Reply #115: I'm continually impressed...

[burrfoot]

by your understanding of argument and logic. However it wasn't a loaded question, because answering the question would not have backed you into any particular position, whichever way you might have answered, if you had chosen to; nor would answering it have implied anything about your beliefs other than what was asked.

You missed the point. There is no hidden meaning there. I was literally asking you if either of those two statements were correct, because I'm trying to figure out what it is that you object to.

You'll note, however, that I did not in fact limit you to the two choices that I presented. I asked you a question, provided two possibilities, and then in the very next sentence said "I'm not sure those last two statements are correct." I didn't mean "I think they are false and you think they are true and therefore you're wrong"; I meant "I'm not sure those last two statements are correct about you." Perhaps it would have been clearer if I'd written it that way the first time.

I offered further possibilities after that- "Is it gun ownership, period? Is it CCW? Is it use of lethal force in specific situations which you do not believe was warranted?"; I even specifically included an option for none of the statements to be true "Any/all/none of the above?". That last part there (none) actually prevents any possibility of having created a false dichotomy because it gives you the option- right out in the open- of not agreeing with any of the statements that I presented. Should you have agreed with something I'd written but not all of it, you even could have picked "any" and specified which.

Don't get me wrong- I understand why, on this board and with your opinions, you perhaps thought that I was up to some trickery, sitting behind my keyboard with the gears furiously turning in my brain, thinking about how I was going to develop a verbal trap for you that no rebuttal pointing out logical inconsistencies could get you out of.
I wasn't, though. I asked a question wanting an honest answer. Then I spent some time protecting my *brave* Vizsla puppy from our Florida afternoon thunderstorm and playing tug-of-war. Now I'm back, because this is way more fun than algebra.

But I'm still not being tricky.

In order to prevent any further confusion, will you just tell me what it is that you object to? Based on the snippet of self-defense law posted above, it seems to me that you object to the use of lethal force in situations which you believe do not warrant it; but I'm not trying to put words in your mouth. Plus that was one of the options and you didn't pick it.

I'm new, but I'm not shy.

Edit: minor typo "back" to "backed"
Edit2: "I" to "I'm"
Well gosh darn it, Iverglas, you sure make me double and triple-check my writing.