Technique: When
accused, berated or maligned, attack the messenger. It doesn't matter if
they are accurate or not, just attack. Attack their credibility. Attack
their character. Attack their ideology. Attack their sources. Attack their
associations. Just attack. If you take the bait and start debating the
veracity or even the necessity of the message content itself, you risk
all sorts of nasty, high probability outcomes. The idea is to avoid a confrontation
on an issue that you will most likely lose.
One Liner:
"Your character is highly suspect. How could anyone possibly believe the
nonsense that comes out of your mouth?"
Setup:
When bad news arrives there is rage, sorrow, frustration, you name it.
Since we are all human, we need an outlet for these stressful creations.
Being creatures of convenience, it is easiest to expunge our grief on whom
else but… the messenger.
Reasoning:
In addition, When it comes to getting your point across, beating the messenger
silly is also a splendid way to distract onlookers. This is a delightful
method for taking the attention off the nasty (and, of course, almost certainly
untrue) message being put forth by your opponent and placing it squarely
on the misgivings of this highly dubious messenger
Example one liners
and Tips:
-
"You served time as
a convicted felon. Who knows what lies you're capable of."
-
"Yeah right. This is
coming from a guy who reads his horoscope to see what to have for breakfast."
-
"Now did you come to
this conclusion before or after you were AWOL from the National Guard?"
Summary:
If the message is negative, attack the messenger.
Real-World Examples:
(The example is extreme, but it makes the point.) In 1999 James T. Hatfield
completed a critical biography of GW Bush accusing him of being convicted
in 1972 of Cocaine possession only to have the judge expunge the record
in exchange for political favors from George H. W. Bush. The book immediately
appeared on the NY Times best seller list and went to the #8 best seller
spot on Amazon.com within 72 hours of release. Instead of denying the accusations
and saying that it was false, Bush II enacted an intense smear campaign
against Hatfield, which eventually led to his financial destruction. James
T. Hatfield was found dead in a hotel room in July of 2001 (Vince Foster
style). In the end, the "attack the messenger" technique worked perfectly.
The author was completely destroyed and no one in the major media dare
bring up the subject anymore. (Note: the book is "Fortunate Son" by Softskull
Press)
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