Andrew L. Urban
The Straw Man Strategy is a well-known tool of deception (mostly but not exclusively political) akin to the archery cheat who sets up a fake bulls eye target, while the real target is hidden. It is currently in heavy use around the world; here are some key examples. Don’t be fooled.
In their response to the massacre of Jews on October 7, 2023, the Israelis were accused of genocide by the antisemitic mobs (and individuals) around the world. There was no evidence of that being true, but it justified its enemies to demonise Israel and the entire Jewish race at home and abroad.
In the violent riots in many American cities against ICE (like Minneappolis) in the aftermath of massive illegal migration under the Biden administration, members of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) are accused of Gestapo-like behaviour (“atrocities” per Governor Tim Walz), targeting innocent Americans, “driving unmarked cars in masks, dragging people off the streets into foreign torture dungeons”. There is no evidence that this is true, but it justifies the enemies of the Trump administration to claim righteous moral superiority as they attack the officers with sticks and stones, motor vehicles and frozen water bottles, screaming hate – against these Nazis.
In the aftermath of the Bondi beach massacre, insufficient gun laws were blamed. There was no evidence that was true, but it justified the Labor government to avoid targeting the actual cause, Islamic terrorism, with its risky electoral downsides in Muslim-heavy electorates.
In Iran, the crowds protesting against the Islamic Republic’s oppressive rulers were described as foreign terrorists by the Iranian Foreign Minister, in an exclusive interview on Fox News, to justify them being gunned down by the agents of the regime.
In the alarmist climate change scenario, fossil fuels, not natural variability, are blamed for ‘dangerous global warming’ (and sometimes for cooling) with scant scientific evidence. This justifies the twisting and torturing of energy policies to the detriment of the West. (And you thought it was hubristic ignorance from Chris Bowen!?)
