Written Expression

a.k.a.: Attacking the Person A persuasion strategy in which the peddler attempts to defend her own position by pointing out the undesirable associations, personal characteristics, or motives of those who do not accept it. The impact of the suggestion that "only bad people disagree with me" is often supplemented with an "all good people agree with me", introducing an appeal to diffuse authority. The big (and overlooked) question is, what has their badness or your goodness got to do with the truth of your position? The big (and overlooked) answer typically is "Nothing."