If-by-whiskey

Biological Parallel

'Predation is essential for ecosystem health—unless we're talking about endangered species, then it's devastating.' The if-by-whiskey fallacy: taking all sides depending on audience. Ecological messaging does this: wolves are 'keystone restorers' to conservationists, 'livestock killers' to ranchers—same organism, opposite framings based on listener values. The fallacy isn't nuance (predation has context-dependent effects); it's rhetorical shape-shifting without acknowledging contradictions. Honest complexity admits trade-offs; if-by-whiskey hides them.