Can I Buy You a Coffee: Argument Exercise

ACTIVITY 1

1.  What is the author’s argument?

That men don’t really understand how women feel about being consistently hit on, chatted up, annoyed, or otherwise harassed by guys who have some sort of hidden (or not so hidden) agenda. He tries to flip the situation, positioning pretty girls who want to talk to him about Jesus or convert his religious beliefs as the “sleazy guy” character, and himself as the innocent, minding-his-own-business female.

2.   What is the author’s purpose or occasion for writing? In other words, how does the author try to convince you that what he says is timely and relevant?

His ultimate goal, really, is to explain the situation, from a female’s point of view, in a way that other guys can understand. He believes that, since men are rarely hit on, they feel complimented or flattered when something like this happens to them. They them project that belief onto the women they hit on, but the situation isn’t the same because women have to deal with the same kind of behavior so much that it quickly becomes annoying, disruptive, or downright threatening.

3.   Who would you suspect is the author’s intended audience? What details help you infer?

The comments section ultimately gives it away, since it’s largely filled with men who are viewing his words as some sort of revelation. “This should be mandatory reading for men, salespeople, and proselytizers!” one reader exclaims. He’s aiming for all the guys in every bar and coffee shop that walk up to girls, feeling like God’s gift to the Earth, and try to women them with bad pick-up lines or watered-down drinks.

4.  What persuasive techniques does the author use to get his main points across? In other words, how does he deploy his argument?

He builds what is, essentially, an extended metaphor with the coffee/Jesus freak scenario, and then translates it into the same situation that pretty girls find themselves in every time they’re out in public. More often than not, people just want to be alone, and by creating a situation that men would find exceedingly irritating (because almost no guy wants to be chatted up by a girl who only wants to convert him to her religion), he is able to issue a wake-up call.

5.   Explain why you find this argument to be effective or ineffective:

I think it is effective, for all of the reasons I have outlined above. The metaphor, the characters, the entertaining narrative that really delves into the thoughts of the main character: it all exists to further his explanation of why girls don’t want to be hit on in bars.

ACTIVITY 2

The Stases

Fact & Definition – What is the issue? How is it defined?

The issue is men's disrespect of women and their personal space or their right to say "no." He defines this issue through the active use of analogy, building his short story, and then revealing it as a made-up parable by which men can come to understand how obnoxious or offensive their behavior is.

Cause & Conseequence – What caused it?/ What consequences does it have?

The ferrett points to the difference in frequency, between men and women, of events like these as the cause. He thinks that since men are not often hit on or catcalled, they don't really understand why women are bothered by such behavior. The consequence, then, is that they either continue to engage in such behavior or actually increase it, since they personally like how similar actions make them feel.

Value -  Is it good/bad? Just/unjust? Fair/Unfair? Right/wrong? Etc. etc.

Part of his justification is that "too much of a good thing" turns bad (referring to compliments, offers to buy one another drinks, etc.), and that women view such events in a negative light as a result. He also thinks men are in the wrong by constantly harassing women: since they don't understand why their behavior is harassment, they gradually move in more harmful activities. And all of this is unfair, since women have to deal with it on a day to day basis and men rarely do.

Action – What should be done about it?

Men should consider the female point of view and just back off. Buying someone a coffee and getting to know them isn't bad, but harassing someone as an attempt to get laid is. There is a very obvious line between the too (if you're looking for it), and the author argues that men should be more conscious of where that line is and more respectful to women as a general rule.

Jurisdiction – Who has the authority to do something about it?

All men can do their part if they consider how they would feel if the tables were turned and if it were them being bombarded by unwelcome intrusions and threatening behaviors.