"A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent's argument, while refuting an argument that was not presented by that opponent."
~ Wikipedia
In the wake of the whole protest in Charlottesville, anyone on social media has no doubt seen the array of memes that people are posting, both "for" and "against", the recent removal of certain Civil War related statues/monuments., etc. Welp, the above gem of a meme is one such meme.
Okay, point by point:
"Gonna" isn't a word, you *insipid morons.
*Yes, this is a nit pick and has nothing to do with a straw man. And yes, calling someone a "moron" is itself a fallacy, namely, an ad hominem. However, the insult isn't the extent of my argument, as I'm including reasoned arguments along with it. In other words, the personal insult is not in lieu of an argument, so not technically an ad hominem.
Next, the statues aren't being removed "for no reason"; they're being removed and some relocated because they represent a part of history in which a part of America was advocating (and fighting for) the right to not only own other human beings, but to beat them should they act up or show defiance. Saying that the statues are being removed for "no reason", besides being untrue and intellectually lazy, is a way to make it easier to refute, hence, the straw man fallacy. You make your opponent's argument sound "silly," then it's easier to criticize.
Other arguments:
"By taking the statues down, your erasing history!" (misspelling intentional)
Nope, you can't "erase" history. 'Ever heard of books? Libraries? Museums?
"The Great Pyramids of Giza were built by slaves, too. Let's remove them!"
Okay, fine. Move to Egypt, apply for citizenship, and then petition to have them removed. 'Probably won't succeed, mind you, since there was such a thing as "obligatory labor" in that era, which is akin to when the Amish here in the U.S. raise a new barn. The community joins in to see it through. In this scenario, no one is owned and no one is beaten or lynched if they flat-out refuse to help. So, yeah, this sort of false equivalence isn't going to fly.
Other false equivalence:
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides" ~ Donald Trump, POTUS
There aren't "many sides" in this particular case, there are only two sides:
1) White Supremacists, and 2) people against White Supremacists.
Yes, I'm afraid that's it. There are those whose mission is to prevent equal rights and beliefs for anyone non-white, and there are whose mission is to ensure those same rights for ALL people, regardless of skin-color. Which side are you on?
8 comments:
Funny that US citizens don't realize that these statues honor a foreign country ... which is what the Confederate States of America (CSA) were. These Confederate statues are as out of place as (nonexistent) statues of Lord General Cornwallis in town squares across America - I mean, he was an important losing foreign general in American history also ... yet, Not. One. Statue. of him.
That's the "apples to apples" comparison to me
"Funny that US citizens don't realize that these statues honor a foreign country ... which is what the Confederate States of America (CSA) were."
Right? Excellent point. So, the "Divided States of America". That was the appropriate name for it then, and I'll be damned if it ain't the right name for it now. And to those who can keep straight face and say that this started because of.... Obama?.....
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!
Yeah ... "Thanks Obama" LOL
As I've told some of my right leaning conservative friends (highly delusional misinformed zealots), I'm not against the statues/monuments per se ... there really is a law that requires that Confederate soldiers be honored like any other American soldier ... and that IS the right thing to do ... but it can and should be done at appropriate locations like national cemeteries, battlefields and locations of significant historical relevance ... or any private property. Town halls and county court houses that didn't even exist during the Civil War do NOT fit the bill
As I've told some of my right leaning conservative friends (highly delusional misinformed zealots)
right....leaning? LEANING?!? Lol! You're too forgiving. If some of these people were any more to the right they'd fall off the *edge of the earth.
*not metaphor = /
right....leaning? LEANING?!? Lol!
That's why I put my more accurate description in parentheses LOL
Lucky for us there is no "edge of the earth" on the left - it's properly curved ... but go too far left and you'll find yourself being incessantly shooshed for triggering people in their safe space :D
It just occurred to me that if "North" on the flat earth model is the center of the "pancake"(aka, the North Pole); and if "South" on the flat earth model is the entire circumference of said "pancake"(aka, the South Pole), then there can be no East or West, in which case, one cannot go too far to the left(West, relative to North) or too far to the right(East, relative to North).
Ha! Funny compass =P
I guess the compass only works in the center of the pancake/sewer cover ... if we're gonna go off on that tangent ... I'd like to hear an interview from one of the Earth Edge security guards. ... that or pics from the "edge" ... as they say in the vernacular "Pic or it didn't happen" :D :D
I guess the compass only works in the center of the pancake/sewer cover
Ain't that some sh*t =P But seriously, I still fail to see how there could be West/East even if you were standing directly in the center of this supposed flat earth. Even if you spun 360 degrees you'd be facing "South" at every angle/degree. IOW, you'd be facing the outer edge, or the circumference, what flat earthers claim is the "South Pole".
*Note, I have no doubt that if I look hard enough I'll find some screwy, flat earth map online. But I'm just not in the mood for flat earth apologetics right now.
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