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What Fallacy is this?

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nzlockie
By nzlockie | Mar 25 2018 3:07 PM
I think it might be an "Appeal to Extremes" Fallacy, but I'm not sure.

It's when someone compares an extreme example of one side to a mild example of the other side. For example:
(On Religion) "Christians generate millions in aid every year while Muslims want to blow up America!"

Is there a specific fallacy that covers this kind of thing, or is it just Appeal to Extremes?
Mharman
By Mharman | Mar 26 2018 12:25 PM
nzlockie: Depends. If comparing Islam and Christianity, than yes, it is Appeal to Extremes. If you're only debating about one of these religions and not the other, than I would say it's a red herring.
With Liberty and Justice for all!
nzlockie
By nzlockie | Mar 26 2018 2:10 PM
Mharman: Thanks. No I'm specifically talking about instances where one side of the debate is compared to the other side of the debate.

Another example would be:
(On Sales tax being removed from "essential" foods) "I can buy a Hamburger from McDonalds for $1, but a stick of Butter is $10!"

In this instance the person speaking is trying to make the case that "essential" foods are crazy expensive, while junk food is crazy cheap. They illustrated this by choosing to compare a cheap nasty burger with the most expensive boutique butter they can find.
It's a cheat because if they averaged out the prices on multiple items from both sides of the argument the difference would be much closer.
But using these two extremes makes their point seem that much more valid.
admin
By admin | Jan 6 2019 11:45 AM
nzlockie: Yeah, it sounds like an appeal to extremes with a comparison. Which also makes it an unfair comparison.
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KickTheCan
By KickTheCan | Mar 14 2019 12:06 PM
Feels like extreme persuasive techniques that some deploy in order to push some kind of constipated world view on whatever they believe. Other examples might be.... All police are violent... Or, all teachers are useless.