Nicholas Kristof: Where's the Empathy?
Speaker: Nicholas Kristof; A well traveled, well educated, Oxford graduate
Occasion: The death of Kristof's childhood friend, Kevin Green and the lack of job opportunity and inequality that ultimately led to his death.
Audience: Those mourning Kevin Green and anyone who thinks our society needs to be more empathetic.
Purpose: To challenge the way that people think about others and to make us think about how quick we are to judge someone.
Subject: How Kevin was a good, hardworking man, that could not thrive due to injury and lack of empathy and job opportunity due to his injury.
Tone: Sad due to the loss of a friend, but reflective.
Kristof's article, "Where's the Empathy" is used by Kristof as a harsh, yet real reminder that in today's society we are so quick to judge others and label them without knowing the whole story. He conveys this message using the story of his friend, Kevin Green who at first glance seemed like a "moocher" as he was on welfare, had two children by women that were not his wife, and was overweight. However, upon careful analysis of Green's situation you would realize that a back injure he acquired does not allow him to get decent paying jobs, which in turn put him in a steadily growing hole of debt. Kristof conveys his message of empathy through the tone he uses when describing Green's story. For example, when Kristof says, "The doctors say he died at age 54 of multiple organ failure, but in a deeper sense he died of inequality" he is conveying that Green's death was unjust. He does this by using "inequality", a charged word that triggers our emotions due to its relatability (Everyone wants to be treated equally). Throughout the passage Kristrof continues to use the word inequality to suggest that we should feel upset that Green died a premature death, due to his situation and lack of empathy. In the last paragraph, Kristof continues to suggest this tone in order to make us upset over Kevin's death as he says, "So, Kevin Green, R.I.P. You were a good man — hardworking and always on the lookout for someone to help — yet you were overturned by riptides of inequality". The message of injustice in Kevin's life is also visible when Kristof writes "riptides of injustice" which suggests that Kevin faced more injustice than most due to his situation and the unfair tendency of people to judge. In conclusion, Kristof uses the death of his friend, Kevin Green in order to remind us that we should show empathy and not be so hasty to judge others.
Occasion: The death of Kristof's childhood friend, Kevin Green and the lack of job opportunity and inequality that ultimately led to his death.
Audience: Those mourning Kevin Green and anyone who thinks our society needs to be more empathetic.
Purpose: To challenge the way that people think about others and to make us think about how quick we are to judge someone.
Subject: How Kevin was a good, hardworking man, that could not thrive due to injury and lack of empathy and job opportunity due to his injury.
Tone: Sad due to the loss of a friend, but reflective.
Kristof's article, "Where's the Empathy" is used by Kristof as a harsh, yet real reminder that in today's society we are so quick to judge others and label them without knowing the whole story. He conveys this message using the story of his friend, Kevin Green who at first glance seemed like a "moocher" as he was on welfare, had two children by women that were not his wife, and was overweight. However, upon careful analysis of Green's situation you would realize that a back injure he acquired does not allow him to get decent paying jobs, which in turn put him in a steadily growing hole of debt. Kristof conveys his message of empathy through the tone he uses when describing Green's story. For example, when Kristof says, "The doctors say he died at age 54 of multiple organ failure, but in a deeper sense he died of inequality" he is conveying that Green's death was unjust. He does this by using "inequality", a charged word that triggers our emotions due to its relatability (Everyone wants to be treated equally). Throughout the passage Kristrof continues to use the word inequality to suggest that we should feel upset that Green died a premature death, due to his situation and lack of empathy. In the last paragraph, Kristof continues to suggest this tone in order to make us upset over Kevin's death as he says, "So, Kevin Green, R.I.P. You were a good man — hardworking and always on the lookout for someone to help — yet you were overturned by riptides of inequality". The message of injustice in Kevin's life is also visible when Kristof writes "riptides of injustice" which suggests that Kevin faced more injustice than most due to his situation and the unfair tendency of people to judge. In conclusion, Kristof uses the death of his friend, Kevin Green in order to remind us that we should show empathy and not be so hasty to judge others.