On the other hand, I think there are a lot of people who hate the KKK for reasons that don’t apply at all to affirmative action, yet who might still feel they have to dislike affirmative action merely because it’s in the category “racism”. Trying to trick them into this is the Worst Argument in the World.
Not quite. Oftentimes, this sort of argument is deployed to point out contradictions or hypocrisy in the other person’s position.
For example, I know a number of people who call themselves anti-racists. I have been unable to find a difference between their “anti-racism” and “racism against whites,” and so the statement “affirmative action is racist” highlights that hypocrisy of the name more than it is a fervent appeal against their dislike of racism. (If they actually disliked the practice of judging by racial membership, I expect they wouldn’t be racist against whites.)
The cat’s sort of out of the bag on that one.
Not quite. Oftentimes, this sort of argument is deployed to point out contradictions or hypocrisy in the other person’s position.
For example, I know a number of people who call themselves anti-racists. I have been unable to find a difference between their “anti-racism” and “racism against whites,” and so the statement “affirmative action is racist” highlights that hypocrisy of the name more than it is a fervent appeal against their dislike of racism. (If they actually disliked the practice of judging by racial membership, I expect they wouldn’t be racist against whites.)