Countering on the Verge

Unlike the idea of forwarding, Joseph Harris’s chapter “Countering” depicts a formation of idea(s) that deviates from the author’s intended message for the text. Countering calls attention on a text’s weaknesses or “moments of blindness” as Harris calls it. Harris says. “Countering looks at other views and texts not as wrong but as partial - in the sense of being both interested and incomplete.” One can bring new ideas to a text by arguing the other side, uncovering values, and/or dissenting a thought.

The Verge published a blog post called “Naming Nemo: how The Weather Channel took storm names away from the government” that manifests Joseph Harris’s theory of “countering.” This blog post is written by Adrienne Jeffries and is located at this hyperlink: http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/8/3967874/naming-nemo-how-the-weather-channel-took-storm-names-away-from-the. The Weather Channel’s idea to name winter storms began in 2011. The Weather Channel network wrote, "Our goal is to better communicate the threat and the timing of the significant impacts that accompany these events… the fact is, a storm with a name is easier to follow, which will mean fewer surprises and more preparation." Although it offers a legitimate reason to name winter storms, the government refuses to accept these names and apply them towards records. While the government acknowledges the Weather Channel’s purpose for naming these winter storms, it counters the Weather Channel in its statement depicting the difficulty of  tracking when a storm begins or ends because the times at which a storm emerges is not clearly distinguished. This method of countering is considered dissenting because the government shows “that a certain consensus exists, and defines [its] position against it” (Harris, 64).