rhetorical dissonance
when someone doesn't take the default politically correct rhetorical position of their own stance in discussing a political issue. It leads to a false perception of cognitive dissonance by their audience, when in fact the person is abandoning rhetoric and examining the issue without rhetorical bias. It leads to an ally of a cause to be seen as the enemy for not falling in line with automatically assumed rhetorical positions.
When Bob argued the following, "I am a full supporter of gender equality. However, the SCUM Manifesto doesn't help the feminist cause. Many feminists become just as bad as chauvinists, when their responses to sexism become just as polemic," he was seen as criticizing feminism, creating rhetorical dissonance. Another example is the following: "Gay rights are very important, and they should be equal. That being said, the APA has established that orientation changes over a lifetime. The reality is that some people can and do choose to be gay, not that there's anything wrong with that."
rhetorical dissonance by ideomotion October 21, 2010
