Fallacious Arguments

Arrest everybody

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The fallacy is the invalid use of faulty reasoning with wrong motives in the making of an argument. A fallacious argument could deceptive as it may appear to be better than it really is. In the excerpt of Jacob Sullum, Arrest everybody, we are told the story of David and Jessica Rodriguez and how they are arrested just after accidentally diverting to a road which was closed. In this essay, I am going to discuss and expound on the fallacies present in the excerpt and the effect they give to the general understanding of the story.

The major fallacy in the excerpt is the fallacy of the slippery slope (Fowler&Christakis,2009) which Jacob Sullum bases his argument on slippery of events right from the start to where the Rodriguez family found themselves in. They got themselves taking the road route accidentally and which had been closed due to damages from the rain. They did not notice that the road had been closed until they bumped to the Maricopa County sheriff officer who questioned them on using the road without having to notice the road sign signaling the road closed.

They thereafter demanded documentation on immigration because Jessica and David Rodriguez were American citizens of Latino descent. The slippery slope was used intentionally by Jacob Sallum so as to raise the question of where one comes across the law reforms on immigration and how one would apply them.

The second fallacy is the fallacy of composition where Jacob Sullum addresses his argument on the assumption that the police officers on the road in Arizona will emulate Sheriff Joe and use the rule of law in all situations.

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Jacob Sullum quote sheriff Joe says that ” I hope Phoenix police would arrest every person although they are not certain.” He is able to make judgments that all the Arizona officers resemble Sheriff Joe and therefore require to capture all despite the rule. The fallacy of composition is employed to compel the reader to go further to the end of the story.

The last fallacy that Jacob wanted to convey his anatomical arguments is the fallacy of spotlight whereby Sullum points out stereotyping arguments. We are told that there were other people who passed through the same damaged road with the warning sign on but were not stopped and asked for documentation but were just warned and let go. David and Jessica were stopped just because they were Americans of Latino origin and the motorists who got away on the same road with just warnings were native Americans. The intention of incorporating the spotlight fallacy was to show how stereotyping and racism can grow roots in the public delivery of services to the citizens.

Therefore, Jacob Sullum used the fallacies deceitfully in the excerpt to put light to his arguments so the readers comprehend and get interested in reading the whole story.

References

Fowler, James H & Christakis, Nicholas A. The Power of Our Social Networks and How TheyShape Our Lives, 2009. Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 978-0316036146.

Jacob Sullum. Arrest Everybody: Arizona encourages police to emulate the toughest Sheriff inAmerica,201