Tow #7 Post (Article): Shouting Ebola on a Plane?

The worldwide panic of Ebola has many people fearing and others scheming. This week, there was a dramatic scene that took place on a flight heading to the United States from the Dominican Republic. A passenger claimed to have Ebola while coughing vigorously in his seat. What could have been a practical joke turned into a two hour session of quarantine on the tarmac, or runway. Passengers were not only complaining about the annoying delay, but were frustrated with the man who's non-humorous joke landed them in that situation. He was escorted off the plane, and was in very serious trouble. In this CNN article, the author, Katia Hetter, uses diction with strong, negative connotation to inform the general public of the serious consequences that come with lying about this disease. In her opening paragraph, Hetter states, "while these agitators are finding zero tolerance for that kind of speech, people's daily lives and travels are being disrupted by the fear and panic surrounding the virus" (Hetter 1). Using the word "agitators" to describe the people orchestrating these jokes shows her sense of disgust, and annoyance. Later on, she also refers to them as "tricksters, hucksters and attention hogs", which also helps to portray her sense of annoyance. By using diction with such negative connotation, Hetter is able to illustrate her mood towards what happened on this flight, which helps to achieve her purpose. She is using her mood as a way to show that joking about such a serious topic is a disturbance that will not be tolerated. She goes on to say how the man was removed from the flight. Instead of using "asked to leave", Hetter uses removed to put emphasize on how it wasn't a choice, and to, again, use the negative connotation of the word to express the man's actions. Because of his failed attempt at being funny, he is being punished. Katia's usage of mood and diction help to really sell her purpose of not treating Ebola as a joke. 

TOW #6 Post (Article): Ebola Outbreak

     In a recent article by CNN, there has been talk about yet another victim, a nurse, who tested positive for Ebola. The woman is the second person inside the United States to get the virus, so citizens have been having panic attacks about how much longer this outbreak could last. The nurse supposedly got contaminated by the virus during her "extensive contact" at a Dallas hospital with a patient who tested positive for the virus. This marks the first known transmission of Ebola in the United States, and the third diagnosis in the country. Other staff members and the CDC are confused about one detail during her contact with the patient: where she went wrong. The woman had on a mask, gloves, and numerous shields to protect her from any contamination. The main concern with this new outbreak is the fact that the virus was caught by a simple preach of protocol. Even the President stated that he "wants federal authorities to immediately take further measures to ensure health care professionals are able to follow protocols for treating Ebola patients" (CNN 1). Also, this worries the public even more because if simple protocol is being broken, then the faster this deadly virus will spread. The main purpose of this article was to definitely warn the public, the intended audience, of the recent outbreaks, and to let them know that they need to be extra cautious. At a time where nurses, who are trained to deal with these kinds of events, are getting the virus, extra procedure needs to be taken. One of the strategies the author, Elizabeth Cohen, uses to communicate her purpose is a very serious tone. She mentions things like "The World Organization estimates more than 8,300 people have contracted Ebola during this year's outbreak" (CNN 1). This appeal to not only tone, but logos. By using logos to appeal to her serious tone, Elizabeth is able to explain to the public the cold hard facts about the virus. People need to be more careful everyday or else more outbreaks could happen causing an even greater risk of getting Ebola. With these two strategies, quotes by the President to represent ethos, and numerous case studies, Cohen is able to communicate her purpose to her audience, the general public, of the new outbreaks of Ebola, and to approach everyday situations cautiously and calmly. 

TOW #5 Post (Visual): Sotomayor

               In today's news, there are many articles dedicated to Justice Sotomayor, an associate justice of the Supreme Court. The articles are covering all sorts of topics including how race is the most important issue to her, how being a minority is the reason for her votes during 2009, and other subjects that are along the same lines. Then, I came along this political cartoon that has grasped the attention of many. The author, written in a blurry manner on the side of the cartoon, was able to include everyone's views on this matter in one picture. The cartoon displays, what I saw as, Barack Obama on the left saying that he throughly checked Sotomayor's background before he picked her to be on the Supreme Court. On the right, is his checklist for Sotomayor, and it only includes four points of qualifications that are seen as the biggest debates when it comes to politics. The viewers, people interested in the news and information about Sotomayor, mostly agreed with the political cartoon saying that the picture represents everything that shouldn't be present in a judge on the Supreme Court. The viewers do sound racist, but Sotomayor did publicly state that race is a huge matter to her. To Americans, it sounds like she has some sort of safe zone for people of color, which is frankly a little scary because she does hold a lot of power. However, as a woman of race, I don't feel threatened by Sotomayor's outburst on people of color. Now, people could argue I am coming from a biased side, but I don't think that an intellectual woman could make such a poor decision. I think that all she meant by it was that race matters to her, but not the extent people are thinking. As a woman of color, nobody expects her to act aggressively to others in her situation, but with her education and skills, she does not seem like the type to favor others.  Ultimately, the purpose of this cartoon was to portray the different viewpoints of Sotomayor and her recent statement of race mattering to her.