Persuasion in a Toxic Community: Rhetorical Aspects of Public Meetings

Abstract

Rarely do scholars or activists employ a rhetorical framework to help uncover and discover the persuasive aspects of public meetings. This paper examines meetings held in Pitman, New Jersey, site of the country's number one toxic waste dump. This analysis looks at three rhetorical aspects of the presentation of scientific information to the public: 1) the content of the public meetings; 2) the form of the meetings; and 3) what was excluded from these public meetings. By better understanding the rhetorical aspects of public meetings, we can help to prevent the democratic process from ignoring, quieting, or suppressing dissent.