This writing sample is an excerpt from a larger reader sample pertaining to the power of rhetoric. I feel that this sample represents my writing voice well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Words Do Have Consequences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n By: Mary N. Renfroe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout the past year Trump has constantly referred to the humanitarian crisis at the border as an \u201cinvasion\u201d and to illegal immigrants as \u201cinvaders.\u201d This use of repetition has not existed without impact. On August 3rd<\/sup>2019, Patrick Wood Crusius open fired in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas \u201ckilling 22 and injuring 24\u201d (Davis). Right before Crusius set fire on the Walmart, he released his manifesto entitled \u201cThe Inconvenient Truth.\u201d In this, he claims this \u201c\u2018attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas. They are the instigator, not me. I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion.\u2019\u201d With the mention of a \u201cHispanic invasion of Texas,\u201d Crusius\u2019 manifesto draws a connection to Trump\u2019s political discourse from his presidency (Davis). Although Crusius also took influence from the manifesto from Brenton Tarrant, the New Zealand Christchurch shooter, Trump\u2019s own influence is not negligible. Through his usage of border rhetoric in his tweets and speeches, Trump has taken part in constructing a divisionary atmosphere in the United States, and this atmosphere has become intensified in the borderlands surrounding the United States-Mexico border. Crusius was able to further distort Trump\u2019s usage of border rhetoric to fit his own cause and needs. Ultimately Crusius and his manifesto illustrate the unintended consequences that border rhetoric can perpetuate when utilized by those with wide power and reach. Trump himself has utilized \u201cthe \u2018discursive construction of US and THEM\u2019\u201d as \u201ca powerful persuasive tool that supports prejudiced conceptualizations\u201d and through this, has created a distinct division between national self and other in order to assert his control over the American citizenry (Schubert 318). Border rhetoric then is not only an intangible tool of writing and speech but also something, which impacts society on a physical and psychological level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis, Michael. \u201cThe Manifesto Posted On 8chan By Alleged El Paso Shooter Minutes Before Attack.\u201d MEMRI<\/em>, Middle East Media Research Institute, 6 Aug. 2019, www.memri.org\/reports\/manifesto-posted-8chan-alleged-el-paso-shooter-minutes-attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schubert, Christoph. \u201cCognitive Categorization and Prototypicality as Persuasive Strategies: Presidential Rhetoric in the USA.\u201d Journal of Language & Politics<\/em>, vol. 13, no. 2, Apr. 2014, pp. 313-335.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This writing sample is an excerpt from a larger reader sample pertaining to the power of rhetoric. I feel that this sample represents my writing voice well. Words Do Have … Continue readingFormal Writing Sample<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-35","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marynrenfroe.com\/assignment3_site1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marynrenfroe.com\/assignment3_site1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marynrenfroe.com\/assignment3_site1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marynrenfroe.com\/assignment3_site1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marynrenfroe.com\/assignment3_site1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/marynrenfroe.com\/assignment3_site1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129,"href":"https:\/\/marynrenfroe.com\/assignment3_site1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35\/revisions\/129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marynrenfroe.com\/assignment3_site1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}