Week 11: Persuasive Blogs

        The blog that I chose to explore was "What the Hell is the Deal with the Oakland County Child Killer Investigation?" by Catherine Broad. Her blog is about her brother's death at the hands of the Oakland County Child Killer, a case which has remained unsolved for over 40 years. She uses her blog to go over case details, discuss theories, and advocate for her late brother and the other victims. She also discusses other cases and issues related to the Oakland County Child Killer, such as child abuse, sexual assault, and child trafficking. The main goal of the blog is to raise awareness and fight for changes and greater attention on cases such as these.

    This blog appeals to both the public, those in law enforcement, and law makers. She is fighting both for her brother's case to finally be given the attention it needs and deserves and for other children like him. She is appealing to the public to get people to do what she does, bring attention to the issue and push for change. She appeals to law enforcement in a desperate plea for the officers involved with the Oakland County Child Killer case to finally look further into multiple pieces of evidence that have been brought forth since the case went cold, and to point out the cover ups that many believe have occurred within the police force. Finally, she is appealing to lawmakers and those in power to prevent what happened to her brother from happening to other children. She argues for stronger legislation against child predators, and appeals to those in power that doing anything else makes them complicit in the crime. 

    One motivational strategy that Broad uses is Pathos, especially when speaking out against those that refuse to join the cause. When appealing to lawmakers, she is playing into their own guilt and empathy for the victims of these crimes and the role they play in the punishment, or lack thereof, of the perpetrator. By stating that those in power, such as the specific example she gives of the University of Southern California, are "complicit enablers" in the crimes they help to conceal or minimize, they force these people to face the impact of their choices. This guilt and sympathy is used to convince these people to change their minds and help protect the victims rather than their abusers. She also uses pathos on the opposite end of the spectrum, celebrating those in power who do protect the children above the criminal. This encourages these people to be more willing to listen to her argument as she is not solely criticizing them in general, but rather giving clear stances and supporting those who agree with them. She also plays into pathos when attempting to convince others to advocate for her case and push law enforcement to re-open the case. She discusses the horrors that her brother may have faced and forces the audience to take on his role, "imagine if you were held captive... by people who wanted to hurt you in every way possible... threatened you and your family." By placing the readers in her brother's shoes she forces them to confront the fear and panic he must of felt, appealing to their empathy and fear of facing similar circumstances themselves.

    Broad also uses ethos in her blog to establish her credibility as she is a family member of a victim, and thus very close to the case. She has insider information on this case that many others would not, and thus has more credibility than the tons of true crime enthusiasts who theorize about the case. Broad also uses many news articles both from the time of the murders and current publications to establish her ethos. She uses these articles to back up her claims and demonstrate that she is not just writing from a place of hurt, hurling accusations with no truth behind them. She also includes studies on cases such as these, child abduction and murder, to add further proof to her claims. I believe the combination of ethos and pathos is a great method of getting her argument across as it allows her to both show that she has the credibility to discuss the case, which allows the readers to trust her more than they could have otherwise, while also pulling at the hearts of the readers. She plays at the readers' heads and hearts', leaving little room for baseless doubt.

https://catherinebroad.blog