Though I have long felt that the form of argumentation that occurs on the Letters page of the Daily, which often relies on crass personal attacks (use of the term “ignorant,” or one of its synonyms is quite common), and have been pleased on the occasion that someone has written in on the issue, I have never felt the need to write in myself.
However, when this style of using ad hominems finds its way onto the commentaries presented by the paper, as occurred with Mr. Ingram’s piece on Tuesday (e.g., “Brava Mr. Wallingford, not everyday does a person find pride in his own ignorance,” or “But Nick? Nick visit ground zero in October 2001. Nick want cookie.”), I feel it is necessary to protest. The letters and commentaries that appear in the Daily are the public face of the student body and debates that resort to petty name calling – the equivalent to ending an argument with “Your Mom” – serve only to give all students a bad name. Please, when you write to the Daily or have a piece written in it, support your argument with actual arguments, not insults.
Brian R. Kline
Political science senior