Habermas 1

John Habermas

Professor Collins

ENGL 1301

April 10, 2017

Inequality

The 2000 American Civil Liberties Union ad depicts Martin Luther King Jr. and

Charles Manson and states that MLK is more likely to pulled over than Manson. The poster also

has a couple of statistics to back up their claims. They also have some of their information at the

bottom to allow people to find out more about their cause. The ACLU is targeting minorities to

help fund their cause. According to aclu.org, The American Civil Liberties Union, also known as

ACLU, was founded in 1920 and stands to protect the rights of the American people. Their motto

is, Because freedom cant protect itself. Pathos, logos, and symbolism in 2000 American Civil

Liberties Union depicts discrimination by race amongst the police force by showing MLK next

to Charles Manson and giving statistics to back up their claim in order to convince people to

donate money to their cause.

Pathos is used in the visual argument to convince people to donate money for the cause.

They do this by showing pictures of Martin Luther King Jr. and Charles Manson and stating that

Martin Luther King is more likely to be pulled over by a police than Manson is even though

MLK is a man who fought for the greater good of the people whereas Manson was a murderer.

Per nobelprize.org, MLK was born on January 15th, 1929 and attended segregated schools in his

younger days. At the age of fifteen he graduated from high school and went on to attend college.

He then became a pastor in Alabama. It was there where he became one of the most famous and
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well known civil rights activist in the U.S. He received the Nobel Prize at the age of 35. Sadly,

on April 4, 1968 he was assassinated. Charles Manson on the other hand was nowhere near as

good hearted as Dr. King. According to biography.com, Manson was born in 1934, Mansons

childhood wasnt at all pleasant. His mother was a sixteen-year-old prostitute and sent him off to

a boys school. Manson spent a lot of his life in prison, at first for petty crimes but it eventually

escalated into something much worse. Manson created a cult called the Manson family and

committed a series of murders influenced by crazed beliefs and narcotics. People would think by

looking at the pictures that Manson is more likely to be pulled over, but are emotionally and

ethically tricked by finding out that King is more likely to be pulled over. When they see this,

they may feel angry or appalled that this discrimination is actually happening in the world. The

ACLU is specifically trying to make people feel like they need to do something about it. These

feelings will then lead some of the people to act and they may donate to the cause.

Logos is used in the propaganda to appeal to peoples logic to convince them to help the

cause. The American Civil Liberties Union states that, In Florida 80% of those stopped and

searched were Black and Hispanic. This statistic shows people that discrimination in the justice

system is an actual problem. This will lead people to do more research on the situation and

hopefully make them feel like they must do something about it. The poster also states that MLK

is 75 times more likely to be pulled over. 75 is a huge number and this will allow people to have

even more insight on the problem. By putting these statistics, the ACLU is backing up their

claims which will show people that they know what they are talking about. People are more

likely to donate if the organization has true, reliable, and relevant information. The ACLU then

put their address and some contact information so that people can get to them and find out more
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information about their cause. All the statistics that back up the ACLUs claims will convince

people to donate to the cause.

Symbolism is used in this visual propaganda to depict that no matter how good or bad a

person maybe they are more likely to be pulled over. The two pictures show how corrupt the

justice system is because even though Martin Luther King Jr. fought for the same causes the

ACLU is he is still in danger of being discriminated by the police. People may be upset when

they find out that somebody like Charles Manson can slide by without getting a second glance

from a police officer. It also symbolizes all of the other falsely accused African Americans that

have been pulled over by the police. The poster itself also is formatted to look like a wanted

poster which symbolizes that both Manson and Martin Luther King are criminals. Symbolism is

a powerful tool when it comes to controversial topics such as civil liberties. By showing and

exposing the corruption if the justice system this may lead people to donate.

The American Civil Liberties Union uses evidence and visual aides to support their claim

against discrimination and convince people to donate money to their cause. They use pathos,

logos, and symbolism to support their side and send their message to other minorities. Although

this propaganda sends a decent message and may make people feel bad, it is not enough to make

them donate money because it does not reach out to a lot of people on a personal level. Some

people may donate but the message needs to be a little stronger in order to get more people to

help fund for the cause.

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Works Cited

"Martin Luther King Jr." Nobelprize.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.

"Charles Manson." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017. Web. 28 Apr.

2017.

"ACLU History." American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.