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You cherry-picked just the MLK quote and added an ad-hominem which isn't a very productive argument.
by mmastrac 6y ago
You cherry-picked just the MLK quote and added an ad-hominem which isn't a very productive argument.
- lliamander 6y agoCalling someone names is not an ad-hominem. Making accusations about a person's character can be a valid inference based on their behavior. What makes an ad-hominem is thinking that a person's character (or other attributes) has any bearing on the correctness of their argument. For example: "X is a bad person, therefore their argument is invalid" is an ad-hominem. Bad people can still make valid arguments. "X's argument is both invalid and in bad faith, therefore they are a bad person" is a logical inference.
- vkou 6y ago> Calling someone names is not an ad-hominem It's not, but it also has no place on HN.
- afiori 6y agoThe insult was not directed at the commenter, rather to a group of people that popularized the quote. It is the difference between "If you believe X then your school must have had brain-dead teachers" and "If you believe X you are brain-dead"
- downerending 6y agoHe literally added the context of the quote, without which MLK's views were misrepresented.