Commenter Irfan Khawaja misses the point

Submitted by Alex (United States), Dec 8, 2004 at 00:39

Irfan Khawaja rightly points out that the words of both sides in this dispute, as in all legal disputes, may not reflect the true views of those speaking. Nonetheless, rhetoric - disingenuous or not - is important here as a tool and manifestation of negative reinforcement. That is, whether he knows or wishes it, Mr. Card now associates unjust rhetoric with disadvantages for himself. Only after such a cost-benefit analysis will Mr. Card ever reevaluate his views on a moral level. This whole affair, thus, illustrates how words create realities, and how language can be used constructively. Mr. Khawaja's focus on economic equity and means over ends distract us from the potenial for justice embodied in this case, in addition to putting a damper on what Dr. Pipes must otherwise justly consider a happy occasion.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".