I Have A WHAT?

By Wesley Holloway

Mikkelson, David. "I Have A What?" Snopes.com. Snopes. 17 January 2010. Web.

4 September 2010.

TYPE OF PICTURE: SCREENSHOT OF A TELEVISION SCREEN

Time? January 2007 Place? Corpus

Christi, Texas, Martin Luther King Day Event

Who? KIII-TV, a local news station in Corpus Christi

Why might this image have been put on television?

What effect might this image have had on coverage of the Martin Luther King Day event?

“It's obvious two signs were misspelled, bunches of others weren't. It's such a shame that the person who put it on the web didn't put the entire story, which showed members of the Black American community and others in Corpus Christi respectfully honoring the life and memory of an American hero, Martin Luther King.” - Richard Longoria, News Director at KIII-TV

Mikkelson, David. "I Have A What?" Snopes.com. Snopes. 17 January 2010. Web.

4 September 2010.

EthosWhile a licensed television station in Texas, KIII-TV, did this news story on a Martin Luther King Day Event, does the absurdity of the picture itself make the source less reputable?

Federal Communications Commission. “TV Query Results" FCC.gov. Federal Communications Commission. n.d. Web. 9 September 2010.

EthosNo, the news source is still reputable. While the station didn’t want to point these signs out, the picture was broadcast on television anyway. These people really did misspell dream.

Federal Communications Commission. “TV Query Results" FCC.gov. Federal Communications Commission. n.d. Web. 9 September 2010.

Does this image make you happy, sad, or is it just funny?

Pathos: Emotion

The image is unintentionally funny because the signs are misspelled. This is unexpected, as signs are expected to be spelled correctly.

Pathos: Emotion

Proportion MattersWhat if the signs were smaller than they were? Would the signs have the same effect?

Proportion MattersOf course the signs would not have the same effect if they were smaller. The signs are dominating and make a big statement because of this.

So What?The signs in the picture are representative of how

people in today’s world are not fulfilling Martin Luther King Junior’s dream. These people lacked so much common sense that they probably don’t even know the reasoning behind the ideals Dr. King espoused. Ignorance of history is reflected in people’s ignorance of other things too.

I Have A WHAT? More like I Have A WAHT.