tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250013.post112811423652803601..comments2023-10-06T12:28:48.452-04:00Comments on Spinning Clio: On "Getting" Bill BennettMarchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09263223781051175207noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250013.post-1128292924990746072005-10-02T18:42:00.000-04:002005-10-02T18:42:00.000-04:00As Brad DeLong, no conservative apologist, has exp...As Brad DeLong, no conservative apologist, has explained:<BR/><BR/><I>Bennett did not "concede" that "aborting all African-American babies 'would be... morally reprehensible.'" That was his point. His caller said: "Abortion is bad because it has worsened the financing of Social Security." Bennett says: "Stay focused. We're anti-abortion not because we think that abortion is a means that leads to bad ends like a higher Social Security deficit; we're anti-abortion because abortion is bad; make arguments like 'abortion is bad because it increases the Social Security deficit' and other people will make arguments like 'abortion is good because it lowers the crime rate' and we'll lose sight of the main point."<BR/><BR/>Bennett is attempting a reductio ad absurdum argument.<BR/><BR/>Never attempt a reductio ad absurdum argument on talk radio. You can't keep exact control over your phrasing in real time, and so somebody is bound to think you are endorsing the horrible absurdity that you are rejecting.</I><BR/><BR/>As for the substance of the Bennett debate, I'll leave it at that. What I'm more interested in is the degree of responsibility we historians have for making sure that we provide the proper context when we quote our "subjects," be they more contemporary or historical. We have to be sure, especially when treading in controversial waters, that we don't pull quotes out of context to serve an agenda or particular narrative we are constructing. An idealistic proposition for sure, but one that bears remembering.Marchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09263223781051175207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250013.post-1128131721573497732005-09-30T21:55:00.000-04:002005-09-30T21:55:00.000-04:00I'm really struggling to find any context in which...I'm really struggling to find any context in which Bennett's remarks could be anything but offensive. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt that the abortion solution was rhetorical in nature, he still has a problem in that he starts with the basic assumption that high crime rates are the fault of Blacks. His basic statement seems to be that the vast majority of blacks are criminals. That was the part of the statement that had my jaw hitting the floor.<BR/><BR/>I'm not going to even attempt to justify anything Bennett had to say. The comment in any context was both hateful and offensive.Kannafoothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04548556572562266584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8250013.post-1128117211371289492005-09-30T17:53:00.000-04:002005-09-30T17:53:00.000-04:00For the sake of argument;if a person like mister B...For the sake of argument;if a person like mister Bennett believes abortion to be a crime, wouldn't aborting a whole group of beings to prevent crime be a little contradictory?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com