Joel Burns and Rhetorical Appeals

Here's a great and timely example of a way of looking at rhetorical appeals using an engaging media source, from Relling Westfall. In a larger way, this contant also ties into promoting our Leanring Community principles (civility) and promotes an environmenta of tolerance, in the wake of GLBT-SA National Ally week (Oct 19-23).

Joel Burns and Rhetorical Appeals

Classroom BackgroundAt the beginning of the semester, one of my English 111 students wrote a memoir about her big high school romance that crashed. The biggest problem with the memoir was her choice of pronouns. She consistently referred to her unnamed love as “it” and “they.” When I told her that her choices undercut and confused her narrative, she replied that she was gay. She knew people had problems with gay students. She reasoned that she would be able to do better in this class if she kept her lifestyle a secret, even when it meant distorting her essays. Although I thought about saying many things, I simply suggested that she might use a pseudonym for her lover, and select an androgynous name, such as Caleb, Blair or Sydney. That discussion left me feeling slightly discouraged. Even though I haven’t had any students make offensive remarks in the class, or on Blackboard, clearly I haven’t achieved a safe space.

Joel BurnsOn October 14th, I heard part of Joel Burns’ address to the Fort Worth, Texas, City Council on Lawrence O’Donnell’s show on MSNBC. Burns used his allotted time as a councilor to deliver a message to parents and adults in general, and also to gay teenagers, at a regular city council meeting on October 12th. His thirteen minute statement became viral on youtube.com, and was also played on CNN and NBC. He was invited to appear on a variety of talk shows on the following days. Although talks on bullying are almost invariably boring and tedious to hear, Burns’ address, “It Gets Better,” was clearly very successful and powerful.
I searched the web to find out about his larger context. In September, 2010, Dan Savage created a website, itgetsbetterproject.com, in response to the recent series of suicides among gay teens. Savage suggested that LGBT youth frequently lack models of what their successful adult lives may look like. To counteract the isolation and despair which many teens feel, Savage created a space where adults could make videos explaining that life gets better after adolescence. There are seventy-five videos on that site as of November 14th. The spectrum of people who have made these videos is broad. On the one hand, there are the famous democrats, such as President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Hilary Clinton, and Kathleen Sibelius. There are also two college presidents, one labor union leader, Cindy McCain, and a wide range of religious leaders. But the majority of videos have been made by unknown individuals across this country, and overseas. While some of the videos are stiff, formal, and redolent of what one might call “Victorian duty,” others are chatty and informal. However, none of the other seventy-four have even remotely achieved the popularity of Joel Burns.

Classroom applicationI had planned to launch into an introduction of the rhetorical appeals during the week following Burns’ speech. So, I slightly altered my plans. In class, I explained the appeals in the same manner as the textbook and gave additional examples. Then, I asked the students to watch Joel Burns’ video and find examples of how he incorporated these appeals into his speech. Some students tuned out. A couple of students made the typical off-topic remarks. However, most students were able to find examples of Burns’ use of appeals, and were engaged during class. Moreover, as the discussion progressed, the reasons for the video’s success became apparent. First, Joel Burns knows how to address his audience and present his material. He is a master of example, elaboration and decorum. Second, Joel Burns presents himself as a Norman Rockwell painting. He grew up in a small West Texas town. His mother was a church organist, and his father was a cowboy named Butch. Although he had a difficult time in high school, he went off to college, and later began a career. He also got married to his husband, JD. He’s remained in Texas, close to his family. Indeed, he moderated his written comments because he didn’t want to hurt his parents’ feelings by what he had planned to say. Joel Burns is a thoughtful speaker, and he’s an example of Americana.
Overall, I think this was a successful lesson. I think the students understood rhetorical appeals better. I also think my classroom environment became safer, due to the influence of Joel Burns’ speech. I don’t think anyone changed his or her beliefs, but I do think that Joel Burns’ speech expanded our collective understanding.