How credible are the presenters of ad hominem arguments? Did it add to the credibility of Boxer, O'Donnell, or Trump? Did their personal attacks on someone else convince people to think differently about the position they were promoting?
Baraboo school district administrator Lance Alwin's ad hominem attack sets a couple of new precedents compared to the others noted above:
- Neither the east coast (Trump/Condi) nor the left coast (Boxer/O'Donnell): Alwin hits in the midwest.
- Face to face? No. Televised exchange? No. Alwin uses cold correspondence, allowing him to attack without response.
What do you think of our school district leader now? He's setting a bad example for our kids and district employees. Disgraceful.
3 comments:
Hi, Jay, and welcome to the blogosphere. Fellow Baraboo-ite Lance sent me over here from the BBA.
Ad hominem arguments are pathetic, but they must work to some degree or they wouldn't be so popular. I use them at times 'cause they can be lots of fun, too!
Thanks for the welcome. I've been a fan of BBA for about a year now and don't think I've missed a post. Thought it was time to try my hand at blogging.
I'm with you. Sometimes the urge to resist ad hominem arguments is difficult. When others go off the deep end with their "visions" of how they think things should be, one can only wonder what they've been smoking!
I have found, however, that getting personal usually turns around to bite the instigator (especially when it comes to local issues) so I try to stay away from them with the locals. The national and international issues and people involved...that's another story!
Jay,
If you have time, come on over to Grandpa John's and see some real ad hominem postings with totally inane statements... that put us clearly in the mainstream of modern American argumentation.
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