It might be hard to believe that a group of hippies putting flowers into loaded rifles appeals to logos in any way but if you look into the picture more and see what was all about it becomes more apparent. The hippie idea of "Flower Power" began in response to Hell Angels violent pro-war demonstrations. The photo shows exactly how a war should be protested, and that's by using peace. The hippies were protesting the war in vietnam just like many other groups at the time; however, most groups were protesting with riots and other sorts of violence. But what sense does it make to protest violence in vietnam with violence in america? It doesn't, and the hippie movement realized this and embraced it. That's exactly what this photo shows. The hippies along with any other antiwar protesters want peace all around the world so no other way to protest vietnam would make sense other than a peaceful protest. And much like it says in the song Aquarius let the sun shine in, harmony, understanding, sympathy, and trust should fill the universe.
-Sean Duffy
I love how you pointed out that many people attempt to protest violence through more violence. A simple definition of logos is an appeal to logic and this never end chain of violence obviously makes no sense. I'm not necessarily a person who would protest by putting flowers in guns however, the captured image of these protesters is beautiful. This notion of fighting a war with peace is an oxymoron in a sense. However, in this case that was the most effective form of protest.
ReplyDelete-Ashley McNeill
The song and the picture complement one another. But in my view they are nothing but appeals to love of goodness- purely emotional!
ReplyDeleteSpell out the connection between non-violent protest to war and the legendary flower power photo . I never made the connection between the intention of those protestors being anything other then a visual display of "make love not war".
Was this photo a one time event? What was the importance of it at that time?
Also, Can you spell out how a visual display of something that connects to a very logical and grounded argument makes it a logical argument itself. I'm not convinced this photo is an appeal to logos. This photo makes people feel love. The black panther cathcphrase' "No vietnamese ever called me Nigger" is emotionally f---ing powerful. But it's also an appeal to logos: it differs from the flower power picture in that it is the clear voice of an agenda that convinces people through reasoning.
I admire that you recognize non-violence as a valid method to protest violence, thus acknowledging the logical appeal of the hippies. Because, let's be honest, you can't fight fire with fire, and violence with more violence. It is only by protesting peacefully that people have the most impact on issues of wars and conflict. I also appreciate your insight into the pro-war demonstrations which sparked the hippies' movement of flower power, as I didn't know that before. Maybe part of the logos of the picture is the simple gesture of the hippies using flowers to block the rifles, demonstrating that from their perspective, world tensions and conflicts can be solved simply if we all just accept each other. However, we know that their simple solution won't completely work since some people will just always be violent.
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