Um, ok.. -- But maybe you could be more specific about "imaginary affinity groups"?
There are a ~lot~ of prohibitionists around, and they organize in pretty 'unimaginary' groups, -- to my knowledge.
Make a list of great and famous people, a short list but more than three.
Hmm, - so you've given up on "-- hoards of imaginary affinity groups --"? Now its individuals who are 'unfairly characterized'?
Now you can say whatever you want about some concoctionary motif of your own choice and attribute it some shared characteristic of those people.
How bout if these individuals belong to a group like the "Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence"? Is it a concoction to characterize them as prohibitionists?
Almost whatever you say will appear valid, for it is the nature of the great and famous to be multifaceted and have deep opinions. You've just created a high-falutin' table of The Great all of whom hold exactly the intellectual positions you want them to have. And all just straw dolls that drive away every crow.
Weird, in that you've constructed a 'straw man' about Adler's position, then shot that 'doll' down.
And crows are known to be the wisest of birds, even more than owls.
Yep. I'm sure that your 'crow thing' has some deep significance to you, -- but give the rest of us a break.
The hostility of an owl and a crow is well known down the ages. What is, however, not known is the traditional animosity of an owl for a crow. Once, when the Buddha was dwelling in the Jetavana in Savatthi he was reported the killings of several crows by an owl. In this context, the Buddha narrated the origin of the animosity between the two species.No crow nor owl would ever pick a goose to be king. Geese are holiday dinner.During the first cycle of the creation of the world men assembled and chose a handsome, gracious, commanding and a perfect man as the king for themselves. The animals, too, gathered and chose lion as their king. The fishes too chose a large fish named Ananda as their king. Then all the birds, too, gathered to choose their king.
In course of their search, they voted for the owl. Twice they proclaimed, “Here is the bird, who we like”. But when the same announcement was repeated for the third time, the crow made a strong protest against the proclamation. He cried, “Why should an angry-looking owl be made a king, when there are younger and wiser birds around. The owl even without looking angrily pops others like the sesamum seeds when thrown on a hot pot. So, what would happen to us when he be really angry?” Cawing these words the crow flew away and the owl chased him in anger. Since then, the two are at the loggers head.
The birds then crowned a goose as their king, [Redacted idiocy follows]
[ The Illustrated Jataka & Other Stories of the Buddha by C.B. Varma ]
We eat your god.