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RunningHead:DRUGTRAFFICKING

DrugTraffickinginAmerica

YazminBaquera

UniversityofTexasatElPaso

MarcoRodriguez

RWS1302
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DRUGTRAFFICKING

DRUGTRAFFICKINGINAMERCIA

AccordingtoTheU.S.DrugEnforcementAgency(2004),thedrugindustryis

oneofthemostprofitableillegalnetworksintheworld.Drugsthataretraffickedand

distributedwithintheUnitedStatesinclude:cocaine,crackcocaine,heroine,purity,

methamphetamine,marijuana,MDMA(ecstasy),LSD(Lysergicaciddiethylamide),PCP

(Phencyclidine),Flunitrazepam,GHB/GBL(Gammahydroxybutyrate),steroids,and

otherdrugs.ThesedrugsaretheninfiltratedintototheUnitedStatesbycommercialor

privateplanes,boat,hiddeninsidevehicles,disguisedinmailpackages,andbyfoot.

DrugtraffickinghasbeenanongoingissueintheUnitedStates,howevercurrentefforts

thathavebeenputinplacecurrentlyhavenotbeenveryeffective.Thisissuewillbe

examinedintwodifferentgenresthatexplainhowdrugtraffickingaffectstheUnited

States.Howtoselldrugs,aYouTubevideobyVICENewswillshowafirstperson

pointofviewofhowtheymakealivingoffofdrugtraffickingandwhatitentailsfor

them,andDrugTraffickingintheUnitedStatesbytheAlmanacofPolicyIssuesexplains

thedifferenttypesofdrugsandhoweachonetraffickedaffectstheUnitedStates.

AudienceandPurpose

HowtoSellDrugsbyVICENews,isaYouTubevideothatwaspublishedon

June22,2012,thatshowsthelifeofadrugdealer,andhowhemakesalivingoffof

traffickingdrugsinNewYorkCity.Thepurposeofthevideoistoshowafirstperson

pointofviewofhowpeoplemakealivingoffofdrugtraffickingintheUnitedStates,
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andwhatitentailsforthatindividual.Thesecondgenreisanarticletitled,Drug

TraffickingintheUnitedStatesbytheAlmanacofPolicyIssuesshowsinformationof

drugtraffickingintheUnitedStatesbydiscussinginformationbyeachdrugtypein

subsections.

Thefirstgenreisgearedtowardsmillennials,peoplewhoenjoywatchingdrug

relatedmaterial,andpeoplewhoreceivetheirnewsfromVICENews.Thisnewssource

isknowntohaveayoungeragedaudiencethatreadstheirmaterials.Thisagegrouptends

togathertheirinformationfromsocialmedia,YouTubevideos,orotherInternetrelated

sources.Millennialsaremorelikelytoobtaintheirnewsinformationfromsocialmedia,

becauseitismuchmoreconvenienttowatchavideothathascondensedasubstantial

amountofinformationintoashortvideoforeasyuseandaclearerunderstanding,versus

readingalengthynewspaperarticle.YouTubevideoshelpconveyamessageand

informationinamotionpicturethatisattractivetotheeye,andkeepsanaudiences

attentionforalongerperiodoftime.Thesecondgenretargetaudienceispeoplewhoare

interestedindrugtraffickingarticles,peoplelookingforreliableresearch,andpeople

whoprefertogatherinformationfromanestablishedsource.TheAlmanacofPolicy

Issueshelpsorganizealengthyamountofinformationintosubsectionstomakeitmore

appealingtotheeye,andtomaketheinformationeasierontheeye.Thisarticlealso

givesasubstantialamountofinformation,andstatisticsondrugtraffickingcategorizing

byeachdrugtype.Thisarticlecouldbeveryhelpfulingatheringresearchsinceitis

writtenbytheDEA(DrugEnforcementAgency).
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Bothgenresdifferinhowmuchtimetheaudiencehastoreviewthem,andhow

longtheviewertakestocovertheinformationbeinggiven.Thefirstgenreisatwenty

minutelongYouTubevideo,sothecontentneededtobeentertainingtokeeptheviewers

attention.Thesecondgenrewasalengthyarticle,howeveritgaveanenormousamount

ofdetailedinformationofeachdrug.Theviewerwouldneedmoretimetoreviewthe

information,andwouldneedtobeinterestedinthetopicinordertocompletereviewing

it.

BothgenresareaboutdrugtraffickingintheUnitedStates,howevertheydisplay

thecontentdifferently.TheYouTubevideopresentedhowapersonwasabletomakea

livingforhimselffromdrugtrafficking,andgiveshispointsofviewsaboutthesubject.

Thisvideowasawayofviewingdrugtraffickingthroughaprimarysource,andwhat

kindofstrugglesareassociatedwiththisunofficialemployment.Since,thevideoisabout

twentyminuteslongitneedstokeepanaudiencesattentionbylingeringthemontokeep

onwatching.Thesecondgenreiscomposedofanabundantamountofdetailed

informationaboutdrugtrafficking,andsubsectionsofeachmaindrugthatistrafficked.

However,thecontentofthearticleneededtobeinterestingtokeepanaudiences

attention,andforthemtokeeponreadingthematerial.

BothgenresareaboutdrugtraffickinginAmerica,butofferdifferentwaysof

presentingtheinformation,anddifferentpointsofviewonthesubject.IntheYouTube

video,thepurposeofitwastoofferinsighttowhypeopleareinvolvedwithdrug

traffickingandtogiveapersonalpointofviewofdrugtraffickingfromaprimarysource.

ThearticleofTheAlmanacofPolicyIssuespurposewastogiveagenerousamountof
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informationofdrugtraffickingwithintheUnitedStates,andtogivedetailedinformation

abouteachdrug.Eachgenrecommunicatesitsmessagedifferently,andhasdifferent

methodstokeepanaudiencesattention.Howtoselldrugsusedinformallanguage

choicessuchascursewordsandslangwords,becauseitisbasedoffaninterviewwitha

specificindividual.Theinterviewwasmeantforanaudiencetoseehowheinteractsona

dailybasiswiththeirdrugtraffickingoccupationandtodescribewhatheistalkingabout.

Thesecondgenrecontainedformallanguageinitscontent,becauseitshowsinformationon

eachdrugtraffickedintoAmerica,andisusedforresearchasareliablesource.Also,the

articleusedspecialvocabulary,suchasabbreviationsforcertainillegaldrugswithinthe

documenttoshowwhatthedrugiscommonlyknownas.Inaddition,theYouTubevideo

hadwhitesubtextswithinthevideotomakeclearofwhattheindividualwassayingin

theinterview,becauseVICENewschangedhisvoiceforhisprotection.Meanwhile,

thearticlecontainedawhitebackgroundandblacktexttomakethecontentbeing

presentedfeelveryformal.

Rhetoricalissues

Bothsourcescontainedrhetoricalappeals,butwereusedindifferentwaysto

conveytheirmessage.

Pathos

TheYouTubevideoexhibitspathosbyevokingsympathyintheaudienceforthe

individualbeinginterviewed.Thefeelingoffeelingsorryisevokedatdifferentpoints

ofthevideo,especiallywhenhegetspersonalandtalksabouthowhegotinvolvedwith

thistrade.Also,angercanbeevokedbyanaudiencebecausesomepeoplethatare
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viewingthisvideomightnotagreewithwhatheisdoingtocollectrevenue.Thearticle

displayspathosalsobytryingtoevoketheemotionofconcerntoshowhowdrug

traffickingisahugeprobleminAmerica.Inaddition,thedatainthearticleisusedto

maketheargumentstronger,howeveritisverylimitedtohowitcanexpresspathosdue

toitsformalcontent.

Ethos

TheYouTubevideodisplaysethosbytheactualnewsnetwork(VICE)thatis

producingthecontent,andbyconductingaprimaryinterviewwithafirsthandviewof

whatdrugtraffickingis.Thesecondgenreestablishesethosbythecredibilityofthe

websiteitselfbyusing.govonthehtmllink.Also,theU.S.DrugEnforcement

Agency(DEA)publishedthearticle,whichhasestablishedethosforitself.

Logos

TheYouTubevideoestablisheslogosbytheevidencethatisusedtosupporthis

claimsarebyhisreallifeexperiencesandstoriesandhowheexpressesthem.Itcouldbe

invalid/validbecausetheaudiencewillnotknowifheistellingthetruth.Thearticle

establisheslogosbyusingdataobtainedbytheU.S.DrugEnforcementAgencytosupport

theirclaimstomaketheinformationitvalid.

StructureandDelivery

Giventhetopic,andusingtwodifferentingenresstructureanddeliverydiffer

greatlyinboth.IntheYouTubevideo,thestructureofthevideoisorganizedbygivinga

briefdescriptionoftheindividualandhowtheyreceivedhistrusttorecordthevideoofhis
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lifeindrugtrafficking,leadsuptoothereventsinhisdailylife,andthenendswithwhat

recentlyhappenedtohim.Thereisalimitationondeliveryoftheinformationonthegenreof

theYouTubevideobecauseaudiencesdontwanttobewatchingaverylongvideotoobtain

information,soVICENewscondensesthematerialintoa20minutevideo.Inaddition,it

doeshavemorefreedomtoexpresswhatitneedstobecauseitisinformalonhowitpresents

information.Inthearticle,thestructurewasorganizedbytheinformationgivinganoverall

ondrugtraffickinginAmerica,andthenitbreaksintosubcategoriesofspecificdrugsand

displaysinformationonit.Thestructureanddeliverydoeshavelimitationsofpresentingthe

materialofthearticlebyitdoesnothavemuchfreedomtoexpresstheinformationbecause

thisarticleisveryformalandfactual.

Conclusion

Allinall,bothgenresexamineddrugtraffickinginanexceptionalways.Thefirst

genregaveapersonalviewondrugtraffickingandhowhelivesoffofdrugtraffickingasa

sourceofincome,andthesecondgenregaveamoreformalandinformationaltakeondrug

trafficking.Bothsourcesuseddifferenttacticstoconveytheirmessagetoanaudienceand

didsoinaneffectiveway.DrugtraffickingcontinuestobeamainissueintheUnited

States,andbothgenresgaveaviewonbothsidesoftheargument.
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References

Growing,B.(2004,May).DrugTraffickingintheUnitedStates.

Retrievedfrom

http://www.policyalmanac.org/crime/archive/drug_trafficking.shtml

VICENews.(2012,22June).HowtoSellDrugs.

(VideoFile).Retrievedfromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=fvN7fKmCoXA.