Hey what’s up Thinkers! Kathy Gibbens here…
I thought I’d start off today by sharing a review that a listener recently left on Facebook. Shelley said, “I just listened to the entire thing (I’m pretty sure she’s just talking about one episode) - this is great! I’ve sent it to my 13 year old son. We are working through a critical thinking curriculum right now but this is great stuff he can listen to on his own. We’re doing Fallacy Detective after our current critical thinking class.” That’s so awesome! Thank you Shelley - I love hearing how my listeners are using the podcast in their homes with their teens! In fact, it’s been a while since I’ve asked this…if you haven’t left a review for the show, would you take about 30 seconds and do that real quick? It means the world to me and it helps other people find this podcast. Thank you!
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Alright, we are in episode 9 of the Propaganda Tactics miniseries and today we’re covering another tactic that uses language to create specific positive or negative feelings. Today’s tactic is called the Fault as Virtue tactic. Fault as Virtue is when someone presents a weakness as though it were a strength, by hyper focusing on any positive aspect of it.
Here’s a simple example of what it can sound like: Your classmate, Alex, is known for being very stubborn & hard to work with. He never changes his mind and always insists he is right, even when he might be wrong. Alex decides to run for student senate and talks his best friend, Alanna, into campaigning for him. Alanna tries to change Alex’s stubborn reputation by saying, "You know, Alex's stubbornness is actually a sign of strength. He never gives in to peer pressure, and he always stands up for what he believes in." You can see how Alanna is taking Alex's negative quality of being stubborn and trying to make it seem like a positive trait by saying it shows strength and independence. It's a way of making something that might be seen as a fault appear virtuous or admirable.
The problem behind this tactic is that it’s a purposeful attempt to downplay a real fault, and not just downplay it, but really get people’s attention off of it by making it seem like it’s actually a good thing, and even something to be applauded! It’s an attempt to control your perception of a character flaw or a wrong-doing. Now, it’s not to say that good things can’t come out of bad situations or that people can’t change. Of course they can. But this tactic is a purposeful attempt to deflect from character issues rather than take responsibility for them.
A real-life example of this was when former TX Representative Beto O'Rourke was in a political debate and was asked about the time that he was arrested in 1998 for Driving While Intoxicated. Beto claimed that because of this arrest, he is therefore better able to identify with and fight for criminal justice reform for minorities. So he turned that DWI around to make himself look like a better candidate now because he can relate with those who are unjustly targeted.
Question to ask yourself if you think someone is using the Fault as Virtue tactic is this: “Wait a minute, is that really a virtue?” *repeat*
Remember: When you learn HOW to think, you will no longer fall prey to those who are trying to tell you what THEY want you to think and it all starts with asking one simple question: “Is that really true?”
