Corina Kaiser

Prof. Jan Babcock

ENGL 137

October, 2017

Rhetorical Analysis

A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that about 37% of Americans believe

that immigrants are making America worse, and 41% of Americans find immigrants to be a

burden rather than a strength (U.S. Public 2015). Immigration is a very often discussed topic in

the United States and globally within recent news. Especially in the United States, there is often

talk about legislation being passed regarding immigration, plus protests and counter-protests

which repeatedly ensue. In order to take a stand against the negative connotation and

persecutions which immigrants have been experiencing recently, the Immanuel Mennonite

Church and CrimethInc have both created a sign and sticker, respectively, in order to show their

support of others from different countries and backgrounds. Although these artifacts utilize

opposing tones to convey their messages, they both portray a pro-immigrant view through the

use of kairotic timing, pathos, and structures of attention.

In 2017, the United States political climate has become more vitriolic than ever. The

divide between people with liberal and conservative ideals has been widened, especially since

the 2016 election, which was one of the most controversial in history. One of these subjects that

has caused much disagreement between those on opposite ends of the political spectrum is that

of immigration. Since Trump’s election, immigration policies have become a very strong point

of American politics, especially that of immigration from Mexico and the Middle East. As a

response to these policies, the neighbor sign was created to express the ideology that we should
not discriminate based on where people are from. The border sticker responds in a slightly

different manner by conveying the ideology that the Mexican border and its proponents are

destroying our country.

The utilization of different languages in both artifacts exemplifies their use of kairotic

timing. First, the neighbor sign is written in both Arabic and Spanish in addition to English. The

Arabic relates to those from the Middle East who have come under fire since Trump’s anti-

Islamic rhetoric, and the travel ban that he has put into place since beginning his presidency. This

sign also has its message written in Spanish, which is in support of those being persecuted due to

Trump’s constant anti-Mexico speech. It is more explicitly seen that the border sticker is pro-

Mexican immigrant, as it references the border which Trump always refers to through his “build

the wall” rhetoric. The fact that this sticker is also in Spanish shows further that it is to be

directed at Hispanic people, who are often under fire these days, because of comments that

Trump has made, such as, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists”

(qtd in Reilly 2016). It is important that these artifact support those who immigrate from the

Middle East and Latin America, as Americans tend to view immigrants from these countries

“mostly negatively” 39% and 37% of the time respectively, which is in contrast to the only 9%

negative view that Americans have of European immigrants (U.S. Public 2015).

These two artifacts also clearly utilize very different tones to appeal to different emotions

of their audience. When one sees the neighbor sign, it generates positive feelings. This is due to

the loving and empathetic tone provided by this sign. The way in which it proclaims openly to

everyone that the bearer or the sign is accepting of them, despite their place of origin, generates

emotions of love, friendliness, neighborliness, and happiness. These emotions cause positive

emotions towards immigrants by creating a feeling of community. In contrast, the border sticker
generates more negative emotions instead of loving ones. However, these emotions are not

harbored towards immigrants, but instead to the border and its controllers. CrimethInc achieves

this by expressing that the idea that the border “breeds resentment” and that those patrolling it

are “predators.” By communicating the idea that the border is, “tearing [the world] apart,” this

sticker creates feelings of fear, hatred, and anger towards this border and its proponents.

These opposing tones stem mainly from the civic infrastructure upon which these

artifacts were founded. The neighbor sign, which conveys the loving tone, was created by the

Immanuel Mennonite Church, whose motto is, “Real people following Jesus’s radical call to love

and service” (About). As stated on their website, this sign came from “their deep rooting in faith”

(About). It was created with the intention of spreading love to immigrants who have been

persecuted so often lately. On the other hand, the border sticker was created by an organization

named CrimethInc. CrimethInc defines itself as a “rebel alliance” and states on its website that it

subscribes to “anarchist values” (About CrimethInc). These values lead this artifact to be more

abrasive in its approach to expressing its viewpoint. Its stance is clearly pro-immigrant, but

instead of celebrating immigrants in the way that the neighbor sign does, the border sticker

bashes those who try to impose negativity upon immigrants: the border control.

Despite their conflicting tones, these artifacts are similar in their use of structures of

attention used to draw in their audience. For example, they can both can be characterized by their

bright colors which capture the audience. The neighbor sign specifically stated that it was

“designed to be visible during campaign sign season,” (About) as it was created during the heat

of the 2016 election. The Immanuel Mennonite Church also explicitly explains that the colors on

the sign- green, orange, and white- were “chosen to be bold and visible… not to to correspond to

any one nation’s flag or any political or religious organization or association, and have no
meaning other than being attractive and bold” (About). By saying this, they are demonstrating

that they truly want to draw in attention to their sign in order to spread the message. Similarly,

the border sticker is a bright electric blue color which catches the viewer’s eye as they are

walking past it. This sticker also features large letters stating “IMMIGRANTS WELCOME /

INMIGRANTES BIENVENIDXS” which draws the attention of anybody walking past, and

immediately states the ideology which this artifact is attempting to convey. The visuals of the

cutting of barbed wire present on the sticker also generate images of the actual border and the

hardships that immigrants go through when attempting to cross it, which further incites curiosity

in citizens who view the sticker.

Furthermore, the organizations both do as much as they can to spread their messages to

the largest audience as possible. First, the Immanuel Mennonite Church has partnered with many

other churches across the United States that are distributing their signs. They are also selling

their signs directly from their website, plus they offer a free download of the sign’s image so that

people can make their own signs for free. By offering these many ways for citizens to acquire

signs, it ensures that the spread of this message will be maximized. Since the medium of the

CrimethInc artifact is a sticker, it allows for versatile positioning in order to reach the maximum

number of citizens as possible. This unique medium allows for putting the message into many

public places, even if in a way that could be deemed graffiti, which is in line with the anarchist

ideals of the CrimethInc organization. As this organization states, these stickers are meant to

“educate, agitate, and transform the spaces around [the community]” (About CrimethInc). This

sticker is available in the same way as the neighbor sign is- either to be bought for a low price

and shipped to the citizen, or to be downloaded and printed for free. The fact that both

organizations have made their artifacts available for free shows that they truly do want them to
reach the most people as possible, and that they are truly invested in their cause, rather than

creating their items for the purpose of profit. By using these various structures of attention, both

the neighbor sign and border sticker draw in their audience with bold visuals, and reach their

furthest audience possible by expanding the ability to acquire and spread these artifacts as much

as possible.

In conclusion, these artifacts both call upon citizens to act civically and respect those who

come from different backgrounds and locations than them. This is done by both through their

relations to current events and the visual appeals they utilize. Although the neighbor sign’s tone

is aimed positively at immigrants and the border sticker’s tone is more negative towards the

border control, both artifacts conclude to the same mutual goal of spreading pro-immigrant

ideologies.
 Works Cited

"About." Welcome Your Neighbors, www.welcomeyourneighbors.org/about. Accessed 1 Oct.

2017.

"About CrimethInc." CrimethInc., crimethinc.com/about. Accessed 1 Oct. 2017.

Reilly, Katie. "Here Are All the Times Donald Trump Insulted Mexico." Time, 31 Aug. 2016,
time.com/
4473972/donald-trump-mexico-meeting-insult/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2017.

"U.S. Public Has Mixed Views of Immigrants and Immigration." Pew Research Center, 28 Sept.
2015, www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/28/chapter-4-u-s-public-has-mixed-views-of-immigrants-
and-immigration/.
Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.