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Chase Thompson
Kristie Jacobs
Peter Blair
March 18th, 2016
Our Letter To You, Moore
Michael Moores style of critiquing easily draws the attention of readers from the
moment they look at it. His use of fallacies contradicts and challenges the topic he is throwing
darts at. One letter that proves this is one he wrote to Governor Snyder about the Flint crisis.
Michael Moore is hasty generalization, sarcastic, and filled with exaggeration.
Moore makes a harsh dagger at Governor Snyder claiming that he deserves to go to jail
for the crime. He states, But you did. Your staff and others knew that the water in the Flint River
was poison (Moore, Par 3). This hasty generalization proves nothing, how did he know
Snyder knew about it? He fails to mention that evidence which makes me question it. He also
forgets to mention that Snyder called a state of emergency when hearing about it. Like any
real criminal, when you were confronted with the truth . . .you denied what you did. (Moore,
Par 6). He claims he denied it but in an interview with CNN, Snyder addressed the issue. He said
they were cooperating and wanted the facts to be out there. He claimed to hear about it back in
October and immediately took action. Snyder claimed that he released the emails showing what
he knew and when he knew. And who will be cheering on that day when you are fitted with
a bright orange jumpsuit? (Moore, Par 11). Michael Moore uses the hasty generalization to
trash Snyder but fails to mention everything that Snyder did and was told by outsiders. Moore
continues to claim that Snyder neglected the city and in the interview Snyder says, "A lot of very
good things have taken place in Flint," Snyder says. "This was just a huge failure. It had horrible
consequences for the citizens. And so that's what we're trying to address now." Everyone wants
to hear someone own up to their mistakes and take charge of it; thats exactly what Snyder

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does here. He is sympathetic towards the citizens and reassures them that its being
managed.
Secondly, Moore uses sarcasm as a method to almost make fun of and ridicule Governor
Snyder. Sarcasm (n): the use of irony to mock or convey contempt. Moore uses sarcasm to
influence and persuade the readers image of Mr. Snyder into a negative connotation. ...So you
could place your business friends in charge of their mostly black cities. They know you never
would have done this to a wealthy white suburb. (Moore, Par. 9) Moore uses sarcasm to say that
if the circumstances were different and a upperclass white city was being impacted, Snyder
would have acted on the problems long ago. Out of mercy, Ill ask that you have in your own
cell your own personal Gateway computer. This is a jab that Moore takes at Snyder
emphasizing that her expects him to go to jail for his evil actions. He also uses the topic of
Gateway computers due to Snyder serving as a CEO for them until September of 2006.
Moore is able to take jabs and ridicule Governor Snyder hidden within the article through the use
of sarcasm.
Moore created a petition to get Snyder to resign from being the governor which I think is
extremely exaggerated. Moore uses this by pulling the audience away from the real argument
creating the red herring. He often mentions the kids which makes everything way worse and uses
that to his advantage and Snyders disadvantage. Moore claims that Snyder deserves to be put in
jail for what he did. Moore mentions arresting him six times in the entire letter. "A lot of very
good things have taken place in Flint," Snyder says. "This was just a huge failure. It had horrible
consequences for the citizens. And so that's what we're trying to address now." (Moore, Par 7).
Even GM thinks youre the devil (Moore, Par. 2). Comparing Snyder to the devil really
adds something. When it comes to the devil, some dont even dare to speak his name in fear

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of what could happen. So doing this it distracts the reader from relevant information that
he forgot to put in. Moore also leaves the link to an interview by Rachel Maddow
bringing the reader to more irrelevant information that doesnt back up his case against
Snyder. He also adds a PS about the petition once again dragging the reader away from his
argument. This became a huge red herring against Michael Moores writing due to him
trying to coax the readers by slandering Snyder and ending it with these comments to sign the
petition. He casually leaves the petition as the last thing the readers see when ending the letter.
Moore, however is not doing an entirely bad thing. Although Moore uses many fallacies
such as sarcasm, red herring, and hasty generalizations; the purpose and reasoning behind this
paper is a very real one. Children in Flint, Michigan are being permanently damaged by lead
poisoning in their cities water supply. The citizens of Flint and Michael Moore have a reason to
be mad, and the person behind this terrible event needs to be brought to justice.
On April 23rd 1954, the critic Michael Moore was born in Flint Michigan. He graduated
at the University of Michigan-Flint. After dabbling in journalism for a bit he then turned to
filmmaking and earned the most money off Roger & Me. The academy award winning journalist
is known for his comedic structure of writing towards politics. He has written many letters
addressed to President George W. Bush, Donald Trump, and Obama. So here is our letter to
you, Mr. Moore.

Works Cited
Editors, Biography. Michael Moore Biography. Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d.
Web. 18 Mar. 2016
Flint Toxic Water Tragedy Points Directly to Michigan Gov. Snyder. Msnbc.com. NBC News
Digital, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
Flint Water Crisis: 7 Points Gov. Rick Snyder Made. CNN. Cable News Network, 28 Jan.

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2016. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
Gateway, Inc. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, May 2014. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. The Pocket Wadsworth Handbook.
6th ed. Boston: Thomson / Wadsworth, 2006.
Moore, Michael. Arrest Governor Snyder | MICHAEL MOORE.
MICHAEL MOORE. Moore, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.
Rfonger1@mlive.com, Ron Fonger |. "Michael Moore Calls Flint a Crime Scene, Demands
Arrest of Gov. Snyder." Web. 02 Mar. 2016.
Wood, Nancy. Essentials of Argument. Upper Saddle River: Pearson / Prentice Hall, 2006.
Print.