Pulse

Briggs Spencer Carhart

Dr. Stephanie Brown, Ph.D.

ENGL 306

15 September 2016

The Rhetoric of the Pulse Shooting Aftermath

            On the morning of June 12, 2016, waking up to a notification about a mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida became a haunting occurrence for most Americans. Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub, exists currently at the site of the worst mass shooting in American history with 49 deaths and 53 wounded ("Pulse Nightclub Shooting: June 13, 2016 Update."). The event left families and friends (especially those of the LGBTQ community) shaken and broken by the unexpected deaths of many lives closely associated with their own. After the shooting, the conversation of the aftermath focused around the shooter, Omar Mateen, with multiple theories, including terrorism ideologies, as possible motives ("Pulse Nightclub Shooting: June 13, 2016 Update."). The LGBTQ community, however, felt a lack of support when a dichotomy of undesired responses flooded social media regarding the Pulse shooting: arguments bolstering the shooting and apologetic statements lacking acknowledgments of the LGBTQ community. The Pulse nightclub, two weeks after the shooting, posted a photo on social media as an act of protest targeting those who oppose the LGBTQ community to create solidarity amongst those who identify as LGBTQ or as an ally.

            The community felt disdain from individuals who appreciated the violence (such as the Westboro Baptist Church) but also felt isolated from individuals who opposed the violence. For the groups/people who enjoyed the deaths and injuries from the Pulse shooting, made public statements including, “God sent the shooter to #Pulse” (Cox). The LGBTQ community faces threats everyday referencing religious ideology, but the extreme context in lieu of the tragedy set those particular comments apart – affirming there is an extreme safety concern for those who identify as LGBTQ. This sort of behavior isn’t surprising, but it is a problem the LGBTQ community faces towards the goal/process of social justice. An issue that has also been a point of concern has been the overshadowing of the problem with the focus of terrorism with no mention of the victims specifically. Donald J. Trump tweets, “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!”( Nelson, L and Golshan T). The nature of the comment put the major focus terrorism (which in itself has been a controversial talking point). Terrorism is a major problem the United States is facing and is emphasized in almost every political debate. Comments similar to Mr. Trump’s blurs the context of the tragedy. It made the event another event to extrapolate for future debates about terrorism (especially focused around Islam). Comparing the people for the violence and against the violence, the LGBTQ community is receiving the end of the stick.

            These comments don’t exemplify how the entire population feels about the event. The amount of support is strong, but the LGBTQ community (generalized from the actions of the Pulse nightclub) wants to divert the focus from terrorism or gun violence into a focus of solidarity to those who identify LGBTQ. On June 30^th, 2016, Pulse released a photo on Twitter stating, “You cannot silence us. You cannot destroy us. We are not going anywhere” (Pulse Nightclub; Figure 1).

            The photo is directed at those who are against the LGBTQ community, in one or more ways, as well as the people who leave out the identity of the club when discussing the shooting. The statement brings up past issues encompassing sexual minorities with emphasis on “silence us” referring to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in the United States military; the “destroy us” referring to the actual events at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. However, there were many individuals who lost their lives, but the “us” in both statements is to people who identify as LGBTQ. Pulse’s photo is referring to methods others have attempted to utilize to rid the world of LGBTQ individuals’ way of life. The post was still around the timeframe of the shooting, so emotions and theories and investigations were persisting at high frequency and high intensity. This gave the opportunity to have the protest have the most effect, and to change the conversation – to unify the community in order to have the potential to change how the world perceive those who identify as LGBTQ. The post gives the community a firm stance with the last statement “we are not going anywhere.” Whether a gay male living in Orlando reads it hanging in nightclub, or a non-gender conforming person reads the post on twitter. It gives an overarching claim of all individuals and how the community is strong. Attempts will be made to target the community, but the attempts will never lead to success. That is the message this piece of protest establishes for the community.

            In order to display an effective message that will achieve the purpose of solidarity against the non-allies, multiple methods of rhetorical strategies (like ethos, logos, and pathos). The rhetor establishes a form of ethos by being the Pulse nightclub and having the logo on the poster. Since majority of the conflict at the time of the photo’s release was about the Pulse shooting, it gives message that will be received more. Also the photo has the rainbow incorporated in the logo, which is the symbol for the LGBTQ community (each color having its own meaning for the community). People usually desire to communicate with “one of their own,” so the statements will be supported more. Since the targeted audience isn’t “one of their own,” however, the rainbow says that the rhetor is part of the community in question and is more appropriate as a speaker about the issue. For a logos appeal, the short statements make a clear and concise argument. Stating “we are not going anywhere” and alluding to past examples that bolster the statement, presents a stronger argument that the community isn’t really going anywhere. No one should be afraid to express themselves, so the nightclub presenting how much the community went through and that the community has sustained gives a better chance for solidarity the more people who identify LGBTQ and see the photo. The most effective strategy is pathos for this piece of protest. The connotative diction “destroy” and “silence” elicit an emotional response because the audience to create a connection between the cause and the intent of the message for community. Also, the Pulse logo being in the shape of the heart presents the LGBTQ communities message of love because that is what the community is about. No one should try and destroy that.

            That was the idea with this photo. The shooting was a tragic event that caused speculations and uproar within the country because of the amount of casualties. It’s an event that shook the general population, but it hit close to home for those who identify as lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer/questioning/etc. The movement for equality has been ongoing, but it’s unfortunate that its events like the Pulse shooting that have people advocating more for the cause – however there are more people advocating against it. That’s why Pulse took advantage to rise from the ashes to make a statement to form solidarity and hopefully create a world of more understanding and peace – hopefully, another message doesn’t need to be read in spite of 49 fatal bullets.

Works Cited

Cox, Daniel. “Westboro Baptist Church Celebrates Pulse Nightclub Shooting in Orlando: ‘God   Sent the Shooter’. The Inquistr. 12 June 2016.

Nelson, L and Golshan T. “Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump react to Pulse nightclub shooting.” Vox Policy and Politics. 12 June 2016.

"Pulse Nightclub Shooting: June 13, 2016 Update." City of Orlando. 2 Sep 2016. http://www.cityoforlando.net/police/pulse-nightclub-shooting-june-13-2016-update/

Pulse Nightclub. “Orlando Shooting at Pulse Nightclub.” Orlando Sentinel. 12 June 2016.