January Week 3 Language Analysis
Don't blame me, blame Julia Gillard
Andrew Bolt’s opinion article “Don’t blame me, blame Julia Gillard” featured in the Herald Sun centres on the ongoing issue of ‘boat people’ illegally making the crossing into Australia, and the current government’s policy “reforms”. He presents a scathing attack on the Gillard Government; pointing out it’s failure in deterring asylum seekers from embarking on the dangerous journey and the policy’s link to the recent Christmas Island drowning tragedy. Bolt takes an extremely accusatory and condemning stance from the onset, as seen from the title “...blame Julia Gillard”, to position readers into sharing his opinion.
From the beginning, Bolt aims to position the audience by appealing to their sense of empathy and pinning down the severity of the issue. He asks readers a series of rhetorical questions, “But why?”, “When?” and “Before the next boat sinks, or after?” in order to make them think and plant a seed of doubt in their minds. These questions directly address the crux of Bolt's argument: that it's not too early to debate the lax policy and action should be taken immediately. Through presenting mortality figures and phrases like “lured to their deaths” and “recklessly”, Bolt makes it clear that he thinks the Government’s lenient asylum seeker policy has a direct correlation to the recent tragedy, and similar prior drownings.
Bolt's heavy use of figurative language intends to sway opinions through emotions. Powerful visual imagery of "blowing up their boats" and "smashed into the rocks" paint frightening pictures in the reader's mind. Together, with the accompanying image, an element of reality is added; the image leads readers to draw links with the visuals they have almost certainly, previously seen on television. Audiences realise the immense dangers refuges face on the crossing to Australia. It also puts into perspective the lengths the ‘boat people’ will go to to reach a better place: Australia. By displaying the treacherous conditions, Bolt emphasises how “sugar”-filled and “encouraging” the Gillard policy obviously is to tempt them to risk their lives and become “lured to their deaths”.
Through use of inclusive and exclusive language, Bolt attempts to build a ‘them and us’ mentality. Repetitions of “they lie” and the “Left” segregate the two parties and encourage readers to become objective and disdainful to the opposing side, which is depicted as being completely wrong. On the other hand, “we’re told” and frequent use of “you” and “I” prompt readers to feel that they are part of the action and that Bolt is not to blame in this issue. Bolt's tactic to coerce readers onto his side is extremely blatant in, “It is not too soon for the Left to blame every single one of us”, where he appeals to their sense of injustice at being unfairly and unreasonably faulted for the tragedy. His use of the first person, “I’ve recorded those deaths”, suggest that he is sympathetic and concerned about the issue; it also suggests that his opinion is legitimate and not to be condemned.
Bolt’s tone is primarily rational, although sometimes sardonic and aggressive. He presents his arguments in a logical fashion; chronologically detailing previous asylum seeker tragedies. With each example, Bolt utilises various repetitions of "too soon" to evoke feelings impatience and anger from his audience. Coupled with words like "disgraceful" and "harvest of bodies", Bolt instills a sense of urgency that the current policy is inadequate in every way and should be changed. On a larger scale, Bolt not only criticises the current government’s asylum seeker policy, but also criticises the Gillard government as a whole. His personal attacks on Gillard are contemptuous, describing her laws as “weak” and infer action from his audience, the voting population of Australia.
Bolt's opinion article strives to persuade readers to share his belief that the lax asylum seeker policy of the Gillard Government is inadequate in dealing with the controversial issue of 'boat people'. Through use of inclusive and exclusive language, repetition and statistical evidence, Bolt's argument is a passionate one, designed to appeal to the audience's sense of common decency, morality and conscience.
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