The world as we know it is an extremely diverse place, with the human race being one of its many unique characteristics. The human population presents a wide variety of religions, races and orientations. Given the uniqueness of the planet around us, it is our nature to be different from each other. Many of us learn to embrace these colorful traits, whatever form they appear in, from a young age. Acceptance is integral to maintaining peace-based livelihoods, especially in a country like the United States; a nation built on diversity. However, acceptance is not as widespread in this country as one might hope. In the age of technology, hate speech is on the rise. As hate speech grows and becomes more common, it is more important than ever that everyone knows what hate speech is and how to identify it in everyday life, lest this nation become a cesspool of hatred, too dangerous for those it targets to reside there. Although many may claim that words are just words, hate speech can destroy the sense of security of those it targets and lead to senseless violence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Anyone can be a target of hate speech, but some are more vulnerable to it than others due to an environment social which has created an unequal distribution of power among its citizens. To protect those who are the targets of hate speech, most commonly those who are LGBT+, people of color, and those who practice religions other than Christianity, the American people must actively recognize and stop the statements and actions unfounded. To do this, we must be able to dissect and debunk the logical fallacies used by their authors to propagate hateful ideology before they can cause widespread ignorance. A common way for those with hateful ideas and intentions to recruit others into their way of thinking is with a fallacy we call trend appeal. Bandwagon appeal is the argument that since everyone is already participating or following an ideal, then you should also follow suit. Brian S. Brown and his colleagues used this error 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, make no mistake" has been parked in many areas of the city. This bus and its supporters aim to deny and erase the identities of transgender people by claiming that their orientation is a lie they made up because they cannot love themselves. “It’s biology, not intolerance,” says Brian S. Brown. “Men and women were created equally, each with a fixed, unchanging and complementary gender. Rather than perpetuating the lie that gender can be changed based on emotions and feelings, we should encourage people to accept and live what they were made to live. Brown and his group spread their hatred and ignorance under the guise of self-love, claiming that if those who identify as trans could learn to love themselves according to the sex they were assigned at birth, like his group and a large part of society, they would. realize that their identities are “fake” (Wanshel). Brown and his band are a classic example of "I don't livenot that, so no one does it.” By denying the 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 against 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 accept the differences that come with being human. Another extremely common logical fallacy used to propagate unfounded beliefs is scare tactics. Intimidation tactics rely on deception to instill 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 bias. This error was used by Mark Feigin when he allegedly called a mosque in his area. During this call, he allegedly threatened to kill all Muslims who attended the mosque, for no other reason than that they followed the Muslim faith. Feigin has previously said he believes Muslims are "dangerous savages and that their religion is inherently violent." Asked about his views, he said: “The more Muslim savages 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, based on 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 for their “lax security and for letting 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, without recognizing that crimes are committed by individuals of all races and religions. Stating that one group is more violent than others because of a few individuals who follow the same faith as them is a blanket statement that will do more harm than good. The last logical error that will be addressed here, although it is not the last of all, concerns the erroneous analogies which lead to the Charlottesville demonstration. The two previous examples with the “free speech bus” and Feigin's hateful view towards Muslims are examples of hate speech that has been maintained in the form of propaganda. With these, we can affirm that the words are just words, to the extent that these individuals did not physically harm those whom their hate speech targeted. Words are just words. But with the events that took place in Charlottesville, we are forced to see the consequences of hatred, and this hate speech is not just another case of "sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” In late summer 2017, a demonstration took place in Charlottesville, Virginia to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from Emancipation Park. The proposal to remove this statue from the park angered many people in white nationalist, neo-Confederate and neo-Nazi groups. When these groups organized to protest the withdrawal, their protests included chants such as "Hail Victory", an English translation of "Sieg heil", previously used to honor Adolf Hitler, and "Fuck you fags". Such statements encourage violence against Jewish and LGBT+ communities,.