Logic Gone To The Dogs
Source: Philadelphia police officer shot in patrol car – CNN.com
There’s a crazy rumor flying around that the shooting of this Philadelphia police officer was rooted in radical Islam. According to the authorities, this is completely unfounded and the mayor stated categorically that this incident had nothing to do with Islam. This goofy notion possibly got started because the perpetrator was heard shouting “This is in the name of Islam” while shooting the officer. But who knows.
The tragedy of the San Bernardino shootings last month also stirred rumors of radical Muslim involvement. But so far, the public is told that the cache of weapons, explosive devices, tactical military gear and communication with nefarious groups in Syria doesn’t mean anything. Apparently private emails have them communicating with such groups, but the shooters didn’t declare it on public social networks, so therefore it doesn’t count.
Meanwhile, at any time that there is a fatal shooting, the entire population of legitimate gun owners are cast as being crazed killers and wing nuts. If the shooting toll on a typical Chicago weekend hits 2 dozen, it implies that it’s the hillbilly, right wing paranoid gun owner in Texas that is to blame and therefore more restrictions are needed on gun ownership. Anyone with a passing exposure to logic, or over the age of 10, can see the insanity of the narrative.
So here’s the logic analogy using dogs. In the first example, a specific breed of dog begins to noticeably bite humans after signaling their intent in dog social media. But apologists point out that not all of this breed are dangerous and that irrational fear of this breed is unfounded. People are encouraged to get more of these dogs.
In the second example, another very specific breed also bites humans. But in this case, dog owners of any and all breeds are imposed with ever stricter rules placed upon their ownership and derided publicly for wanting to own any kind of dog.
This brings to mind the old chestnut; there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.