Logical Fallacies: The Black Lives Matter Movement

Words: 840
Pages: 4

Logical fallacies are sentence structures used to persuade or emphasize a point in an argument. All the same, not all logical fallacies relay true information. Fallacies come in many shapes and forms and are used by all types of media and personnels to try and persuade an audience to agree with their opinion. One of these fallacies include a false dilemma. By definition, false dilemmas are “...when only two choices are presented yet more exist, or a spectrum of possible choices exists between two extremes” (False Dilemma). They are categorized as a sort of this-or-that language using either/or logic. A logical example of this would be stating that either A or Z is true, not considering the rest of the alphabet. False dilemmas are discretely …show more content…
One major social example of a false dilemma fallacy would be the Black Lives Matter Movement. This movement is one that was built off of many years of African American silence. Now, in the modern world, African Americans have come to the realize that they are important and should use their voice to help others realize the impact they can bring into the world. However, with this movement comes those that oppose the BLM Movement, calling themselves the All Lives Matter Movement. This group was created for the purpose of showing that not only are black lives heckled by injustice, but all lives are. Many people think that by saying Black Lives Matter, all the other lives don’t matter which is a perfect example of a false dilemma. The false dilemma is used in this type of situation by turning the complex issue of inequality and injustice towards the African American race into something as simple as Black Lives vs. All …show more content…
In this example, it is used to inform the world of their current situation and reassure the Americans that war against terrorism is the only right thing to do. When 9/11 happened, it devastated the American spirit. People were questioning whether America was secure enough to still be called the land of the free and the home of the brave. They never thought their country would fall under attack without anyone knowing ahead of time of the pursuit. After the attack happened, the then current president George W. Bush launched his anti-terrorism campaign and spoke of the reason behind the campaign. During his speech he stated, “Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists”(Bush). George W. Bush managed to fit a major issue into only one phrase by simplifying the bigger picture. He was able to say that those that aren’t for war against the terrorists are supporting terrorists. He did not, however, consider the fact that war might not be the best strategy in taking the terrorists down and could possibly contributes to more issues with the terrorists in the future. He wanted to make it a fact that not wanting war against the terrorists was simply