The above article ran in the Badger Herald, which for folks that don't know is a well established student run paper at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the article, the author, Kyle Szarzynski, accuses Madison of being an unabashed haven for white supremacy in a variety of ways. While he does make a few valid points in the piece, there were quite a number of logical fallacies in his argument that I did not agree with, and quite frankly as a proud citizen of this city for the past seven years got me 'fired up'.
The first thing that I believe to be a fallacy is his statement that 'white supremacy has become so ubiquitous that it now seems to dwell comfortably in every alleyway and street corner'(in Madison, WI). Now Kyle states that Madison is his adopted home and he has only been living here for a little over 3 years. If that is the case I find it very hard to believe that Kyle would have learned enough about the city as a whole (many neighborhoods are distinctly different) to classify it in such a homogeneous way. I might also point out that when the KKK staged a rally in downtown Madison several years ago that they had to have police protection during the entirety of the rally, there was a humongous protest against the hate group far outnumbering the rally itself, and they were essentially run out of this town on a rail. That does not sound like something that would happen in a city that embraced white supremacy as fully as Mr. Szarzynski describes. Finally, there are neighborhoods in Madison that do not even have a majority white population, so it would be impossible for white supremacy to dwell comfortably there.
The next fallacy that I found in his argument was when he described the issue of crime as 'among the weirdest and most common of Madison obsessions'. While he does make a good point that this city is among the safest of its size in the country, the fact remains that there is a substantial amount of crime in this city, both in the downtown district surrounding the university and elsewhere. For someone moving here from a small town with maybe a few robberies a year, Madison can seem pretty scary. The author states that 'fear of crime has been inseparable from fear of racial minorities.' I have never been a victim of crime in this city during my 7+ years here aside from petty theft of a camera, but I have had multiple friends that were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got robbed or were attacked simply for the color of their skin-- ironically enough they were white. It is also a fact that overall crime levels in Madison continue to rise. Granted some of that is due to an influx of new residents as Madison shows continued growth, but it is definitely something worth keeping an eye out for, not a 'weird obsession'. I do not see any evidence(nor does the author provide any evidence) that this fear is racially motivated. People want to live their lives in peace, and that seems like a reasonable desire.
Finally, Mr. Szarzynski states his opinion that 'there are many who actually do believe that crime is out of control, illegal immigration is a scourge against our great land and a minor crime of a student official is an important enough topic about which to pen an editorial. This does not change the fact that the underlying impulse that forces these issues to the surface is racial, and that an elimination of racism would mute such issues as crime and immigration.' He provides no evidence to back this claim up, and without any evidence he really does not have much of an argument. I could put in my 2 cents on these issues but I believe I have made my point which is that the author's argument is riddled with fallacies and that these logical fallacies do not allow the argument to be successfully presented.
1 comment:
Madison unabashed hell for equivocators:
The use of equivocation ( saying one thing is another ) is thrown around loosely in today’s media due to the shelter of the 1st amendment. A sly substitution of words can take an argument from harmless opinion to logical fallacy. Mr. Leathers, a member of my cohort, mentioned a particular article from the Badger Herald to be guilty of this overlooked offense.
Mr. Szarzynski, the author of the article, “Madison unabashed haven for white supremacy,” goes too far in accusing my beloved city. There is no doubt Madison is not the most ethnically diverse city, but does that give cause to call it a “haven for white supremacy?” As my group member Mr. Leathers already mentioned, how can somebody who has lived here for three years, on campus, make a claim about the whole city. Does his brief time in the city substantiate his claim? If you agree with me that it does not, evidence for equivocation starts at the title for Mr. Szarzynski.
In this article, equivocation is a stepping-stone for another logical fallacy, hasty generalization. By telling his audience Madison is a “haven for white supremacy,” the reader is already subject to jumping to a conclusion. At the root of this hasty generalization lies the initial equivocation; Madisonians are supremacists. Another example of hasty generalization in Mr. Szarzynski’s article is his example of crime. Drawing again from my cohort member, Mr. Leathers, The author says, ‘fear of crime has been inseparable from fear of racial minorities.’ This statement, in no way, should be viewed as unanimous for the citizens of Madison and should not be regarded as a credible remark. It is apparent Mr. Szarzynski likes to generalize thoughts of a few to thoughts of a city.
It is important to understand we live in an age where you can pretty much say anything. Edgy titles and controversial columns entice readers and spark conversation. It is up to the author to base their view on facts and not feelings to avoid equivocation and hasty generalization.
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