Posted on 08/06/2010 9:32:10 AM PDT by MirrorField
Good causes sometimes have bad consequences. Blacks, women, and other historical out-groups were right to demand equality before the law and the full respect and liberties due to any member of our civilization; but the tactics they used to “raise consciousness” have sometimes veered into the creepy and pathological, borrowing the least sane features of religious evangelism.
One very notable pathology is a form of argument that, reduced to essence, runs like this: “Your refusal to acknowledge that you are guilty of {sin,racism,sexism, homophobia,oppression…} confirms that you are guilty of {sin,racism,sexism, homophobia,oppression…}.” I’ve been presented with enough instances of this recently that I’ve decided that it needs a name. I call this general style of argument “kafkatrapping”, and the above the Model A kafkatrap. In this essay, I will show that the kafkatrap is a form of argument that is so fallacious and manipulative that those subjected to it are entitled to reject it based entirely on the form of the argument, without reference to whatever particular sin or thoughtcrime is being alleged. I will also attempt to show that kafkatrapping is so self-destructive to the causes that employ it that change activists should root it out of their own speech and thoughts.
(Excerpt) Read more at esr.ibiblio.org ...
I once had a friend accuse another of being an alcholic.
The 2nd friend denied it.
The 1st friend continued on, absolutely seriously, and said - “you see, the first sign of alcoholism is denial, therefore, from your denial, its clear you are an alcoholic!”
Very true, this is just one of the many tactics fulfilling the mechanism of Homo-Leninism; each accusation is an offense having a built-in defense of the accuser. As long as good intensions are not allowed to be examined for substantive results this works, until everyone catches on to it.
The more tersely minded would call it circular reasoning and walk away with a laugh.
I really wish that the Lesbo-Trotskyites had won out over the Homo-Leninists. We would all be much better off.
I thing you mean the Lizard-skyites… :] LOL
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