http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/stopthepresses/106715/john-mayer-breaks-down-in-tears-after-public-apology/
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I just read this update on the John Mayer controversy du jour and I think it totally relates to our audience analysis component in 301. I'd like to get your input on the situ, but I want us to stick to our agenda. So avoid emotional reactions and instead, step into your rhetorical critic lab coats, fellow scholars and check out the on-stage apology at the You Tube link above along with YahooNews's take on the incident, or review the TEXT of the interview (uh, that would be the words not the pictures).
So I'm not asking for your personal opinion of the artist or his choices here, what I'd like is your take on where he went wrong analyzing his audience. What are the assumptions he seems to keep making about his "audience" that prove to be inaccurate? (He's got a long rep with "off the record tweets" and too much sharing about previous relationships. Elle Decor Magazine has an atricle on line about his Manhatten Apartment, and despite his lack of discretion, I have to say he's got a sweet pad. Anyhoo, I digressed...)
Assuming he had decent intentions, give John some "compassionate" feedback here, like we do for each other: Give him feedback on one thing he's done well to analyze and respond to his audience during and/or since the interview and then point out one "opportunity" he needs to keep working on (ie: why did he think they'd percieve his use of the racial epitaph as acceptable? What did he mean, "trying to intellectualize the N-word?"
