ction of a problem where there was not one, instead exploiting the emotional appeal of victim-impact experience and in effect demonizing persons (the drunk drivers) rather than structures of embedded social injustice as being responsible for foisting tragedy upon innocent others (Reinarman, 1988). The emotional appeal aspect of the MADD campaign can be seen in the person of the telegenic Lightner, who achieved a high public profile over the course of the 1980s and was at the center of numerous press conferences. She is described in that regard as a "moral entrepreneur" (Reinarman). Critics hostile to MADD's programs and practices characterized the organization as socially and poltically retrograde and linked its initial phase of growth to the fact that much the same ethos prevailed in the exactly contemporaneous Reagan (Just Say No) White House. That was perceived as consistent with a culture of victimization (by demonized drunks), as well as an ethos of retribution against the victimizers. The emotional appeal for sympathy for the victims of drunk drivers could not be sanctioned in analysis that was not also hostile to an ethos of social control.
Criticism did not prevent MADD from growing in reach and influence. In 2000, the organization formally changed its stated mission, which was confined to stopping drunk driving and helping victims of violent crime. The added mission language committed MADD to preventing underage drinking as well (Lord, 2000).
The critique from the standpoint of a theory of the power of emotional appeal, while helpful in providing an evaluative perspective for explaining the social and political biases of the organization's leadership and the morality that informs its ethos, is partial rather than comprehensive. One proof of that is that analysis--even exposure--of MADD's political biases and social prejudices has not had the effect of suppressing its activities. Indeed, MADD has become very much a permane...