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Smart Stereotypes

Decent Essays

Why Smart Statistics are the Key to Fighting Crime Crime is, and most likely forever will be, a serious problem in America. Fighting crime is not a simple process. It is often deemed ineffective, as it seems that attention is often on petty crime, rather than the legitimate issues this country faces. Anne Milgram voices her opinion on how to effectively handle crime in her TED talk “Why Smart Statistics are the Key to Fighting Crime” very effectively. Utilizing her credibility through personal experience, Milgram uses ethos more than any other appeal during her speech. The logos appeal is also a key tool for her as she provides numerical results, and she occasionally appeals with pathos to grasp the audience’s emotions. Speaking to a broad …show more content…

Her opening sentence is “In 2007, I became the attorney general of the state of New Jersey. Before that I had been a criminal prosecutor, first in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and then in the United States Department of Justice” (Milgram). This opening statement is very strong as it attains the respect and attention of the audience because they know she is truly knowledgeable about the subject she’s speaking of. This develops a sense of trustworthiness towards Milgram, and she is able to begin addressing the purpose of her …show more content…

She displays a chart that demonstrates the annual 12 million arrests that only consist of fewer than 5 percent violent crimes, and 70-80 percent being low-level crimes such as misdemeanors (Milgram). After proclaiming the abnormally high number of arrests that aren’t necessarily detrimental to society, she informs the audience on how it affects them. Even though the majority of these offenses are minor and cause no legitimate threat, taxpayers spend 75 billion dollars a year on state and local correction costs (Milgram). This information has a dramatic effect on those listening because it is something that affects them directly, and entices them to become more passionate about the

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