“We can’t stop mass murder” is a persuasive piece on the topic of gun control published in The Week on October 6, 2017, which remains relevant today. The author, Shikha Dalmia, writes for many well-known journals and is a senior analyst with the Reason Foundation. She has degrees in chemistry, biology, mass communication, and journalism. The general purpose of the article analyzed is to persuade; the specific purpose is to state that a strict ban on guns is impossible, and some propositions on gun control are irrelevant and useless. The target audience includes people who are most concerned with the issue of gun control, and the author’s tone is skeptical. Dalmia uses several kinds of evidence:
- Statistics: “nearly 300 guns in this country” (Dalmia, 2017, para. 6);
- Hypothetical evidence: “reducing the stockpile of guns might make it more difficult for a potential killer to get a firearm” (Dalmia, 2017, para. 6);
- Analogy: “Australia’s “buyback” programs as a possible model” (Dalmia, 2017, para. 8);
- Expert Testimony: “as The New Yorker‘s Adam Gopnik wants” (Dalmia, 2017, para. 6);
- Anecdote: “the kind of intrusive searches would make the Bush administration’s surveillance look positively restrained” (Dalmia, 2017, para. 10);
- Fact: “police found 23 firearms in his hotel” (Dalmia, 2017, para. 3);
- Example: “the American Hotel & Lodging Association declared it will re-evaluate its security protocols” (Dalmia, 2017, para. 17).
The author’s use of ethos is based on her involvement in the topic and familiarity with different perspectives (Dalmia, 2017, para. 3). However, her language is not always unbiased: sarcastic phrases like “love affair with guns” may seem off-putting to some readers, and reduce the author’s credibility (Dalmia, 2017, para. 9). The use of pathos is not abundant in the article: the emotions are mostly affected by the information about previous mass murders (Dalmia, 2017, para. 12). The use of logos is sufficient: reasonable hypotheses and logical conclusions are presented. Sarcasm and skepticism may seem to belong to pathos since Dalmia clearly demonstrates the way she feels about the problem and projects her feelings onto the readers. However, I would argue that this tendency represents ethos more because it allows the author to gain credibility by showing her indifference and expertise. I agree with the author’s point that stringent measures would not help to improve the ways people use guns, and unless they rethink the concept of security, the government will not be able to help.
Reference
Dalmia, S. (2017). We can’t stop mass murder. The Week. Web.