Empowering vs. pimping

Thursday's class, aside from being wildly entertaining (McCarthy: "Hilary's health care policy explanation is so long that you're sick by the end..."), left me thinking about something with which I have long struggled. As we discussed, Bill Clinton was the master of connecting pathos and logos in a convincingly, heart-warming or heart-wrenching way that engages the audience and can move them to action. Deconstructing this tactic and seeing how Hilary and Barack learned to use its power was interesting.

Shaz raised her hand during this discussion to make an important point. She stated that sometimes drawing on pathos through a story about an individual (like Sally from Wisconsin) seems exploitative. An alarm went off in my head-- I believe this dilemma to be the crux of my struggle in the arena of public speaking.

For the past four years, I worked for an educational non-profit. Once a year, we would have a huge fund-raiser ($250/plate). The photo to the right is an 8th grade student, bravely sharing the story of his life, his dreams and his struggles with in intimate crowd of 1,000 high-rolling guests. As he finished, they could be seen whiping their eyes and whipping out their checkbooks. This student evoked the same Bill-esque pathos.

I can understand the logic of providing a speaking opportunity for a young, talented student whereby converting his pathos into dollars so that many more young, talented students like him can benefit. But while this young scholar raising funds with his words alone, he is unknowingly and concomitantly strengthening stereotypes. Furthermore, I fear that the donors in the room do not see the student for his individuality; but rather as one who "made it" by resisting the pressures of drugs and violence in "his" community. This divide grows larger when donors witness the story being told first-hand because as the return to "their" community, they recount the gruesome details of a young man's life as if it were a front-page story. Donors return home to the same beliefs that have kept economic and racial stereotypes too near the reality. While I cannot oppose receiving the donors' checks at the end of the night, I would feel better if I saw beliefs changing in a way that could alter the economic stratification represented in the room. The donors will still lock their car doors when they drive through "his" neighborhood.

The conflict arises in the friction between the individual and the greater good. The student pictured gets an empowering chance to touch lives and share his story. He says ever since his father had a heart attack, his dream is to become a cardiologist. When it is time for him to go to medical school, where will the donors be? A great lyricist once said, "Who's pimpin' who if nobody gets a second chance?"