When Whites Just Don't Get it
In this op-ed, Nicholas Kristof makes the argument that "race relations deserve more attention, not less". He begins the piece by starting his argument with complaints by white people about the recent Ferguson conflict. This is a strong way to start the argument because it makes whites look insensitive to the issue of racial inequality in America. One sentence that really emphasizes this insensitive attitude states that, "whites, on average, believe that anti-white racism was a bigger problem than anti-black racism". Most readers would agree that this is an absurd belief and somewhat offensive. Kristof adds in his own opinion with the succeeding sentence: "Yes, you read that right!" It is obvious that he as just as surprised and shocked as most of the readers. He then uses the middle paragraphs to bullet point statistics that support his argument, such as, "a black boy born today in the United States has a life expectancy five years shorter than that of a white boy" and "black students are three times as likely to be suspended and expelled". The use of statistics appeals the logos of the audience making his argument more favorable. Also in the middle paragraphs, he brings up other issues with ignoring race relations. Issues such a, "talent [being] underemployed and over-incarcerated, [making] the entire country [suffer]" make readers consider the global effects of not giving racial relations the attention it needs. Kristof acknowledges the opposition when he states that, "some readers will protest that the stereotype is rooted in reality: Young men are disproportionately likely to be criminals. That's true -and complicated". He counters the argument in the closing paragraphs as he discusses ways to solve the problem and end the commonality of these stereotypes. Kristof lists multiple solutions the issue including, "home visitation programs", "early education initiatives", "programs for troubled adolescents", and "anti-crime incentives". He ends the article by concluding that, "the first step is to acknowledge that the central race challenge in America today is not the suffering of whites". This is a strong close because it comes full circle as it acknowledges a statistic mention in the introduction.