The social media post I chose to rhetorically analyze is the tweet by Brandon Wolf regarding what happened at the Pulse nightclub and how the Florida government handled it. This tweet was written by Brandon Wolf, a central Florida Development Officer and Media Relations Manager. He is also a nationally recognized advocate for LGBTQ and gun violence. The intended audience of this tweet was mainly directed to Rick Scott, the United States senator for Florida.
The basis of this tweet is to bring attention to the fact that 612 days went by after the Pulse attack with no action. Brandon Wolf calls out Rick Scott for staying silent while all of this was happening instead of doing his job and helping the people who were affected by this tragedy. Wolf also points out that mental health funding was slashed and what happened at Pulse should not be used as a campaign prop because it is not that. It was a horrific thing that happened that left 49 people dead and no action from the government. The writer, Brandon Wolf uses ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade the audience. He uses ethos because he understands his positions and what he is an advocate for and sees that it is his job to stand up for the people affected by this tragedy since the government and senator will not and has not. By being a nationally recognized advocate for the LGBTQ community, he recognizes that it his place to publish something so public if it means being a voice for those who do not have one. Secondly, he uses the pathos appeal in his tweet as well. Brandon Wolf uses pathos by the way he constructed his tweet. By calling out the government and giving specific data and numbers of how many days have gone by with no action and how many people were killed in this tragedy, he is using an emotional standpoint in his tweet. When people hear or read specific numbers, it really puts things into perspective. Lastly, he uses logos by giving exact data as well. Logos is logical or factual evidence that is given, which is exactly what Brandon Wolf does.
Overall, although Brandon Wolfs tweet was informal and quite declarative, nonetheless, he got the point across. His goal was to bring attention to something that happened that received little to no action and that was turning into a campaign prop rather than a reason to call for change. This just goes to show that no matter the way you write or where you write it, if someone writes about an injustice that they believe deserves recognition for change, the point is received. Brandon Wolf was not just writing another tweet or going on a rant. He saw an injustice, he saw a terrible thing that happened that was resulting in no change, and he did something about it. He called out those who were responsible for the absence of justice. While his tweet may or may not have reached the government or even made a significant change in history, it definitely had a deeper impact on those who were affected by this horrible tragedy.
