Jim Devine wrote:
>
> There's a big difference between _attacking an individual_ (ad hominem) and
> _attacking an argument_. The rules of Congress may encourage politeness,
> but that's a democracy of the few, of the elite and powerful. We need to
> put said "democracy" into context, which is what I did. I was NOT attacking
> Brad personally. However, Brad engages in personal attacks regularly. (or
> is my perception wrong? he's the one who throws words like bullsh*t around.)
Some may be offended by the language, but what is it about the word 'bullshit',
when applied to an argument or contention, that makes it personal? Not that I
would recommend the use of such words on the net, since this is a medium in
which it is easy to take offense. But the equation of 'bullshit' and ad hominem
is ... bullshit.
After Jim's clarification, I am none the wiser as to how the US Congress's rules
of civility are somehow made less relevant by the nature of its membership.
>
> Fred, you have to remember that Brad is a "big boy" who can deal with
> debate and acrimony. After all, he worked in the Clinton administration. He
> hasn't been sequestered in the allegedly calm groves of academe. He doesn't
> seem like a shrinking violet at all.
>
> I don't see why an attack on an abstraction -- "neoliberal economists" --
> is emotive. It's attacks on _people_ that are emotive.
In the last part of my message which you neither quote nor reply to, I think I
answered this.
I'm not worried about Brad: *he's* stayed around and, like yourself Jim,
probably enjoys the tussle or he would have left long since. [Or have I strayed
into ad hominem analysis? Sorry.] My concern is the style of argument which
greets him - the use of lots of personal details, such as those you mention
above but in different contexts, with the implication that these details
undermine his credibility (and this comes damned close to speaking to the
motives or character of the person, i.e. ad hominem). I think that he is greeted
that way because of the views he espouses, and I think that this raises the
temperature in a way that deters others from jumping in.
Fred Guy
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