The world as we know it is an extremely diverse place, and the human race is one of its many unique characteristics. The population of humanity presents a wide variety of religions, races, orientations. Considering how unique the planet around us is, it is in our nature to be different from each other. Many of us are taught to embrace these colorful traits, no matter what form they come in, from an early age. Acceptance is integral to maintaining peace-based livelihoods, especially in a nation like the United States; a nation built on diversity. However, acceptance in this country is not as widespread as one might expect. With the age of technology, hate speech is on the rise. As hate speech grows and becomes more mainstream, it is more important now than ever for everyone to learn what hate speech is and how to identify it in everyday life, to prevent this nation from becoming a cesspool of hate, too dangerous for those it targets to reside there. While many might argue that words are just words, hate speech can destroy the sense of safety of those it targets and lead to senseless violence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Anyone can be the target of hate speech, but there are those who are more vulnerable than others due to a social environment that has created an unequal distribution of power among its citizens. To protect those who are the targets of hate speech attacks, most commonly those in the LGBT+ community, people of color, and those who practice a religion outside of Christianity, the American people must actively recognize and crack down on statements and actions unfounded. To do this, we must be able to analyze and debunk the logical fallacies used by their authors to spread hateful ideology before they can lead to widespread ignorance. A common way that those with hateful ideas and intentions recruit others into their way of thinking is with a fallacy we call bandwagon appeal. Bandwagon appeal is the argument that since everyone already participates in or follows an ideal, you too should follow suit. Brian S. Brown and his colleagues have used this fallacy to justify and spread their anti-trans ideology. In New York, a free speech bus with transphobic messages such as “girls have vaginas, boys have penises, don't be fooled” was parked in many areas of the city. This bus and its supporters aim to deny and erase the identity of transgender individuals by claiming that their orientation is a lie made up because they fail to love themselves. “It's biology, not bigotry,” says Brian S. Brown, “Men and women were created equally, each assigned a fixed, immutable, complementary gender. Rather than perpetuating the lie that gender can be changed based on emotions and feelings, we should encourage people to embrace and live what they were created to do.” Brown and his group are spreading their hatred and ignorance under the guise of self-love, saying that if those who identify as trans could learn to love themselves based on the gender assigned to them at birth, like his group and much of society, would. realize that their identities are “false” (Wanshel). Brown and his group are a classic example of “I don't feel this, so no one does.” Denyingthe existence of trans identities, Brown and his group are directly harming the transgender and non-binary community by discouraging acceptance of the personal experiences of millions of people. Denial of one's entire identity can in turn lead to violence towards the transgender and non-binary community when those who are even less tolerant take their transphobic teachings to another level. You cannot teach self-love if you are not willing to embrace the differences that come with being human. Another extremely common logical fallacy used to spread unfounded beliefs is scare tactics. Scare tactics rely on deception to inspire fear of something or someone in those who have not been properly educated in a particular subject. There is no reason or evidence behind these claims, only prejudice. This error was used by Mark Feigin when he made a supposed call to a mosque in his area. During the phone call he allegedly threatened to kill all the Muslims who attended the mosque, for the sole reason that they followed the Muslim faith. Feigin is already known for saying he believes Muslims are "dangerous savages and that their religion is inherently violent." When asked about his views, he said, “The more savage Muslims we allow into America, the more terror we will see.” This statement is clearly intended to instill fear in those who follow the Muslim faith, from a generalization Feigin made about the Muslim community and its faith. He even went so far as to say that the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks were deserved by the French people for their “lack of security and for allowing so many immigrants into the country” (Glover). Like all scare tactics, Feigin has no basis for his claims. He has often used previous terrorist attacks committed by Muslim individuals to justify his claims, failing to recognize that the crimes are committed by people of all races and religions. Stating that one group is more violent than others due to some individuals following the same faith as them is a blanket statement, which will do more harm than good. The last logical fallacy that will be covered here, although not the last of all fallacies, are the faulty analogies that lead to the Charlottesville proof. The previous two examples with the "free speech bus" and Feigin's hateful views towards Muslims are examples of hate speech that has remained in the form of propaganda. With these, one could argue that words are just words, as these individuals did not physically harm those their hate speech targeted. Words are just words. But with the events that occurred in Charlottesville, we are forced to see the consequences of hate, and that hate speech is not just another case of "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me bad." In the late summer of 2017, a protest against the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from Emancipation Park took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. The proposal to remove this statue from the park angered many who belonged to white nationalist, neo-Confederate, and neo-Nazi groups. When these groups organized to protest the removal, their protests included chants such as “Hail Victory,” an English translation of “Sieg heil,” previously used to honor Adolf Hitler, and “Fuck you, faggots.” Statements like these encourage violence against both the Jewish and LGBT+ communities, but these were not the only targets of their hatred. Many protesters chanted slogans following the idea.