On Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered a eulogy for the second officer murdered last month. When the Mayor went up to the podium to deliver the speech at the funeral for officer Wenjian Lui, Lui's fellow officers turned their back. There is much hostility between the NYPD and the Mayor of New York. Recent events, like the death of citizen Eric Garner, that lead to not so peaceful protests. The death of Garner placed the Mayor in this dilemma of choosing a side. Many people see things as either black or white, in this case of the multiple deaths that are happening in New York, it cannot be so one-sided. The Mayor is doing what he thinks is best to handle the situation of these killings and many do not agree with how he is doing that.
Audience: The speech that this prompt is referring to was given at officer Lui's funeral, where his family, friends, and fellow officers were present. The usual audience for a funeral would be the family and friends that showed up to pay their respects to the deceased. Lui's fellow officers showed up out of respect to his family and to himself, however the officers themselves turned the funeral into a political issue. They created a scene against de Blasio when it should have been a peaceful time to mourn the loss of Wenjian Lui. However the assignment isn't to discuss what the officers did but to analyze the Mayor's speech. The Mayor delivered a speech to the close family and friends to the deceased and spoke of Lui's true character. When giving a eulogy you usually discuss the positives in the deceased not the negatives, you are reflecting on their achievements and their person. De Blasio addressed the appropriate audience when giving the eulogy, however towards the end of the speech he started to lean in another direction by addressing the NYPD as a whole. The Mayor knew that many officers had their backs turned towards him while he was delivering the speech but he also knew that the officers were still standing there listening to him. He took the opportunity to show his gratitude toward the NYPD. The day should have focused on the immediate family and friends of Wenjian Lui, but instead many officers decided to make it about themselves, and the Mayor as well addressed them in his eulogy.
Topic/Subject: By now the topic should be clear to most that the speech reflected the death of officer Lui. However it should also be clear that the events leading up to the eulogy created a hostile atmosphere that the Mayor had to address. He tried to sneak it in at the end and be discreet about it, but many caught the address to the NYPD as a whole. The original topic for the speech was the death of the officer for the NYPD; the speech was given at his funeral towards his immediate friends and family. A eulogy is written with kindness towards the deceased because, like previously stated, you are reflecting on the life of the dead. It is frowned upon to speak ill of the dead, especially when you are attending a funeral to commemorate the dead. The underlying topic of the speech was the incident that had taken place moments before the eulogy by the Mayor began. Bill de Blosio was aware that some of the officers of the NYPD would choose to turn their backs because they had done so at the previous funeral for another officer that was murdered by a civilian. The commissioner addressed the issue of the disrespect, and asked that those participating in the action leave the politics at home. Some officers did not take the commissioner's request to heart and performed the act of protest at the funeral for officer Wenjian Lui.
Rhetor: Mayor Bill de Blosio has credibility because he is the Mayor of New York. He is a professional man that delivers speeches frequently, giving him the upperhand at performing a speech. When he spoke, his tone was morbid and a bit choppy, the perfect tone for delivering a eulogy. The fact that he was not particularly close to the deceased officer made the speech less meaningful to some, but the family was grateful that the Mayor wanted to address the death of Wenjian. That presents the question though, of why he was their delivering a eulogy; was it because he is a political figure and that was the proper thing to do, did he actually know the officer on a somewhat personal level, or was it to address the underlying issue, the distrust between the Mayor and the New York Police Department. The Mayor's rhetoric was appropriate for the eulogy and he gave a nice farewell to the deceased officer Wenjian Lui.
Audience: The speech that this prompt is referring to was given at officer Lui's funeral, where his family, friends, and fellow officers were present. The usual audience for a funeral would be the family and friends that showed up to pay their respects to the deceased. Lui's fellow officers showed up out of respect to his family and to himself, however the officers themselves turned the funeral into a political issue. They created a scene against de Blasio when it should have been a peaceful time to mourn the loss of Wenjian Lui. However the assignment isn't to discuss what the officers did but to analyze the Mayor's speech. The Mayor delivered a speech to the close family and friends to the deceased and spoke of Lui's true character. When giving a eulogy you usually discuss the positives in the deceased not the negatives, you are reflecting on their achievements and their person. De Blasio addressed the appropriate audience when giving the eulogy, however towards the end of the speech he started to lean in another direction by addressing the NYPD as a whole. The Mayor knew that many officers had their backs turned towards him while he was delivering the speech but he also knew that the officers were still standing there listening to him. He took the opportunity to show his gratitude toward the NYPD. The day should have focused on the immediate family and friends of Wenjian Lui, but instead many officers decided to make it about themselves, and the Mayor as well addressed them in his eulogy.
Topic/Subject: By now the topic should be clear to most that the speech reflected the death of officer Lui. However it should also be clear that the events leading up to the eulogy created a hostile atmosphere that the Mayor had to address. He tried to sneak it in at the end and be discreet about it, but many caught the address to the NYPD as a whole. The original topic for the speech was the death of the officer for the NYPD; the speech was given at his funeral towards his immediate friends and family. A eulogy is written with kindness towards the deceased because, like previously stated, you are reflecting on the life of the dead. It is frowned upon to speak ill of the dead, especially when you are attending a funeral to commemorate the dead. The underlying topic of the speech was the incident that had taken place moments before the eulogy by the Mayor began. Bill de Blosio was aware that some of the officers of the NYPD would choose to turn their backs because they had done so at the previous funeral for another officer that was murdered by a civilian. The commissioner addressed the issue of the disrespect, and asked that those participating in the action leave the politics at home. Some officers did not take the commissioner's request to heart and performed the act of protest at the funeral for officer Wenjian Lui.
Rhetor: Mayor Bill de Blosio has credibility because he is the Mayor of New York. He is a professional man that delivers speeches frequently, giving him the upperhand at performing a speech. When he spoke, his tone was morbid and a bit choppy, the perfect tone for delivering a eulogy. The fact that he was not particularly close to the deceased officer made the speech less meaningful to some, but the family was grateful that the Mayor wanted to address the death of Wenjian. That presents the question though, of why he was their delivering a eulogy; was it because he is a political figure and that was the proper thing to do, did he actually know the officer on a somewhat personal level, or was it to address the underlying issue, the distrust between the Mayor and the New York Police Department. The Mayor's rhetoric was appropriate for the eulogy and he gave a nice farewell to the deceased officer Wenjian Lui.