Week 7 Post 2

When CNN was first covering the Black Lives Matter protests, they brought out primarily white commentators to talk about issues those commentators had little experience with. The commentators, of course, ended up putting their feet in their mouths repeatedly and proved why it is important that people why have agency on issues speak on them while people who don't have agency listen. It is acceptable for an individual to talk about issues they don't have agency with however, every effort should be made to signal boost the voices of people who are impacted by the issues being talked about. If a speaker absolutely can not get the perspectives of those impacted by the issue they're discussing, and can't avoid discussing the issue, they should try to highlight the human impact of the situation while still remaining objective. The most common mistake that is made when it comes to agency is forgetting that there are real people who are really impacted by the issues that are discussed in speeches. That can cause speakers to be callous when discussing things that really harm other people. Giving speeches primarily when the speaker has the agency to give them reduces the chance of the speaker forgetting the human aspect and making those mistakes. 
Agency ties into speech being a skill rather than a talent because people who make mistakes with agency in speeches often feel bad and grow from the mistakes they make. Due to the capacity for growth and the fact that respect of agency must be taught to new speakers, it should be classified as a skill rather than a talent. People are also less likely to try and improve their respect of agency if they aren't demonized for getting something wrong one time and are given the opportunity to get better. 

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