Appeal to the sympathy of the public and they will feel that your opponent has committed a crime against something they hold very dear. Make your enemy look immoral and unethical in other people's eyes and they will stone him to death. You will not have to throw a rock even.
It sounds cruel and strange and dreadful. Yet, it happens everywhere around us, often without us knowing it. Sometimes, we're the public, we're throwing the stones, judges in a subjective courtroom. Sometimes, we're the ones pointing the finger.
There is no conclusion to this. There never is.
Once again, you are spot on with your observation of how malleable the collective consciousness of society is. I am tempted to enquire what prompted this post today?
ReplyDeleteIt was another Star Trek episode :D But it covered other delicate aspects of justice and trust.
ReplyDeleteThe main idea comes from a film called "Thank you for smoking", in which the main actor is a lobbyist for the tobacco corporation. It might seem like he's fighting a lost cause, but, using this little trick, he often gets on top of arguments.
Amazing how much Star Trek brings up commentary about society in general...especially the TNG series, I found.
ReplyDelete"Thank you for smoking" was a very strange movie indeed!