Topic 1: Reality Assumption
Read the article titled “Can Blacks Be Racist?” written by a columnist Leonard Jr. Pitts (You can find the article posted under Content tab). He discusses and challenges current assumptions about racism held by many in the academic community.
In his article, Pitts makes the following comment:
“My take on the ‘blacks can’t be racist’ argument: Unassailable logic, unfortunate rhetoric.”
“People who make that argument reason as follows: Yes, blacks can be prejudiced or bigoted, but not ‘racist’ because racism involves systemic oppression—the wielding of power. As blacks neither wield power nor control the system, the reasoning goes, it’s beyond their ability to be racist.”
Topic 1-Questions: Can you phrase his commentary as a deductive argument? What point is Pitts making in this column about the difference between black and white bigotry? Do you agree with his argument? Why or why not?
Topic 2: Inductive Arguments
***Please read chapter 4-Inductive Arguments for discussing the second topic here. You can choose either question A or Question B to answer. Only one will be graded.
Question A: People seem so used to seeing that headlines “spun” the narrative in a way that distorts the reality of the statistical findings. But it is important to think critically when reading news articles, whether on the internet or in print. Find a headline or in a newspaper that distort the truth in a similar way. Explain why you believe the headline distorts reality. And then correct the distortions in the headline you pick.
Example:
Headline: Social media more popular with women than with men
In a random, representative poll of 2,500 US residents, it was discovered that 52 percent of women check their social media daily, while 48 percent of men check their social media daily. Margin of error is plus minus 4 percent.
Feedback: If you look at the margin of error in the study cited, there may be no difference between men’s and women’s focus on social media.
Rewrite suggestion: Study finds that appropriately half of men and women check their social media daily.
Question B: Start by asking yourself: “What is continuing community, campus, state, national, or international problems that concerns me?” Identify at least three causes that contribute to this problem and make it challenging to solve. Then review at least one classmate’s posts. Do you agree with the causes he/she/they identified for the problems that concern them? What additional causes would you cite to clarify the problem? (Or, given the causes they propose, list at least one approach that might help solve the problem.)
NOTE:
1. Please make sure you answer BOTH topics in your initial posts.
2. Please respond to at least 2 other people (at least one reply to each different topic).
Topic 1 –
No, I do not think you can phrase this commentary as a deductive argument. It is not a deductive argument because there is no evidence or logical explanation to back up the claim that black people can’t be racist. The definition of racism is as follows “ the prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people based on their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group.” I wanted to continue my thoughts on this article with a direct quote and then follow up with some short analysis. In this article Pitts says, and I quote “Yes, blacks can be prejudiced or bigoted, but not ‘racist’ because racism involves systemic oppression—the wielding of power. As blacks neither wield power nor control the system.” To start my analysis I would like to first acknowledge the fact that we had a black president for 2 terms so the notion that black people do not wield power is simply not true. The last point I would like to make in this article is that black people living in America make about $60,000 per year on average. That means that we have the highest median household income for black people in the U.S. compared to anywhere else in the entire world. To conclude, no, I do not agree with his argument or definition of racism. I believe the same thing that MLK talked about in his dream speech “ live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
the second one..
Question A:
Headline: Kudlow: Biden’s Green New Deal means no meat for the 4th of July, have grilled Brussels sprouts instead
In a study done by the University of Michigan that found that if the United States lowered its red meat consumptions by 90% there would be a significant drop in the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Feedback: Joe Biden’s environment plan and the study done by University of Michigan do not mention each other in any sort of way. In fact, the only similarity between the two is that they are both about climate change and lowering the emission of greenhouse gasses.
Rewrite suggestion: A study done by The University of Michigan shows that cutting red meat consumption by 90% would significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions.less
Question A:
Headline: Kudlow: Biden’s Green New Deal means no meat for the 4th of July, have grilled Brussels sprouts instead
In a study done by the University of Michigan that found that if the United States lowered its red meat consumptions by 90% there would be a significant drop in the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Feedback: Joe Biden’s environment plan and the study done by University of Michigan do not mention each other in any sort of way. In fact, the only similarity between the two is that they are both about climate change and lowering the emission of greenhouse gasses.
Rewrite suggestion: A study done by The University of Michigan shows that cutting red meat consumption by 90% would significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions
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