Week 11_4/7/16_Politically Incorrect

       The article I chose is from the Huffington Post titled, Stop Being Politically Correct! I am going to go through, talk about the article, and do a rhetoric analysis stating who the audience is, the purpose, and how it ties in logos, pathos and ethos.

       To start, Erin Havel, the author, seems to be very passionate about the discussion of whether being politically correct is right or wrong. Her points she made were very strong ones, and I would have to agree with her on most of them. “Being “politically correct” in our society means trying to understand how another person might feel, and based on that understanding, thoughtfully consider our words before causing harm.” (Havel). This statement is 100% true. Today, more than ever, we are so focused on watching what we say in order to spare other people’s feelings. To a certain extent it is okay to do that. For example, Havel says, “We teach our children to not call people names. We tell them to not bully someone for being unlike themselves.” Then after that she goes on to say that as we get older, we toss those aside, because it makes us feel better. It makes people feel better when they are successful, or higher up than others, or to be privileged. At some point or another, most of us do feel that way, knowing that we got a higher test score, or made more money a week than their friend. Simple things like that tie into the bigger picture of not being “politically correct”. The problem with being “politically correct” is that everything is sugar coated. I know that sounds childish, but it is true. Sugar coating issues in the United States is not going to help out our country. That is the reason Donald Trump has so many voters, and so many who do not like him. He is not politically correct, which is changing up the way America has always been. Granted the things he says are way out there, and are not appropriate, but he is not politically correct. The United States has always been politically correct, and Trump is changing that fast. Havel also quotes “Saying goodbye to political correctness does not mean we can say goodbye to good manners. Talking with people unlike ourselves, learning from them instead of stereotyping them is what will lead to a more peaceful world.” And I agree with this statement 100%. I think that we can be politically incorrect, but we still must respect others. If we stop being politically correct, it does not mean we can go around calling people derogatory names or slurs. We still must respect others.

       I think Havel’s audience is anyone interested in politics, but more specifically, people who want to get rid of political correctness. She states that getting rid of it would be fine, but that does not mean being disrespectful is then okay. She seems to agree that it is okay to be politically incorrect, but not being disrespectful.

       She does a very good job of using the appeal to pathos, because she makes this post relatable for many people, as well as making the readers agree with her. She uses the appeal to logos well too, the way her post is set up makes it easy for the readers to follow. Overall, I think Havel’s post was interesting, and like I stated before, I agree with what she had to say. 


Havel, Erin. Stop Being Politically Correct! Huffpost Impact. 9 December 2015. Web. 6 April 2016.