "you guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone who opposes your agenda" (1), both of which were removed when his account was banned. West is fully aware of the impact of his targeting the Jewish community, but does not regret his statements and continues to spew hatred.
 |
| (1) |
West's antisemitic remarks prompted an influx of antisemitic behavior, resulting in the photograph on the right. This is a group of people that embraced West's antisemitic views and projected their beliefs with "Kanye is right about the Jews" over the L.A. freeway. (1)
The danger of this rhetoric against the Jewish community is not only that it opens a path for people to publicly express their violent views and tendencies towards Jewish people, but the size of West's communicative reach because of his popular music following gives him a larger platform to display his hate speech. By using statements that claim he is being silenced for opposing Jewish people, West is using rhetoric to instill doubt in his supporters, causing them to believe that Jewish people have their own violent agenda (2), which is false.
Anti-LGBTQ+
Similar to the antisemitic rhetoric, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has been more publicly on the rise since the emergence of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.
Much of the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric can be directly tied with political rhetoric.
Refusing to refer to transgender people by their preferred pronouns and saying that everyone is born as one gender or another is a very small form of harmful rhetoric. It may not be a direct act of violence or hate, but it contributes to the growing intolerance for this group.
 |
| (3) |
In the past twenty years, alongside the increase in gun violence, there have been an increase in violence against LGBTQ+ people, such as with the 2022 massacre of Club Q in Colorado Springs. (3)
Other political rhetoric, like passing legislation, has seen an increase in hostility towards the LGBTQ+ group as well. An example of this is the "Don't Say Gay" bill that was passed in Florida, which bans the instruction and education of students about topics such as gender identity and sexual orientation (4).
Since the bill passed, there has been a major influx of hate speech targeting LGBTQ+ individuals on social media platforms, much of which implies that protestors of the bill and all people who identify as LGBTQ+ are 'pedophiles', 'groomers', or 'predators' (4).
 |
| (5) |
Using a combination of rhetoric and blatant lying, Jones professed to his followers that the people features in photos of the shooting were "crisis actors" taking part in a "giant hoax" that was created to increase the banning of guns. (5)
QAnon is one of the most notorious online platforms for spreading complete fallacies. "Name a traumatic news event in recent decades, and it's almost certain Alex Jones has claimed it didn't happen — or not the way you think it did" (5).
By formulating their rhetoric around instilling mistrust and uncertainty, the panderers of QAnon feed on the weak-minded and plant the seeds of doubt in order to sell their far-fetched conspiracy theories. They do not care about the lives that they hurt in the meantime, as long as their lies are heard.
Promoting Scams
Theranos
 |
| (7) |
One of the biggest shocks of the 21st century was when Elizabeth Holmes, young founder of testing company Theranos and who was also coined as "the next Steve Jobs" was discovered to have fabricated the ingenuity of her company and defrauded investors out of around $1 billion. (6)
Since her company had been fraudulent from the start, Holmes relied on strategic rhetoric, both publically and in communication with her employees, to maintain the facade of her legitimacy and her company's next-level blood testing capabilities.
Over time, her rhetoric had changed. She began by claiming that the money and fame were not her reasons for success, but rather her desire to help improve people's lives was what fueled her drive (6). By the time allegations of inaccuracy began appearing, Holmes' rhetoric had changed to keep her innocent of any wrongdoing, as she often claimed she was not directly in charge of the labs, despite being CEO (6).
Fyre Festival
Advertised as the biggest music festival of all time, Fyre Festival was supposed to be a luxury event that would include "the finest in music, arts, and food" on an island in the Bahamas. However, founder Billy McFarland had used celebrity promoters and spread the word on social media, only to fall colossally short of his promises. (8)
Many attendees spent well over $1,000, and some over $20,000, to travel to and enjoy the festival that did not include even a fraction of fine dining or luxury lodging that was promised. (8)
By using the hype rhetoric, the only thing McFarland succeeded in with Fyre Festival was defrauding investors and attendees. He was sentenced to six years in prison. (8)
Everyday Scams
Rhetoric is even used by scam callers that everyone has likely encountered at least once in their life.
A call from an unknown number claiming that your car's warranty is expired, or that your bank account has been compromised, and they always demand money to 'solve' the problem.
The way that these scammers use rhetoric is by instilling fear in their victims. By claiming that the police will arrest you if you do not send them money, or saying you will be susceptible to another scammer without a certain monetary protection is how they strategically use rhetoric to scam people.
Works Cited
1. Hamasaki, Sonya. “Los Angeles Officials Condemn Demonstrators Seen in Photos Showing Support of Kanye West's Antisemitic Remarks.” CNN, Cable News Network, 24 Oct. 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/24/us/los-angeles-demonstrators-kanye-west-antisemitic-remarks/index.html.
2. Treisman, Rachel. “How Antisemitic Rhetoric Is Impacting Jewish Communities, and What to Do about It.” NPR, NPR, 6 Nov. 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/11/06/1133608843/antisemitic-rhetoric-kanye-jewish-communities-reaction.
3. Santoro, Helen. “How Anti-LGBTQ+ Rhetoric Fuels Violence.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2022, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-anti-lgbtq-rhetoric-fuels-violence/.
4. Yurcaba, Jo. “After ' Don't Say Gay' Bill Passed, LGBTQ Online Hate Surged 400%.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 12 Aug. 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/-dont-say-gay-bill-passed-lgbtq-online-hate-surged-400-rcna42617.
5. Bond, Shannon. “How Alex Jones Helped Mainstream Conspiracy Theories Become Part of American Life.” NPR, NPR, 6 Aug. 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/08/06/1115936712/how-alex-jones-helped-mainstream-conspiracy-theories-into-american-life.
6. “How Elizabeth Holmes' Rhetoric Changed over Time – Video.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Jan. 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/video/2022/jan/04/how-elizabeth-holmes-rhetoric-changed-over-time-video.
7. “Elizabeth Holmes.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, https://www.forbes.com/profile/elizabeth-holmes/?sh=b2f9eb447a7b.
8. Baggs, Michael. “Fyre Festival: Inside the World's Biggest Festival Flop.” BBC News, BBC, 18 Jan. 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-46904445.