Gary Kleck brings up some very well thought out points regarding violence and the media in his essay “There Are No Lessons to Be Learned from Littleton”. Kleck states that regulations and solutions cannot be based on freak occurrences of violence akin to Littleton as they are generally immaterial and could possibly produce difficulties. Throughout the essay Kleck maintains that it is inaccurate to try to find a reason for violent crime by using out of the ordinary acts of violence, as each occurrence is quite different in detail. Kleck also points out that one of the repercussions of mass shootings in schools is a surge of emotion and fear in our society; the media plays on these feelings of horror and a media whirlwind ensues.
Kleck brings up the fact that recent trends do not support the media’s reports that gun violence is growing. This is an effective example as people who read or watch the media coverage may easily get the impression that this is an emergent issue. By giving six different examples that indicate a decline in gun violence and mass murders, Kleck does not leave much room for disagreement.
It is also difficult to disagree with Kleck’s point that finding a solution for these bizarre occurrences of gun violence is not necessarily helpful as each occurrence differs in aspect. For example: in each mass shooting that Kleck writes about, all of the gunmen acquired their guns in different ways. How is it possible to solve this problem by adding more gun control if there is no obvious flaw in the current gun control regulations?
Kleck’s use of the appeal to reason is very successful. He uses relevant facts and does not rely on the use of emotion to persuade his reader. Using pathos in his essay would not be all that effective considering one of the points he makes is in regards to the emotion that is played upon by the media in the aftermath of these tragedies. By choosing to use a logical argument he increases the validity of this point.
Kleck uses a clear and informative writing technique in this essay. His use of language proves that he is both intelligent and well-informed. I found his argument convincing and his ideas thought-provoking.
I really liked your point on the emotional piece. I read it and noticed it but completely bypassed it. I like the way you put it because it makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteEverything you hear or see needs to be questioned. It's a part of making take an informed stance on something. Too many people will not seek information to see the whole picture but just stay focused on the mainstream. I believe that this partly occurs because people are too lazy and want to believe that the news and media are portraying the whole story.
I think it is so important to question what the media tells us! I find it quite frightening that people can be so easily manipulated by the media.
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