Perspectives

Current issues

The speech “We call BS” by X González (then known as Emma González) addresses the issue of gun control and mass shootings in the United States. The United States has had more mass shootings than any other country and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School…

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Textual perspectives 

Another similar text is Barack Obama's Statement on the Shooting at Umpqua Community College, Oregon. Former president Barack Obama delivered his speech in the wake of a mass shooting where a student opened fire in a university and killed nine people. Obama’s message is similar to that which González shares in the speech “We call BS”: the need for gun regulation and policy change. When comparing the two speeches it can be useful to consider what arguments the speakers use to support their message and what kind of emotions they are trying to arouse in their audience. 

Another speech addressing gun violence is Barack Obama's Remarks on Reducing Gun Violence. This speech also took place after a school shooting, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, which was the fourth deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States. In his speech, Obama makes a plea for caring about Americans’ safety over political issues and focuses on the importance of Congress passing the proposals for reducing gun violence that he has made. 

Five years after the Sandy Hook School shooting, Obama delivered his Remarks on Common-Sense Gun Safety Reform, after his initial proposals for gun reform were rejected by Republican politicians in Congress. In this speech, he invites the audience to pressure Congress to take action to pass legislation that will prevent mass shootings. 

You can also have a look at the music video “This is America” by Childish Gambino. One of the themes in the video is gun violence and mass shootings. The video also suggests that some Americans tend to be more concerned about the right to own guns than about the lives unregulated gun owning could put in danger. The sentiment is also echoed in …