Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene: Image and Kategoria, Apologia, Antapologia

Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene was elected as the U.S. Representative from Georgia in November, 2020; her term of office began on January 3, 2021. On that day, Democratic Representative Jahana Hayes denounced Greene for “espousing hateful rhetoric and conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of mass school shootings,” expressing this sentiment in a letter to the Republican leadership in the House which was posted on Twitter. Hayes argued that Greene should not be appointed to the House Committee on Education and Labor. The next day, Representative Greene responded with an apologia on the House floor. This defense in turn prompted Democratic Representative Steny Hoyer (Democrat from Maryland) to present a speech of antapologia the same day reinforcing Hayes’ kategoria against Greene. This essay analyzes these three image-related messages, an attack (kategoria), a defense (apologia), and a response to a defense (antapologia).