A Georgetown professor advocates violence against men who vote to confirm Kavanaugh. She claims she is only echoing back the
terrible things people say*, tweet, and email to her, with a "How do you like them
apples?" style.
Invalid for the following reasons. 1) That is not apparent
from her tweet, and thus is a deceitful "Surprise! It wasn't me, it was those other people in disguise" 2) This reduces
all argument to everyone adopting the worst of tactics of one's opponents. She could as easily have said "I will
mimic the people who approached me most fairly, and answer in that manner" 3) She is an identifiable figure of some
authority, while the opponents she is imitating could be trolls, sock-puppets,
or isolates. 4) She did not respond to reports of giving offense by clarifying
what non-offensive or less-offensive thing she actually did mean.
It's worth paying attention to, as she is not the first to use this line of argument when saying horrible things.
*I'm betting "say" isn't true. She is reporting what she is receiving, plus what some Other People She Has Heard About are receiving.
It is worse than telephone, since we put the most dramatic spin possible on things, to liven up our otherwise rather dull lives. And your friend will pass along an even edgier version.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course you know The Plan
I can sustain some violence. Who wants to stand to my reprisal? Turnabout is fair play, so I hear.
ReplyDeleteThey expect the authorities to have their backs, just like the player who throws an elbow after the shove is the one who gets the flag.
ReplyDelete