Week 12 – Classical Rhetoric Up In Smoke: Cool Persuasion,

Digital Ethos, and Online Advocacy

by Mark D. Pepper | Utah Valley University

http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/18.2/topoi/pepper/index.html

Pepper brings up some interesting concepts as he critiques this web site. The most interesting discussion to me involved how thetruth doesn’t quite meet the ethical standards that we expect to find from an organization that is trying to get young people to stop smoking. The fact that this approach tries to break all the rules seems contradictory but intriguing at the same time. Cigarettes in the hands of youngsters are seen as rebellious, and to combat that ideology, the web site uses in effect “reverse psychology.” But I’m not sure that it works, especially when the data linked to viewers of this site is provided (they just click cursorily – not many relevant comments are made). If it does work, then have we encouraged or succeeded in getting youngsters to stop smoking or have we succeeded in teaching them to disregard authority completely? Perhaps one can argue that this group is already disregarding authority and the site is trying to use this mentality to reach the specific audience. Regardless of which causes which, the problem of lack of authority still exists and is encouraged, which could be problematic if these youngsters don’t “outgrow” this ideology. Somehow “stooping to their level” just doesn’t seem like the best way to reach the audience.

Posted by werner22brigitte on Pixabay – no attribution required

I have to play Devil’s advocate against myself, however. The fact that this web site tries to use “cool” as a means of reaching its audience is novel and worth mentioning. After all, knowing your audience is one requirement for effectively reaching them, and this site seems to cover this aspect of rhetoric better than most other web pages. “Sticking it to the man,” on some levels, should work in reaching this audience.

<I’m shifting gears again – I kind of like arguing with myself!> But there is another aspect of this audience that has not been considered: many people in this group will not have access to the internet and if they do, they probably aren’t the type of people who sit down to read text. So perhaps the medium is hindering the effectiveness of this message in spite of its disrespectful tone.

Effective or not, this web site provided an excellent springboard for Pepper to demonstrate to me (someone who really needs these types of examples) how to link theory with practice. Because his “object lesson” shows me what I need to know instead of just telling me what I should know, I think I’ll read his article again.

I responded to Dan’s wonderful blog pulling information from this book. My response focused on some side issues that keep catching my eye right now. Dan’s reference to fear reminded me of the movie After Earth which encourages us to overcome our fear. Such thinking is not wrong because fear can paralyze us and we need to fight against it. But I’m afraid of jumping too far to the other side and not respecting fear as a natural emotion which we have been given as a protective mechanism. If we learn to acknowledge our fears and where they come from, we can learn not only more about our environment but also more about ourselves. And by reflecting on those two things, we can (hopefully) better our lives.

I also responded to Sherie’s post (I always love hearing her perspective). She was honest in her assessment of the work and how it made her feel, but she gave him a fair response. I asked questions about Pepper’s focus on interface given the fact that (at least in my opinion) most of the people who make up the target audience for thetruth are either not going to see the web site or read the website or comprehend the website. Without the ability to communicate in such manner, this message (regardless of how novel and rebellious) will not reach its intended audience.

The connecting point for me regarding this article is that we should be striving to find balance in our lives. I’m not quite sure where that line is on most specific topics, but I do know that I don’t want to be accused of jumping to the end without considering the other side.