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Smoot 1
Ash Smoot
Professor Dickinson
English 112
8, September 2022
“The Problem with Public Shaming” Analysis
Public shaming has been around for centuries, in more torturous ways than is seen today.
Although, this torturous form of public shaming is not used today, there are still other ways
society participates in the public humiliation of others. In Cole Stryker’s short story, “The
Problem with Public Shaming,” he goes more in depth about why public shaming is still being
utilized today. Stryker shows how public shaming can be harmful to both parties involved, the
one shaming and the one being shamed. In “The Problem with Public Shaming,” Stryker uses a
fearful tone, logical appeal, and ethos of public shaming to show the harm and divert people
from public shaming/ doxing.
Stryker uses a fearful tone and examples of doxing to show that doxing and public
shaming is harmful. He first describes doxing as “trolls” and “hacktivists” that terrorize tween
girls and disable government websites (Stryker 75). The use of the word “terrorize” strikes fear
into the average reader. The thought of someone being able to hack the government websites
makes people fearful of their own information being leaked. Stryker uses a real-life example of
Adria Richards tweeting a photo of two men who were making “sophomoric” jokes. Both the
men were fired, and Richards received a lot of backlash, including attacking her employer’s
website, she was then fired (Stryker 76). Stryker uses this example to show that even the “public
shamer” can also receive backlash and punishment. Stryker also writes “The faceless internet,
Smoot 2
with its shadowy cyber-bullies and infinite display of every social ill is scary. And when it
slithers its tentacles in a person’s life…” (Stryker 78). The fearful buzzwords like “faceless”,
“shadowy”, “slithers its tenacles” are a great way to make people think that the internet and the
people on it are scary. Using a fearful type of language can sound like fear mongering
(deliberately arousing public fear) and become less creditable, but Stryker uses logic to give the
conversation a more critical meaning.
Stryker uses the logical appeal to further his message. He states that shaming people
because they “deserve it” does not change them, according to human psychology. He compares
the public shaming of racists, sexists, or homophobes to the public shaming of pedophiles.
Shaming a pedophile does not lead them to reform, but rather gives them sneakier approaches
