William Peace Speech

The Special Olympics date back all the way to the year 1968. Many see these Games as a time to honor someone who is able to “overcome” a task, but author William Peace sees this as an insulting portrayal of people with disabilities. Peace is a multidisciplinary school teacher and scholar that uses a wheel chair and writes about the science behind disabilities and handicaps. As a physically handicapped individual, Peace is able to observe a negative portrayal of disabled persons. In his article titled, “Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability, and Adaptive Sports,” William Peace offers his own personal insight, utilizes several statistics regarding handicaps, as well as numerous rhetorical appeals in order to communicate to the “common man”

This tone is also used to establish an appeal to pathos which he hopes to convince the audience of the fact that handicapped people are still people and not less than anyone else. A very prominent example of Peace’s emotion is displayed when he says, “Like many disabled people, I embrace an identity that is tied to my body. I have been made to feel different, inferior, since I began using a wheelchair thirty years ago and by claiming that I am disabled and proud, I am empowered,” (para. 15). This declaration demonstrates to his audience that Peace is honored by who he is and what disabled people can do and that he is tired of being oppressed by the media. Peace also makes this claim to support his thesis in the first paragraph that states, “The negative portrayal of disabled people is not only oppressive but also confirms that nondisabled people set the terms of the debate about the meaning of disability,” (para. 1). This is Peace’s central argument for the whole article and explains his frustration with society’s generalization of handicapped people and the preconceived limitations set on them. Peace’s appeal to pathos and tone throughout are extremely effective in displaying to his audience (society) that those who have disabilities are fed up with the limits that have been placed in the

By speaking with this colloquial language, he is able to come across to his audience as a level-headed, but passionate individual. The diction and syntax utilized by Peace enhances his argument by allowing him to flow very smoothly from one idea to the next without disengaging his audience. Throughout, the structure of syntax is typically long, descriptive sentences that add as much information to a claim as possible. This choice of structure is very effective because it displays to the audience that Peace has much to say and is very passionate about disabilities without presenting himself in a frustrated or angry tone. The diction that Peace employs is very eloquent and composed through the entirety of the article. Often times, Peace will list several adjectives that describe how disabled people feel and the implications of how they are perceived in society. An exceptional example of this is shown early on in the article when Peace states, “For decades, disabled Americans have grown increasingly appalled, offended, and angry about the way they have been exploited by the media,” (para. 1). This allegation allows for Peace to present his argument in a very passionate and sophisticated manner without being accusatory or stymied. By utilizing this refined diction and syntax, Peace is able to effectively argue his point that disabled people are frustrated with how the media has