Support of the LGBTIQ Minority to Skip the Winter Olympics - Example

University: A Critical Review of an Article. Name: Date: Summary of the Article. This source highlights the position of Australia in making a stand in the fight for human rights in Russia through the Sochi Winter Olympics. The writer argues that boycotting the winter Olympics would be to the best national interests of Australia. This idea stems from the Russia’s anti-gay laws enacted by the Russian president Vladimir Putin. Although no athlete has indicated failure to attend, there are a number of politicians who have made a declination to attend the Sochi Winter Olympics. Interestingly, only have a few have made a direct link of Russia’s repressive human rights regime to the reasons for their justifications to skip the event. The source urges the officials and athletes who are really honest in their support of the LGBTIQ minority to skip the winter Olympics. It further argues that Australia is in the best position for the boycott the Olympics and this would signal Australia’s strong stand and would equally be consistent with their values of fair treatment and tolerance. Moreover, the fact that a majority of western countries pay interest to Australia would put Australia in a good position to disregard a government that has not shown regard to human rights. This source admits that boycotting the Winter Olympics would certainly not impose a change of the Russian laws as such but would serve more good on the international stage in pointing out to the repressive anti-gay laws. Considering the limited budget of only $3 million annually that Australia invests on the winter games, the source implies that Australia has no particular interest in the Winter Olympics. Therefore, this comes with little reward for Australia in terms of victory and national pride. Moreover, the fact that the winter games are a rather expensive investment and creates interest mostly to a section of Northern countries, the writer asserts that Australia stands the best position to use the Winter Olympics to fight the anti-gay laws. The low broadcast given to the games in Australia further serves to prove the general disinterest of the games in the Australian country. Progressive countries such as Germany have turned to using other strategies as a means of opposing the Russian anti-gay laws. These tactics include having the team wear rainbow colored uniforms as a means to show solidarity with the LGBTIQ people. The Australian bobsled team has also embarked on wearing outfits with the Principle 6 camping logos which plainly conflict with the Russian laws. All these approaches have been staged with the intention of acting as micro protests. However, the source portrays these micro-protest antics as rather weak and opines that should the athletes compete in the winter games in a calm and peaceful manner, then the message passed on to Putin will be that of approval of his regime. The success of Olympic Games depends on the turnout of the athletes and, therefore, a low turnout of the athletes would mean fewer sponsors would spend on promoting the sports. Consequently, this would also mean that there would be fewer foreigners visiting and hence there would be a reduction on the spending from foreigners. The source points that refusal by the Australian Olympians to compete would be controversial to the Russian government as well as other governments. Interestingly, the writer observes that this would garner more attention and controversy than the Australian Olympians simply attending the event, fail to take the trophy, and dress in outfits with the principle 6 logo. The writer consistently brings to attention the fact that participation in the Sochi Winter Olympics, especially by the progressive nations, is akin to validating Putin’s way of administration and by extension a validation of the treatment of its citizens. He compares this stand by governments to admitting that although they do feel that Putin’s government is flawed, not winning Olympics medals is equally bad. However, the writer admits that the prospect of Australia boycotting the Winter Olympics are rather low. This notwithstanding, the writer still proposes that boycotting the Sochi Winter Olympics would be more fruitful and much more preferable to participation in the games which would mean that Australia would be indirectly supporting the Russian anti-gay laws. Finally, the source dictates that a boycott would stir a sense of national pride to Australian athletes as well as have far reaching attention on purported a global scale. Analyzing the Use of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to Persuade. The use of ethos, pathos, and logos forms a fundamental basis for validating an argument in any writing (Pontzer, 2010, p.32). The language used in the essay does raise serious concerns especially with regards to credibility. This is particularly due to the writer failing to explicitly define where he/she gets information regarding the idea that other progressive nations would be in support of a boycott of the Sochi Winter Olympic games. Another critical characteristic in the study of ethos is that the writer should use words that definitely suggest that the writer is an authority in the subject that he/she speaks about (Zhu, 2009, p.91). A careful analysis of the picture used in the source generally raises a few questions on the authority and the stand that the writer takes on the issue of Russia’s anti-gay laws. However, the picture successfully shows us the struggle that the Russians are having to put up with in a bid to resist the oppressive anti-gay laws. The words used by this source are rather passionate and the source tries as much as possible to remain objective in the analysis of the situation of the Russian people. In as much as the source fails to support the laws and the perspective in which the Russian government has taken, there is a consistently friendly tone throughout the source. By definition, pathos is the persuasion of the targeted readers through appealing to their emotions (Zhu, 2009, p.29). Undeniably, there are definite clues that show that the source appeals to the emotion of readers. For example, by explaining that Australia never invests enough in Olympics and therefore shouldn’t expect to win is an obvious appeal to readers that they should fight for a greater cause rather than struggling to win elusive medals. The source stirs the readers to be selfless and loyal to their country and common justice. It is important for any writer to understand the pivotal role that language choice plays in determining the emotional response of readers (Waltonen & Du, 2010, p.109). In one instance, there is a tinge of loaded language where the source refers to the anti-gay laws as “homosexual propaganda” laws. Nonetheless, there is restrained use of loaded language. By the source implying that participating the games is comparable to supporting the Putin administration is quite farfetched and would easily be termed as controversial with the intent of putting the source’s readers in a fix. In general, the source has maintained appropriate pathos and except for the one instance mentioned above, the source has maintained a delicate restraint while addressing issues. In examining logos, the primary consideration is usually the aspect of the writer convincing the readers though a deliberate appeal to reason (Pontzer, 2010, p.87). Indeed, there are several clues throughout the source that show that the source is attempting to be logical. Among them is the objective analysis of political leaders who have declined attending the event. This indeed a clear sign that the source is not just inventing an idea that has not been well thought out. Moreover, pointing out that wearing outfits with Principle 6 campaign logos is not effective is quite a logical reason. Logos is deemed to be the heart of any argument, and is the most effective means used by every writer when trying to win over readers (Zhu, 2009, p.54). In this source, the supporting evidence is rather clear although it is not fully convincing. It does not convince the reader that this boycott would have the much anticipated hype and impact that this writer expects. The picture portrayed in a piece of information plays a critical role in interpretation of information (Waltonen & Du, 2010, p.48). If the picture used in this source were to be different, probably showing an Australian in the Olympics game, it would fail to capture the magnitude of the situation in Russia. The elements depicted in this image have purposely been used by the source to provide thought provoking ideas on the extent to which the Russian LGBTIQ people have gone in trying to fight against the government’s anti-gay laws. This picture evokes in the reader emotions of seeking to be committed to the LGBTIQ community and putting oneself in their shoes. Ultimately, the picture suggests a people fighting for liberation, trying to keep peace, and in need of help and support. REFERENCES. PONTZER EHRHARDT, V. 2010. Anthem guide to critical thinking skills: language and logic. London, Anthem. WALTONEN, K., & DU VERNAY, D. 2010. The Simpsons in the classroom embiggening the learning experience with the wisdom of Springfield. Jefferson, N.C., McFarland. ZHU, Y. 2009. Written communication across cultures a sociocognitive perspective on business discourse. Amsterdam, J. Benjamins Pub. Read More