Re:How the Patriot Act affects my small business and makes m...
by Unseelie on Wednesday June 01, 2011 @04:07PM
(#2609081)
Wait. It could affect his kids. His civil liberties are at risk, and this involves a fear that he, who supports his children, could get in trouble: putting the dependents at risk.
Furthermore, in more than one sense, Bin Laden has won a victory here. He's inflamed Americans against middle easterners, his goal, and he's gotten lucky enough to have government protocols that protract the inflammation.
It isn't fair to call what can be a writer's honest feelings emotional appeals. They may be appeals to emotion, but you're trying to claim that the author was somehow dishonest in your context.
Re:How the Patriot Act affects my small business and makes m...
by lukifer on Wednesday June 01, 2011 @04:11PM
(#2609103)
People use emotional appeals because they work. What's worse, those who oppose your ideas are frequently using emotional appeals of their own, creating a sort of communications arms race, where you have employ a little fiery rhetoric or a few logical fallacies just to get anyone to listen to you at all.
Granted, this is the internet, and we can theoretically hold each other to a higher standard of discourse. Just wanted to play a little devil's advocate.
Lines like "it makes me racist" or "it could even affect your kids" or "Osama Bin Laden won after all" do nothing for intelligent discourse of the issue. The author could have easily made the same points without using such counterproductive emotional appeals.