The use of rhetoric has impacted society and has been utilized to persuade and motivate conversation for centuries. From oral tradition all the way to modern day media and the use of the internet, the idea of rhetoric has evolved and philosophized by many thinkers. The podcast, “The Fallout of a Callout” by Code Switch starring Hari Kondabolu and Hank Azaria, delves into the contentious issue surrounding the character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon from the very well-known animated series, The Simpsons. Kondabolu, an American with South Indian descent, is a standup comedian and writer who has centered his previous work on race, inequity, and Indian stereotypes (Kondabolu). Azaria is an American actor and comedian, well known for his roles in the Smurfs,…show more content… He says he did not voice the actor knowing that he was offending anyone; he had not thought about the way people would respond or even if he was doing anything wrong at all. He then delves into the repercussions he faced when Konadobolu first spoke out about the Apu controversy and Azaria did not engage in conversation with Konadobolu. He says, “Being on the other end of that really, really scared me, you know? And I -.like I said to you at the time, I didn't feel safe to have the - I don't know if I would have felt safe to have the conversation privately, let alone roll them, you know, we're going to record it ()”. He explained that he was nervous at first to discuss the issue, let alone formulate an opinion about it publicly. Azaria decided to inform himself by joining an organization called the Soul Focused Group where he attended seminars that discussed imbalances of power and privilege as well as issues around race. This idea of Azaria choosing to educate himself rather than just being “canceled”, having to forcefully change his point of view, or not even being able to formulate his own opinion directly relates to the key aspects of new
