Is it a "personal attack" to claim GG's reporting has been sloppy and/or hyperbolic?

[MADem]

48. You can call someone an asshole, and it can be an observation--nothing "personal."

And when you get into "attack" mode, if the person you're attacking doesn't have a fist in the fight, it's not much of an attack.

I really think the "to the man" and "about the person" AD HOMINEM FALLACY phrase needs to be balled up and flushed down the crapper. People haul it out all the time, and many--in fact, most--times, it's just not salient at all. Even worse, it's frequently misused.

Sometimes, a person's character has EVERYTHING to do with their behavior and how they conduct themselves in the world. It is central to their decision-making, and the choices they make. It is as inseparable from them as their intellect or judgment or shoe size.

Saying "Joe Blow wears a size twelve" is not a personal attack, it's not "ad hominem"--it's a factual observation. Similarly, noting a person's character or moral bona fides (or lack of same) can often not be a "personal attack" it's just part of the whole, like that shoe size or hair color, or height, and telling it like it is isn't "attacking" ---for example, it's not a "personal attack" to call Dick Cheney a mendacious shitheel--it's an observation. Mendacity is his strong suit, and he most certainly is a shitheel. And it's an accurate observation. It describes his behavior, and his character.

Again, I maintain that the purpose of an "attack" is to wound. A "personal attack" is the use of disparagement about an individual's characteristics in order to goad, bait, tease, humiliate or otherwise get a rise out of them, in order to hurt or wound them. I can call Dick Cheney a mendacious shitheel all day, he's not going to react. If I said the same thing to a DUer, I would hurt their feelings, cause them to be upset or angry, and perhaps give a jury some business.

I think characterizing third parties can survive on DU. You can call the public figures names. I think the line should be drawn at the disparagement of DUers. That's why all this Paulbot/Authoritarian stuff is so corrosive--because it's happening in our DU house, here, not out on the street.