| It depends what you mean by ‘ad hominem’, Jonathan. It is obviously foolish and unpleasant to engage in abuse and character assassination of people you don’t know, which is generally the case on Putney Forum where for the most part contributors are not personally acquainted. But sometimes it is not possible to criticise an opinion without by implication criticising the person who expressed it. For example, I happen to think that some of the criticism of Israel is so extreme (eg the accusation of genocide, the denial of Israel’s right to exist) as to border on anti-Semitism. The individuals who come out with this stuff bristle at the suggestion that they might be anti-Semitic, which they describe as an ‘ad hominem’ attack. Obviously I am not suggesting that these individuals are Jew-hating Nazis. There are thankfully very few anti-Semites of that kind nowadays and none, so far as I know, on Putney Forum. But I think I have a right to call out anti-Semitism or its modern form, anti-Zionism, when I see it. It seems to me that some of the people complaining about a lack of civility simply don’t like to see their prejudices criticised. |