Ianiro 1

Carl Ianiro

Dr. Dietel-Mclaughlin

First Year Composition

22 February 2011

Rhetorical Analysis

Never changing within man is a remarkable capacity for hatred. Hate is incredibly adaptive; it is

able to grow parallel with man. The rise of the internet has created a new platform for hatred to take

root. From blazing gunfire to Facebook fan pages, hatred has found new mediums for itself to be

expressed. True, the internet has become a vehicle for tolerance and understanding, but as a result of

our interconnectedness, millennial old animosities have come into conflict.

Palestine today has become one of the fiercest theaters of war. Israel and Palestine are both

willing to defend their homes till their dying breaths. As a result, thousands of lives have been lost

thanks to mindless anger. But the hatred is not limited only to the battlefield. Hate, being the clever

monster that it is, has emigrated onto the internet. Facebook fan pages such as I hate Palestine and I

Hate Israel not only detract from the severity of the conflict itself, but also turn the word hate into a

weightless commodity. Hating something has become as easy as clicking a mouse. I intend to analyze

the different methods that both sites use to dispense their message. Despite the different methods of

delivery, the end result is still the same: death to those who stand in our way.

I hate Palestine's fan page starts straight forward enough. Headlines about suicide bombings and

raids by Palestinian fighters decorate the page. Upon further digression, the page becomes a clear hate

website.

The website makes many appeals to its audience. It offers up articles by doctors, teachers and

politicians to convince you why the Palestinians need to be eradicated. It also offers up posts in the

form of sympathy for the dead. Memorials to the dead in the form of e-cards are available for your
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personal “liking.” And finally also offers up logic through reasoning by the author himself. This fan

page gives justification to all the aggression received by Israel, and simultaneously justifies the

aggression dispensed by Israel. By painting the Palestinians as less than human, fans of this page can

feel safe in their hate.

Fig 1 Fig 2

Right off the bat, visitors to this page are greeted by an image of Israeli soldiers proudly

displaying their flag. On their faces are big smiles as they march triumphantly from the battlefield. The

fan page's other photos can instill national pride in those viewing them. These are clear appeals to

pathos.

Building upon the pathos established by the wall photos, there are numerous memorials such as

The Armenian Genocide and The Genocide at Haifa- Carmel. Obviously, reflecting back upon these

horrible events, emotions will run high. The author of this fan page is counting on his audience to link a

tragedy committed by a small extremist cell to an entire nation of people. The fan page also establishes

a Jewish identity on its wall. Messages such as Happy Chanukah and Shabbat Shalom quickly remind

the reader of their Jewish heritage. By accepting these two appeals to pathos, the reader will link their

heritage to the tragedies, and then in turn will link the tragedies back to the Palestinian people.

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 Many clear examples of ethos can be taken from the fan page. Articles such as the connection

between terrorism and muslim inbreeding portray Palestinians as subhuman animals. Appeals to

authority are clearly made here. For some, an appeal to ethos is all that is needed for an argument to

take root. This page's author has very little to prove to its audience. Fans of this page already have

strong ties back to Israel. Throughout the fan page are multiple testimonials offered by “experts.”

The fan page also tries to establish logos. Starting off, its evidence for logos comes in the form

of a bridge. Stupid Bridge is the author's attempt to portray Palestinians as a stupid nation of people.

Granted the bridge is a complete failure, but it is not evidence for the stupidity of an entire people.

Another example of logos can be seen in the article The President of Turkey is a Movie Pirate. This

appeal to logos is truly ridiculous, but this is the author's true intention. The point of these ridiculous

articles are to portray the Muslim people as ridiculous, vain, and stupid.

I hate Palestine's true strength is made up in both its appeals to ethos and pathos. Tragedies such

as genocide and massacre are well known to a modern Jewish mind-set. In conjunction with the fan

page's appeal to ethos, it is easy to see how such a page would be so popular.

By painting the Palestinian people as subhuman murderers, the author of the fan page can post

ridiculous stories. The author cleverly is able to tie in pathos, ethos, and logos and allow them each to

build upon one another.

I Hate Israel is another story completely. Starting off the entire page is written in both Arabic

and English. Although Islam has become wide-spread throughout the world, the central nexus of

Islamic belief remains the Middle East. By using Arabic as a primary language on the page, the author

creates a more personal page for those only able to understand the language.

Where its counterpart decorated its page with interviews with doctors and links to studies, this

page is clearly more geared for a new generation of Palestinian. Adorning the page are links to rap
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Fig 3 Fig 4

videos and colorful photography of the destruction administered by Israel. This entire page is a clear

attempt at pathos, but it seems pathos is all that is needed to get the message across. Young people from

around the globe gather to this page to announce their hate for Israel. Interestingly enough, the posters

find time to share photography and music amidst all the hate-talk . This page clearly appeals to a new

generation of Palestinian revolutionary. Romantic ideas of revolution and insurrection have be with

them since they were small children, so it is very easy to see how they can get wrapped up in the whole

thing. Not only this particular group of posters, but young people around the world. Hate has become a

social trend.

Pictured above is the aftermath of an Israeli artillery strike. By using this image as a base, the

fan page presents to its audience a cause worth fighting for. The interaction between posters is way

more dynamic than the I Hate Palestine page. Found on the same page is Fig 3 which is one poster's

attempt at personal photography. Forums for expression have become immensely popular for young

people across the internet.

The posters really does not offer up any evidence for their hate. Granted, each poster was

probably affected personally by the war with Israel, but the average post on this page generally goes

like this: Fuck Israel, Death to Israel, and Fuck the USA. This board is quickly dissolves into many

people shouting about how much they hate Israel.

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The page's reliance on pathos as its only method for delivering its message can be seen

unbalanced compared to the I Hate Palestine page. But actually its pure reliance on pathos is perfect for

its audience. Emotions definitely run high when dealing with issues such as war, and this page has

become a a place for young people to decompress.

This page's main strength comes from its powerful use of pathos. Just as I Hate Palestine used

graphic images to deliver its message, so does this one. But the main difference between this page and

its counterpart is how it is able to help the audience redefine their identity as Palestinian

revolutionaries. Whereas I Hate Palestine is a news board preaching the hate, I Hate Israel is a dynamic

forum for expressing hate. This board does not preach hate, but rather, it uses hate as a back drop and

allows its posters to express it themselves.

Both pages have their own styles of delivering their messages. Where one offers up formal

evidence in support of its argument, the other offers a more relaxed atmosphere for delivery. There is

no denying that the atrocities committed by both sides are abominable, but each page in its own right

offers a powerful message relevant to its audience. A message worth dying for, but more relevantly, a

message worth blogging for.

It is interesting to see the similarities between both page. The message to both pages is

essentially the same. The different styles of delivery do not create differences in each page's audience.

Both page's posters vary very little. It is a lot like reading a mad-lib: death to ______, burn in

Hell_____, and Praise (insert Deity). Perhaps hate is the one thing that they have in common with one

another.

It is quite an ironic thing to see an I Hate Whatever fan page on Facebook. Hate in the form of

“liking” is truly an interesting new concept. Facebook's creation is the direct result of the growing

interconnectedness between people provided by the internet. Envisioned as a place for mutual

understanding and tolerance. Hate has become weightless; it needs almost no explanation anymore. The
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fact that both of these pages exist undermine the real severity of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

On the other side of the spectrum, these pages allow for the rare opportunity of expression and

allow people to voice an otherwise silent opinion. On the virtual landscape, posters do not need to fear

the consequences of their actions. These platforms for expression do rally a thunderous response from

its audience. On the internet, combatants trade their rifles for keyboards and grenades for mouses.

Bullets in the form of words, that is how the virtual war is fought.
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Works Cited

1. Cohen, Aharon. "I Love Israel, I Hate Palestine! | Facebook." nd. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

<http://www.facebook.com/loveIsraelForever>.

2. Nesserine, Nedra. "I Hate Israel | Facebook." nd. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

<http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44979892930&v=wall#!/group.php?

gid=44979892930&v=wall>.

3. Chimera(?). "The Connection Between Muslim Inbreeding and Terrorism." Stop Islamization. 11

Jan. 2011. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2011.

4. Ernesto (?). "Is the President of Turkey a Movie Pirate?" Torrenting. 13 Feb. 2011. Web. 17 Jan.

2011.

Appendix

Fig 1&2: http://www.facebook.com/IHatePalestine

Fig 3&4: http://www.facebook.com/IHateIsrael