Win some, Lose some

Here's an interesting example of how thoughtless prejudices can cause someone to shoot herself in the foot. A few weeks ago, I read and commented favorably on Janis Ian's argument in favor of a loosening of copyright laws. I thought, and still think, that her arguments were persuasive in light of the anecdotal but empirical experiences she cited. Now, though, Mark Shea has posted his recent corespondence with Janis Ian on of all things a casual slur on Catholicism:

Remember Janis Ian? ("At Seventeen", "Society's Child"). Somebody sent me a link to some screed she posted on her site about evil music corporations which included a rather silly and gratuitous swipe at Catholics. So I wrote to her board to point out that it was a silly and gratuitous swipe. Various people wrote back (one memorable poster lectured me to study European history and helpfully explained that the Ku Klux Klan has nothing against Catholics). Then, Janis replied too. Shut up, she explained and threatened to silence my criticism. Then she offered excuses. I replied again. Better read it now, before she deletes the thread in the spirit of openness and tolerance.

Now, the last thing that Janis Ian intended to discuss was the Catholic church. Her interest is copyright law. She used what seemed to her to be an absolute ironclad example of a rigid, unchanging authoritarian structure. She clearly felt that Shea's comments came from left-field, which it did, given her subject, which was copyright law.

I am not entirely comfortable with the practice of seizing on someone's incidental statement in order to score points about some groups victimization or the speaker's insensitivity. Too much of that goes on already, which then make the public discussion about who is more sensitive than whom, and who is a greater victim. But, you know, Shea is right. Little hit and run comments, planted assumptions and gratuitous swipes are how conventional wisdom gets rooted. Every trial attorney knows why it's important to protect the record. Because anyone involved in persuasion knows that lies will be accepted as true if they are repeated often enough without response.

More important, look at Janis Ian. Why did she let herself get distracted by this issue? Her issue is copyright, and her argument was not advanced at all by her parochial political view about the Catholic church, particularly since it furnishes a motivation for this potential fellow-traveler to lose interest in her case.

Postscript I actually traced through the comments and discussion elicited by Shea's post. I have rarely seen such virulent anti-Catholic bigotry outside the pages of various pamphlets that the - I believe - Seventh Day Adventist keep insisting on dropping off at my residence. I expect that from the Seventh Day Adventist. I am only moderately surprised when I hear it from Protestants. After all, we are playing for what are in essence competing teams. [To continue the metaphor, however, sportsmanship and the acknowledgement that the Game is bigger than the teams is always essential.]

The people posting on Janis Ian's website are most probably not religious. The milieu and the tenor of the comments indicate a secular bent. In other words, a secular tolerant liberal bent that accepts as a "planted assumption" (a) the KKK was never anti-Catholic, (b) the Catholic church has always been the leader in resisting any positive social change, (c) the Catholic church promotes bigotry among its -presumably - bigoted membership, (d) some odd logic that Catholics prevented an examination of Pius XII nefarious conduct until recently, (e) an bizarre hit-and-run about Catholics parodoxical bigotry toward homosexuals at the same time that the Church was sheltering homosexual pedophiles by the legion.

The tenor of the comments were ignorant, smug and self-assured. Remember what I said about the great danger being the "planted assumption," the casual acceptance of a fiction as a touchpoint of analysis? It's already here and the danger is the unchurched.

It seems that Ms. Ian was just playing to her audience.

List me as a deserter from her Copyright crusade.