Visual Argument: College Students With Guns

College Students With Guns

            Each Tuesday and Thursday I decide what I will need to take to Pathos. Books, papers, and pens are what I usually bring. But what if I decided to take a concealed gun? The thought is scary, but if Texas lawmakers have their way it could soon be possible. Lawmakers are trying to pass a bill that would allow college students to have concealed guns on campuses. Supporters of this bill are claiming that guns would help protect students in case of a shooter (Fantz).  While this is an understandable argument, I believe that the environments college students are surrounded by, partying and stress, are not good settings for guns to be around.  Overall, I believe that college students and guns are a bad combination.

             To begin my argument, I chose the image of the student with the books and the gun to show the oddity of the situation. Viewers may have a hard time processing the picture because it is hard to get their minds wrapped around the concept of guns and college life. This indicates that the idea of students with guns is already negatively engrained in them. The belief is probably instilled in the audience through college shootings that they have witnessed or heard about. When people start going back to those memories, it brings up the negative feelings they felt at that time.

            When the Prezi moves toward the second image, the audience sees a gun and a six pack of beer together. The picture represents the partying and drinking environment that is prevalent in college life. Viewers will connect the second image to the idea of guns around intoxicated students.  Having a weapon in an environment where people’s thinking is unclear is not safe. And college students are known to do regrettable things when they are drunk. Emotion may come from the fact that viewers may remember a time where they regretted something they did when they were intoxicated. And that regret could have been a lot worse if guns were around.

            Image number three depicts the other aspect of college that affects many students: stress.  While almost every student experiences it, each individual handles stress in their own way. But picture three demonstrates the negative routes that stressed students can take when they have a gun. Emotions will be provoked in the audience because we can all relate to being stressed because of school. On top of that, viewers also have memories and negative feelings of what happens when stressed college students have guns.

            When the presentation moves toward the fourth picture, the audience is hit with a grotesque image of a dead Charles Whitman. The image represents how the issue of stressed students with guns was prevalent and dangerous even forty years ago. Generations of college students with guns have led to negative outcomes. Viewers will feel negative emotions from the fact that the picture is very graphic.  While most of the audience was not even born when the shooting happened, they may remember how they felt at the most recent UT shooting.

            The last picture’s message leads to the fifth and sixth images.  The picture of Colton Tooley is a recent example of what happens when a stressed student is in possession of a gun. Tooley would remind the viewers that guns and students are not a good combination.  Next, is the image of the caution tape over the UT tower. The picture depicts how easy our campus can become a crime scene when guns are around. Both images evoke emotion because the audience is most likely going to remember how they felt the day Tooley took his life.  

            As the presentation continues, picture seven shows the ultimate case of why guns and college students do not mix well. The student shooter from Virginia Tech is probably the worst-recent case scenario of a stressed student with a gun. The audience will probably remember the sad photos and memorials they saw during the tragedy, indicating the damage students with guns can do. Because the image shows the shooter pointing the gun straight at you, negative emotions are sure to be roused up in the viewers.

            When the audience gets to images eight and nine, they see the chaos and tragedy that can result from students with guns on campuses. The picture of the police officers carrying the student evokes emotion because the scene looks like it could be from a war. But sadly, the incident took place on a regular college campus. With the image of the of individuals who were murdered that day, emotion is set in the viewers because the victims died going to school, something we do every Tuesday and Thursday.

            The last image displays, again, the abnormality of guns and college together.  Emotion comes to the viewer from the fact that all the negative emotions the other photos provoked are now going to be tied to the concept of guns and college life. The picture of the gun and the word college together are now going to carry these negative feelings and associations.

            After seeing the slideshow, I hope the audience will feel a range of  powerful emotions.  The main emotion the images should provoke in the viewer is fear. Seeing the different environments guns could be around on college campuses, the student shooters, and the chaos that can result from them should make the audience afraid. The other emotions that viewers should feel are sadness and alarm.  Sadness will come from the image of the individuals who were killed at the Virginia Tech Shooting. Viewers will feel alarmed though when they see the first three images, the Tower with caution tape, and the I gun college picture.

            By provoking these negative emotions, I hope to get the audience to take on the view that guns, even concealed ones, should not be permitted on college campuses. After looking at the images, viewers may feel alarmed about stressed individuals caring guns to school. The audience may come to believe that it is not safe to allow this.  But when viewers see the image of those that were murdered at Virginia Tech, they may become sad and take on the notion that guns do horrible things to innocent people.  In the end,  I hope the audience will become fearful after seeing the images of Charles Whitman, Colton Tooley, and the Virginia Shooter and think that guns on campuses, or guns in general, are just too dangerous for anyone to have.

Work Cited

Fantz, Ashley. "Texas Considering Concealed Handguns on Campus." CNN. N.p., 22 Feb 2011. Web. 4 Apr 2011.

Photo Credits

Image 1: Student with books and gun

http://www.flickr.com/photos/_borna/2412858578/

March 29, 2011

Image 2: Six pack of beer with gun

http://www.crimefilenews.com/2008/11/disarming-off-duty-police-officers.html

March 30, 2011

Image 3: Student with gun to head

Photographer: Tono Balaguer

http://www.123rf.com/photo_4417163_unhappy-sad-student-suicide-gun-metaphor-stacked-books-over-white.html

Image 4: Dead Charles Whitman

http://republicofaustin.com/44-years-after-the-ut-tower-massacre-is-charles-whitman-still-a-bad-guy-graphic-pics/

April 3, 2011

Image 5: Colton Tooley

http://law.rightpundits.com/?p=2303

March 28, 2011

Image 6: Tower with caution tape

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0928/UT-shooting-comes-just-as-Austin-campus-debates-concealed-weapons-law

April 4, 2011

Image 7: Virginia Tech shooter

http://www.e-manonline.com/blog.php?entry_id=4575

March 28, 2011

Image 8: Police officers carrying student

http://www.virginiatechmassacre.com/virginia-tech-massacre-pictures-1.html

March 28, 2011

Image 9: Those killed in Virginia Tech Massacre

http://womenofcaliber.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/are-you-a-%E2%80%9Cgun-free-zone%E2%80%9D/

March 28, 2011

Image 10: I gun college

http://www.thishappenedintexas.com/

March 29, 2011

Blog 9: The Thinking Body

            I have to say that I enjoyed this week’s reading. Edbauer did a great job of explaining Massumi’s ideas about affect, and I feel that I am getting a better understanding about this topic. One thing I have been noticing though is  a recurring theme between the readings from Damazio till Edbauer.  It seems that the age old debate between body vs. mind is being mentioned or hinted throughout these readings.

            For centuries, there has been a debate over which substance, the body or mind, is superior. Philosophers like Descartes thought that the material substance (the body) could not think (Wiki). Hence, the mind would be the superior one.   I think many people, especially scientists, have carried over this ideology as they place cognition ahead of bodily matters. As a society, we have come to value the mind (cognition) over the body because we feel it’s the rational one.  But Edbauer changes this idea when she writes “Although we are often eager to give primacy to consciousness and cognition—thereby also reducing corporality to a secondary importance –Spinoza finds evidence that the noncognitive aspects of the body reflect a kind of thinking (pg. 15, par. 26).”  

            What Edbauer is trying to explain is that the body thinks through affects. And what is even more amazing, and scary, is that it does this before we even cognitively think about it.  “Before we approach a situation cognitively, as subjects, we are already involved relationality (Edbauer, pg 20, par. 30).” For me, this idea is very powerful. Coming from a psychology major, I know the extensive time, money, and research that goes into studying cognition. But seeing as there is intensity, even pre-sense, that thinks before you even think makes me believe that maybe we should be studying affect as much as cognition.

            As rhetoricians, affect will have a profound effect on how we move our audiences. In college, I think students worry too much about trying to make the perfect sentence or paragraph. Obviously, Bush is an example of how what we say is not important. For all the words he makes up, or sentences he rearranges, Bush still exudes his affect towards others, and he still changes us in a way. The real goal we should be working towards as writers is becoming in relation with our audience, entering into that transition passage.  The only one worry I have about affect is the power it has. If someone like Bush can affect us, before we can even cognitively process it, what other kinds of people can put us under this “relational” spell?

Work Cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dualism_(philosophy_of_mind). April 3, 2011

Visual Argument Rough Draft: Guns on College Campuses

Guns on College Campuses



              For class today, I will need to my book, pen, paper, and gun.  Find this sentence strange? Well, it is. But it hasn’t deterred lawmakers from trying to pass bills that allow college students to have concealed guns on campus. The debate is a hot topic right now with gun enthusiasts claiming that guns could help protect students in case of a shooter. For my visual argument, I make the claim that college students and guns are not a good combination.

             I chose the first image of the student holding the gun with the books to show the oddity of the situation. The viewer may have a hard time processing the picture because it is hard to get your mind wrapped around the concept of guns and college life. This shows that the idea of students and guns is already negatively engrained in us. The belief is probably instilled in us through college shootings we have heard about or witnessed. When we start going back to those memories, it brings up the negative feelings we felt at that time.

            The second image represents the partying/drinking environment which is prevalent in college life.  With the gun on top of the six pack of beer, the viewer gets the association: guns around intoxicated students.  College students do regrettable things when they are partying or drunk. So having a weapon in an environment where people’s thinking is unclear is not smart. Viewers may feel emotion from the fact that they can remember a time where they regretted something they did after drinking.  

            Picture number three shows the other atmosphere of college, stress. Some handle stress better than other. But the image demonstrates the negative routes that individuals who are stressed can take with a gun. Emotions will be provoked in the audience because we are all know what is like to be stressed. And we have the memories and negative feelings of what happens when stressed college kids have guns.

            The last picture’s message leads to the fourth and fifth image.  The picture of Colton Tooley is an example of what happens when a stressed student is in possession of a gun. Tooley would remind the viewers that guns and students are not a good combination.  Next is the image of the caution tape over the UT tower. The picture is to depict how easy our campus can become a crime scene when guns are around. Both images provoke emotion because the audience is most likely going to remember how they felt the day Tooley took his life.  

            Picture six is the ultimate case of why guns and college students do not mix well. The student shooter from Virginia Tech is probably the worst case scenario of a stressed student with a gun.  Because the image shows the shooter pointing the gun straight at you, emotions are sure to be riled up in the viewers.

            Image seven and eight supports the claim by showing the chaos and tragedy that can result from students with guns on campus. The image of the police officers carrying the student evokes emotion because the scene looks like it could be from a war. But the sad fact is it was on a normal college campus.  With the image of the dozens of individuals who were murdered that day, emotion comes from the fact that these were people who were killed doing what we do every day, going to school.

            The last image displays, again, the abnormality of guns and college together.  Emotion comes to the viewer from the fact that all the negative emotions the other photos provoked are now going to be tied to the concept of guns and college. So the picture of the gun and the word college together are now going to carry these negative feelings and associations.

            After viewing the slideshow, the emotions I want the audience to feel are fear, sadness, and alarm. By provoking these negative emotions, I hope to get people to take on the view that guns should not be permitted on college campuses. The audience may feel alarmed about stressed individuals being able to carry guns on campuses and think that is unsafe to allow this.   But when they see the image of those that were murdered at Virginia Tech, they may become sad and take on the belief that guns do horrible things to innocent people. Finally, when the audience becomes fearful after seeing the images of Colton Tooley and the Virginia Shooter, they may just think that guns on campuses or guns in general, are just too dangerous for anyone to have.

Photo Credits

Image 1: Student with books and gun

http://www.flickr.com/photos/_borna/2412858578/

March 29, 2011

Image 2: Beer with gun

http://www.crimefilenews.com/2008/11/disarming-off-duty-police-officers.html

March 30, 2011

Image 3: Student with gun to head

Photographer: Tono Balaguer

http://www.123rf.com/photo_4417163_unhappy-sad-student-suicide-gun-metaphor-stacked-books-over-white.html

Image 4: Colton Tooley

http://law.rightpundits.com/?p=2303

March 28, 2011

Image 5: Tower with caution tape

Image 6: Virginia Tech shooter

http://www.associatedcontent.com/topic/61535/virginia_tech_shooting.html?cat=9

March 28, 2011

Image 7: Police officers carrying student

http://www.virginiatechmassacre.com/virginia-tech-massacre-pictures-1.html

March 28, 2011

Image 8: Those killed in Virginia Tech Massacre

http://womenofcaliber.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/are-you-a-%E2%80%9Cgun-free-zone%E2%80%9D/

March 28, 2011

Image 9: I gun college

http://www.thishappenedintexas.com/

March 29, 2011



Blog 8: Massumi and Viscerality

  

          At the end chapter 2, Massumi brings up the concept of viscerality (interoception). He states that “Visceral sensibility immediately registers excitations gathered by the five “exteroceptive” senses even before they are fully processed by the brain (ch.2, pg.60).”  I find this concept interesting because it is so radical from what we are normally taught. Because our brain processes items at an extraordinary speed, it is amazing to see interoception is even quicker than are brain wiring. But as Massumi later writes, this all has to do with the registration of intensity. I think what he is trying to say is that viscerality is prominent the most when intensity is the highest. That might be why interoception is prevalent most in situations when you are in danger.

            The example Massumi brings up is when you are in a dark ally and your lungs swell before you see someone emerge (ch.2, pg.60). An example I can think of is when you are in the woods and you feel your stomach drop before you see the large bear pop out of the bush.  Both scenarios are dangerous and high intense situations where viscerality is clearly there. This makes me wonder though if interoception could be evolutionary based? Did our ancestors who developed this pre-sense live longer because their skins/flesh/bodies were able to feel the intensity of the situation before their brains could register it?

            When Massumi talks about language in the last two pages of chapter 2, I was confused.  Massumi writes that “The line Reagan speaks makes him feel like a cripple and gives rise to the idea that he has become a semiautomation (ch.2, pg 63).” I was confused at how language got Reagan to that dramatic point. I know that while Reagan was lying on the trick bed, his affects were intensified.  Did his affects intensity to such a point that when he spoke his line, he finally realized the affect which then embodied this idea of him being an amputee?  Does language solidify the affect?      

Blog 7: Brennan Ch. 5-7

          During chapters 5-7, Brennan talks about negative affects and life drives (living attention). I agreed with Professor Davis when she said in class that in order to break away from negative affects, and get attuned with the life drive, we have to get over the self. This applies to the fact that Brennan says that the best way to stop the negativity loop is to love and forgive others. I know many find the process of forgiveness painful and difficult. And some may even believe that people should not be forgiven for their mistakes. But the way Brennan describes forgiveness sheds new light on the topic.   She writes “This is why the act of real forgiveness can be entirely selfish. The forgiver is the beneficiary, insofar as he or she is then free of transmitting a negative affect and so free from attracting more of the same (ch.6, pg.133).”  Instead of looking at forgiveness as something that we have to do, people can see it as a advantage toward themselves. Because when you stop having negative affects, you become less reciprocal towards getting them. And when you discontinue the negativity, you experience joy and love for yourself. As Brennan says “there is no better escape, no clearer path to freedom. There is also no better revenge (ch.12, pg. 134).”

            Another point that I thought was interesting was when Professor Davis mentioned that Brennan’s theory may not be realistic in real life. Because there are situations where you can show love to someone, but it is not reciprocated. I have been in a position where I was mad at someone, and they tried to be sweet and loving towards me. I didn't end up feeling loving; I was actually more annoyed towards them because I thought they were being sarcastic. So while Brennan’s theory would be ideal, we do have to think of the realistic qualities it has in a modern society.

Revision: Verbal Abuse is Still Abuse

http://thesaladmagblog.blogbroad.com/misty54/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/verbal-abuse-1.jpg

Note: For this revision, I focused on analyzing the ad rather than adding my own judgments. I also worked on organizing the paper so that it follows the steps the assignment requires and flows more naturally. The last big change I made was the type of emotions I described. For this piece I used shock, pity, and anger.

          Words do hurt.  This is the message that the advertisement is demonstrating through its disturbing visual. The ad above is displayed on many anti-abuse websites along with two other similar ads. While the other ads feature men with arms coming out of their mouths as well, the abusers in those scenarios are either pulling the face or hair of their victims. Even though all three ads are grim, the image of the arm actually punching the woman in the face best captures the message the ad is trying to convey: verbal abuse is still abuse.  The visual displays a man and woman in a confrontation, bringing our attention specifically to abuse in heterosexual romantic relationships. And as we see a female being the victim in this scenario, the intended audience is probably women. But the ad could still have an impact on males either by making them aware of this issue or illustrating to those engaging in this type of mistreatment that they are hurting their victims.  

            The ad is powerful and persuasive because it provokes negative emotions in the viewer.  One emotion that someone may feel when seeing this ad is shock. The arm streaming out of the guy’s mouth resembles a scene from a sci-fi movie. This creates a grotesque visual and makes the man seem inhuman. While the scene is disturbing, the arm is probably the most important part of the ad because it grabs the audience’s attention.  People are attracted to novel items and by adding an image that defies laws of nature, the ad gets viewers to take notice.  Besides getting the audience’s attention, the arm is essential in providing the main message to viewers.  When the audience looks at the arm through a metaphorical view, they can see that cruel words can be just at hurtful as being physically hit.

            When the viewers direct their attention to the woman they will notice her overall facial expression just exudes the fact that she is pain. Seeing the woman’s eyes closed tight and her teeth clenched could trigger the viewers’ mirror neurons to feel the same pain she does. Some audience members may even make a grimace like hers.  We feel pity for the woman because we can imagine her pain. But the audience also realizes that the woman is suffering because of the man, and we become angry towards him. In fact, viewers may just become angry or disgusted with verbal abuse in general.  

            By using the fist as a metaphor for hurtful words, the ad wants the male audience to realize that being verbally attacked can be just as horrific as being physically assaulted, and men engaging in this type of cruelty should stop. But the ad wants females involved in this type of situation to know that they are being abused and to fight back. They can do this by either by calling the hotline listed in the ad or by dissolving their abusive relationships.  

            The shock and fear that the ad exudes would resonate with real life victims and it would help them realize that they are experiencing a real type of abuse. And when the audience is evoked with pity over the woman’s pain, viewers may have a strong urge to help the victim in the ad or just victims of abuse in general.  But when the emotion of anger towards the man is developed, viewers may want to punish those who abuse women.             

            In Book II, Aristotle writes “The emotions are all those feelings that so change men as to affect their judgments, and that are also attended by pain or pleasure” (ch. 1, pg. 60).  Aristotle explains that using words to instill an emotion in a viewer can be powerful in any situation (ch.1 pg.59-60).  The ad above clearly demonstrates this point. What is interesting though is that we are taught at a young age in America that words should not have an effect on us. The usual example is the parent telling the child to ignore a bully’s remarks. But tragic examples, such as the stream of gay students who committed suicide after being bullied, shows that words do have impact on us and can alter our judgments (Hubbard). Most remember the classic saying “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” After viewing the ad above, it seems that that last phrase of that saying should be changed to “but words could definitely hurt me.”

Works Cited

"Book II." Aristotle Rhetoric. Trans. W. Rhys Roberts. Mineola, New York: Dover
     Publications, 2004. 60-115. Print.

Hubbard, Jeremy. "Fifth Gay Teen Suicide in Three Weeks Sparks Debate."
     Editorial. ABC News. ABC New Internet Ventures, 3 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Feb.
     2011.

Final Written Pathetic Appeal

          For my pathetic appeal, I decided to write about the drug violence that is going on in Mexico. Too many innocent lives have been lost in the drug war, and the violence needs to come to an end. I used enargeia to describe places and people who have been affected by the violence. The emotions I want to provoke in the audience include shock, fear, pity, and sadness for these citizens. I later describe how the U.S is just as much the cause of the drug war as the Mexican cartels are. We are a society that wants what we can’t have, i.e. drugs, and will do anything to get what we want. Even if that means putting innocent lives in danger. I want the audience to feel guilt over the fact that our wants are the cause of so many Mexicans' suffering. I did this by making the issue spatially and temporally close to the audience. I hope the guilt will lead the receivers to take my view that the U.S should legalize drugs, specifically marijuana, to minimize drug trafficking. Then the cartels wouldn’t be fighting for drug routes into the U.S and Americans could keep their vices. To read my entire appeal click here. Enjoy!