Welcome to the blog for Prof. John Talbird's English 101 class (10:10-12 pm). The purpose of this site is two-fold: 1) to continue the conversations we start in class (or to start conversations before we get there) and 2) to practice our writing, reading, and thinking on a weekly basis in an informal setting.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
NY Times Editorial
I thought you guys might like to see this editorial by Charles Blow that came out a couple days ago. He quotes Malcolm X. Reactions?
I tend to dislike opinion pieces, as I prefer my news to be totally objective. I found myself disagreeing with much of what the author says in his article. That being said, it's neatly written with well-placed rhetoric, and Blow's reference to Malcolm X is very effective in driving his point. Though I am certainly not a supporter of Joe Biden, or even the democratic party in general, I must express my dislike at how Blow attacks Biden and then shirks responsibility for this at the end of the article, saying "This critique of Biden isn’t personal. I bear no ill will for the man." This is pretty cheap, in my opinion. It adds nothing to the piece and seems in-genuine.
Thanks for your response, Hank. I didn't really take that last line as cheap. I took it that he thinks Biden is a good man, but that he doesn't think he'll be the best nominee to beat Trump or, for that matter, to be President. Can you say something about why you think it's a cheap shot? Can we attack someone's principles or how they do their job (in this case, be a politician) w/out attacking the person as a person? Maybe it's hard to separate people from the profession in your view?
I tend to dislike opinion pieces, as I prefer my news to be totally objective. I found myself disagreeing with much of what the author says in his article. That being said, it's neatly written with well-placed rhetoric, and Blow's reference to Malcolm X is very effective in driving his point. Though I am certainly not a supporter of Joe Biden, or even the democratic party in general, I must express my dislike at how Blow attacks Biden and then shirks responsibility for this at the end of the article, saying "This critique of Biden isn’t personal. I bear no ill will for the man." This is pretty cheap, in my opinion. It adds nothing to the piece and seems in-genuine.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response, Hank. I didn't really take that last line as cheap. I took it that he thinks Biden is a good man, but that he doesn't think he'll be the best nominee to beat Trump or, for that matter, to be President. Can you say something about why you think it's a cheap shot? Can we attack someone's principles or how they do their job (in this case, be a politician) w/out attacking the person as a person? Maybe it's hard to separate people from the profession in your view?
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