The #blacklivesmatter situation, in particular, is a perfect example for this chapter. I consider myself a proponent of the movement, and to me, it's absolutely mind-boggling how so many people are oblivious to the blatant racism involved in the many incidents that've occurred and continue to drive the movement. Perhaps it's a personal bias of mine that I see the racist undertones behind all of the cases of police brutality, but when I click on the many articles on Facebook, Twitter, online newspapers, and read the disparaging comments made by people towards black people, it further reinforces the belief that these incidents are heavily race-driven.
Another situation is with the Syrian refugees. I see the same people that are against #blacklivesmatter, particularly those trying to back #alllivesmatter, are the same people that don't want to allow Syrian refugees into the US. This, to me, highlights the unwillingness of these particular people to learn and discern the social and cultural differences that drive human communication, and it's this unwillingness that keeps them from being pragmatic in the way they approach and decide to argue against incidents like these.
I think that Black Lives Matter is a perfect example especially dealing with crisis communication. There have been recent posts about how #coplivesmatter or people who are advocates for supporting cops and their rights. This situation in itself calls forth crisis communication with the clashing of multiple goods.
ReplyDeleteI like how you also say how some people that are saying #alllivesmatter contradict themselves by not allowing discernment and willingness to learn dealing with certain conflicts such as Syrian refugees. As you stated this does affect the pragmatics of the situation inhibiting people from having a practical engagement of ideas. Great examples for dealing with communication ethics literacy.
This is a great example of a lack of communication ethics. We, as a class, have learned so much about what it means to have an ethical dialogue, but there are so many people that do not understand that this exists. In the case of Black Lives Matter, the people that oppose them have never been repressed because of the color of their skin, so they do not understand the other side.
ReplyDeleteIn the context of this class, this is something I still don't understand. I am a white person that has never been discriminated against because of my skin color, but I completely understand that a lot of people do not have this privilege. To me, the opposing side doesn't make sense because I can see the reasoning behind the movement. Maybe it's because I understand that there are cultural, religious, historical, and educational differences between people, but it would be amazing if everyone understood this. I agree with you in what you say about certain groups that are unwilling to protect of the good of ethical communication. It's crazy to me that there is still such a misunderstanding of this in our society.
Lawrence,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you.
I believe that because the United States is such a large nation with so many different beliefs it becomes very hard to appeal to everyone's values.
ReplyDeleteThe crisis management with the #blacklivesmatter and Syrian refugees is difficult because of the conflicting interests, including the secret interests of the State government itself.
I feel that in order to better handle the crisis management for these two events, the United States government has to first engage in communication ethics literacy, be transparent in this dialogue, and share it with the rest of the nation. I feel that a lot of the negative feelings or resistance is because of the lack of understanding, in particular the lack of wanting to understand.