"30 to 50 feral hogs" describes a type of rhetoric where an overtly minimal point is used to counter an extremely strong and ethical position. The origin is found with an instance on the social media site Twitter where an argument was made to limit access to high-powered assault weapons so to reduce the possibilities of mass shootings in the U.S., and therefore save human lives. A counter-argument was presented with a scenario where an individual's rural property was invaded with "30 to 50 feral hogs" while his children were outside playing in the yard. The weak opposing position was that the individual required access to an assault weapon in order to effectively dispatch the feral hog threat and protect his children. Given the many other ways to alleviate a situation where a herd of animals are encroaching on a developed property (fence, sticks, lower-powered weapons), the general consensus is that the argument is laughably feeble.
"Sure, assault weapons kill lots of innocent people, but how do I kill the 30 to 50 feral hogs that run into my yard within 3-5 minutes while my small kids play?"
by Professor_Trek August 6, 2019