Hw March 2nd

1. Give a definition of the following terms using her article:
Demagoguery - "a polarizing propaganda that motivates members of an in-group to hate and scapegoat members of an out-group largely by promising certainty, stability, and what Erich Fromm famously called an 'escape from freedom'"
Scapegoating - putting blame onto a group of people or members of a group, for a problem that one cannot justify otherwise "denial through projection"
Polarization -"those who aren't with us are against us", creates a world divided 
Simple Solutions - 
Victimization - to make one a victim, purposely and intentionally making one a victim of a certain action/cause
In-group/Out-group Thinking - "like us" whether negative or positively conveyed this mindset can contribute to racism and stereotyping 

2. According to RM, why is persuasion that relies on strategies like scapegoating, polarization, etc. a problem?
Strategies such as scapegoating and polarization put forth the underlying ideas of both racism and stereotyping. According to RM this is a major problem bc through those two particular strategies, more problems are likely to arise. Therefore, there really is no solution to the original issue that is supposed to be being dealt with.

3. Pick one fallacy described by RM, and explain why she thinks this fallacy violates "standards of good public discourse"?
Standards of good public discourse is associated with an ideal society. RM discusses many fallacies that can contribute to a misinterpretation of these ideas of "standards of public discourse".

4. Describe how/to what extent an element in LaPierre's text conforms to one characteristic of demagogic discourse.
LaPierre's text definitely conforms to the fallacy of polarization. Despite his efforts to reach out to all members of the audience in his article he just makes a clear division of what should be done and what isn't being done. He separates the readers into doers and non-doers. 

5. Describe how/to what extent an element of LaPierre's text resembles one of the fallacies described by RM.
LaPierre's text resembles more of the polarization fallacy than any other brought up in RM's article.