Eclipse Alarcon Cunningham ENG 102 2/12/2024 Rhetorical Analysis.

On February 7, 2024, Nikki Haley, a South Carolina governor who is running as a presidential candidate for the Republican party, said this on Fox News, "America has never been a racist country." She speaks on behalf of people who wish to minimize the racism ingrained in this country's foundation. The discourse about racism and America's history of systemic discrimination is being flat-out ignored by current politicians, pulling the wool over the public's eyes. The incident was captured in a political cartoon by Adam Zyglis on January 19, 2024; people in denial is an evident exaggeration of the hypocrisy of the Republican party through irony and satire as well as symbolism, dimensioning …show more content…
The denial that's within people about racism is factually wrong. Nikki Haley is spreading this false information about history that has been documented. Are people convinced that racism was over when civil rights were given to all? The cartoonist saw the ignorance and wanted to help change the overview of reality for people in denial. Acknowledging the history of America is essential for critical thinking and developing empathy. The irony and satire stem from the social commentary that this cartoon is trying to make. Saying "America was never a racist country" is erasing the statistical data that was collected decades prior. In the Washington Post, it said that "63 percent said White and Black troops should be separated (Gallup, 1948)," another said, "85 percent would object to a relative marrying a Black person." Blake, 2024. The fact is that America's racism is ingrained into its very foundation. Whether it is the system or social groups, racism is there. Therefore, saying America was never a racist country is a lie. Highlighting this absurdity, especially from a presidential candidate, this microinsult filmed on TV and documented by the press is what made the cartoonist, Adam Zyglis, so appalled to do this in the