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[bryant]

You must condemn X. You must condemn Y.

"Islam is proven evil by the failure of mainstream Islam to condemn terrorism." (Never mind that this is untrue to begin with.)

The problem is fairly obvious; the question is how to get ouf of the trap. How do we avoid falling into the belief that failure to condemn implies approval? Everyone does it.

Comments

[skylion.livejournal.com]

Well, we are already in the trap, so your concern of "falling into the belief" is already self-evident; because everyone does it.

One of the things that we learn thru a devout study of history is not to repeat the same mistakes overmuch. If falling into that trap is a misktake, then how did the trap get built in the first place? What baits the trap? And why is that bait so alluring at all?

In just one tenous connection to your statements I have read of bills across the world to enact the banning of pictures of children....any pictures either on the internet or elsewhere, to stop the proliferation of child porn. The propoents of such measures think it will work...common sense says otherwise. The main so-called strenght of the proponets arguement is that this will stop child porn, and you are either for it, or you are against it. If against the bills, then you must be for the proliferation of child porn.

What builds the trap? What baits it? Why is the bait so alluring?

[tayefeth.livejournal.com]

There's much less thought required on the average person's part to maintain either/or traps than to step outside of them.

Also, if there's a continuum of possibilities, then the possibility exists that no amount of certitude will ensure "winning". Today, winning seesm to be more important than solving the problem.

[skylion.livejournal.com]

But it always seems to go back to that same old same old. Only two sides per aruement, please. I don't believe the Bush Administration had a legal justification for declaring war on Iraq. Ergo, I must support terrorism.

I was always really really bad at algerbra. I would cheat off of my highschool classmates to get my homework done. But, I always got caught cause "You didn't show the math"

So, where is the math?