The general message being sent by chemtrails theorists is one of suspicion and skepticism towards the official EPA, and military reports regarding the white lines left along the flight path of commercial and military aircraft known as contrails, a word derived from the words condensation trails; similarly the word chemtrails is derived from chemical trails. Versions of the chemtrails theory abound; all of which can be placed into two categories: Various global powers, including the US government, run clandestine and harmful chemical-spraying programs to mitigate global warming, or, more sinisterly, to weed out the old and sick with toxic substances. (Knickerbocker) Their message uses a number of rhetorical elements, as part of the larger…show more content… In Dunne’s piece the chemtrails conspiracy theorists points to the sky and asks “see how the sky is steely color?” Rather than providing answers the chemtrails conspiracy theorist asks a question that tries to use the fallacy of appealing to ignorance. There is no way for someone to step outside and determine that the sky is more “steely” than any it ought to be. The act of questioning is not in itself wrong. This is how investigations begin. However, the scientific evidence that is available at the moment of question is not enough to deny the premise that is implied by it, so in the absence of information the denier is not able to make a claim otherwise. Asking questions is, therefore, an effective means of turning the discussion away from the competing facts and toward a space where the chemtrails conspiracy theorist is able to use pathos to denounce the denier as short-sighted for not seeing what is obvious to them. In addition the use of questions is a way to use errant and irrelevant data to control stasis. What color is the sky? Does the government’s official report explain the color? Why is the sky that color? Thus, allowing them to offer there own answers as a better explanation than the official report and diverting the audience’s own questions about the missing data in the…show more content… Similarly, It is important to bear in mind that all conspiracy theories persist for the same reason. Considering that the chemtrails conspiracy has a devout and growing following despite that week science and logic says a lot about conspiracy theory in general. Common characterizations of the out-group, cherry-picking of facts, and the use of rhetorical tropes, is what makes all conspiracy theorists alike. They persist on the basis of the interpretation of information gathered after the fact that, by its nature, is it difficult to dispute, and in some cases, such as eyewitness accounts sounds and smells during the 9/11 attack, indisputable. Additionally, the importance of maintaining identity results in an attitude among conspiracy theorists that will not allow compromise or concession, so, rather than admit that an error in judgement was made, arguments are modified, restated, or abandoned so as to appear as though their discourse is able to withstand all scrutiny. Therefore, when confronted with conspiracy theories that are backed by solid ethos and logos, say for instance the 7/7 Conspiracy theory about the British government’s involvement in the fabrication of a report claiming that a terrorist attack in the London Underground had occurred, so
