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Ad Hominem Attack

I keep noticing two things about people who complain about "ad hominem attacks" when discussing things online.

  • 9 out of every 10 times they're an absolute, feral jackass
  • They're almost always making an ad hominem attack.

    I have no salient stats to support this because I'm totally off the hook -- wildly making an ad hominem attack on people who hate ad hominem attacks. I just know I've never seen the phrase used in conversation by a non-shitheel.

    The phrase does have legitimate meaning in debate, but so did "bias" at one point. Both terms have since been hijacked by lazy thinkers to dismiss observations they have no substantive response for.

    "Ad Hominem Attack" complaints are an early warning you should lower your expectations and caloric expenditure during a discussion. Much like the word "proactive" was when I worked in Manhattan in the 90's in IT middle management.

    It's ok if you have no idea what I'm talking about. Just remember what I said, and take a mental note the next time you see someone in a forum whining about ad hominem attacks. If the guy or girl who complained isn't a total gibbering, self-important prattle jockey, I'll gladly refund your money.

    Biased, proactive ad hominem attacks ahoy.

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