What I Learned About Stop And Frisk From Watching My Black Son Rhetorical Analysis

In the article “What I Learned About Stop-and-Frisk From Watching My Black Son,” Christopher Smith writes about the “special tax” that many African-American men have to endure during their lifetime. In this article Smith arouses feelings of anger toward police officers and also feelings of sympathy towards the African-American boys and men that have to endure these stop-and-frisks. Smith persuasively uses both pathos and ethos to make his readers understand what is happening to the men in the African-American community and to create credibility for himself through the eyes of his son. Smith is raising awareness for African-Americans and how they are treated so unequal in Today’s Society.
Smith establishes pathos by creating feelings of anger …show more content…
He makes you feel sorry for his son and other African-American men who are very clearly treated differently than men not of color. He talks a lot about his 21-year-old son, who is a Harvard student. His son has been stopped by New York City police many times. He writes about a situation that took place while his son was wearing his best business suit, “he was forced to lie face-down on a filthy sidewalk” (“Smith”). This just clarifies the fact even if you are in a suit, you are still a target for police. Reading about a situation like this would make readers feel sympathetic because there are situations like this going on every day all over the world and there is nothing that is being done about it. Many African-Americans feel as if they already have other “taxes” and, “we need to remember, however, that we are talking about imposing an additional burden on a demographic that already experiences a set of alienating “taxes” not shared by the rest of society.” (“Smith”). Reading this article really makes you realize the strain that is put on people in the African-American community, and it makes you wish there was something you could do to help or stop these unnecessary …show more content…
Smith points out the several challenges that African-American males face in their daily lives. The article creates many different emotions for the reader who is being educated on the difficulties of being a man of color in today’s society. It's the 21st century and racism still exists and African Americans have to live in constant fear that today could be their last. The feeling of wanting to make a change is the main emotional focus the audience wants to portray. For example, stereotypes still exist and will continue to exist if we do not use our voices. African-Americans are automatically classified as criminals due to stereotypical ways and the opinions of others. The pathos of the audience wanting to change society’s outlook on African-Americans could possibly be changed in a positive way if high authority such as the police were trained to assess the situation rather than using deadly