Chapter 20
The Red Herring
The Red Herring Gambit is a further twist on the Decoy Gambit. With the Decoy, the other person raises a phony issue to get concessions on a real issue. With the Red Herring, the other person makes a phony demand that he will withdraw, but only in exchange for a concession. If the Red Herring distracts you, it’ll deceive you into thinking that it’s of major concern to the other side when it may not be. Red Herring is an English fox-hunting expression. England has many vocal animal-rights activists, and their prime target has been fox hunting, a sport Oscar Wilde called “the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable.”
Herrings that have been dried and salted turn dark red, like smoked salmon. The English call such red ...
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