Concerned Students of McGill

#2: Alex - Re: The Fallacy of Symmetry 

Mr. Alex Anonymous,

To hide discourse behind claims of complexity (in situations with very simple and real abuses of power) is no just stand to take. It is a stand for the status-quo, regardless of the merits of the parties involved.

I make no such assertion that "the underdog is always right", I will however assert that the more powerful actor cannot be in the right if they use this position to violate the basic rights of your "underdog", though I'd much prefer if we were more candid and spoke of them as the oppressed.

You'll notice that I don't even comment at all on who I know is "right" (though I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult for you to guess), I do however say that it cannot be considered unfair to give voice to those who are oppressed and face an advantaged adversary. To do so would be to commit the fallacy of considering the parties equal, which is not the case. The only "simplisitic idea" held here is exactly that, the conflating of an oppressed group with the structural position of the oppressor. In your cookie-cutter world all issues might divide evenly down the middle with a straight line, but in my world they are divided by concrete walls, machine gun towers, and check-points. They are landscapes of despair juxtaposed against those of priveledge, wealth, and abuse.

Even more, to make baseless claims of anti-semitism in an attempt to discredit legitimate concerns is nothing short of slander, and I am truly disgusted by the use of such emotional and religous appeals to garner support. This is "playing dirty" in every sense of the term, and advantages none but those who actually deserve to be considered anti-semitic as they become lost in crowd of groups labelled so only for political reasons.