Prime Example

Yesterday, I was teaching my students about persuasive speaking. I introduced them to different fallacies or rhetorical ploys that actually weaken one's argument. Some examples are stereotyping, ad hominem (personal attacks), scare tactics, guilt by association, etc. The studnts could easily see why these examples were problematic and should not be used in good persuasive speaking. Then I proceeded to explain the bandwagon effect: "Everyone's doing it, so you should too!" They stared at me blankly as if to say, "What's wrong with that?!" I was completely blindsided because it took me the good portion of the classtime to get them to understand that just because the majority of people do something doesn't make it right. Thai culture dictates that people follow tradition and do their utmost to contribute to the group. Doing something because everyone else does it is probably the main way that things get done in this country. But it's a system that seems to work here and it's interesting to compare it to ouir culture which questions everything.