# Where is the weakness in this argument? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 20, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621 "2014-07-20T20:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/1 "2014-07-20T20:17:06Z")
At a Heritage Foundation [panel discussion](http://cnsnews.com/video/cnsnews/heritage-foundation-panelist-radical-islam) about Benghazi, a Muslim woman asks a question about how it is possible to fight an ideology with weapons. A woman on the panel gives a very thorough reply. Where are the holes? Is this a standard righty meme? ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/2 "2014-07-20T20:58:36Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > At a Heritage Foundation [panel discussion](http://cnsnews.com/video/cnsnews/heritage-foundation-panelist-radical-islam) about Benghazi, a Muslim woman asks a question about how it is possible to fight an ideology with weapons. A woman on the panel gives a very thorough reply. Where are the holes? Is this a standard righty meme? Which argument are you referring too? The Muslim woman who claims you cannot fight ideology with weapons? Or the panelist who claims peaceful Muslims are irrelevant? Of course you can fight ideology with weapons. Other empires have been very good at it. But it takes a lot of killing to do so. But still her point is mostly valid. We can not change ideology with drones and an occasional invasion. The second claim, that peaceful Muslims are irrelevant… Fairly stupid. Throw a rock at a peaceful hornets nest, hornets no longer peaceful. Her argument seems to be that we need to be very aggressive with a few bad hornets before they stir up the rest. Strategic rock throwing… Has not worked well thus far. Best way to change idealogy? I say give all the problem countries free internet via satellite. Let them watch Battlestar Gallactica and Sex in the City. Play video games and look at naughty pictures. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/3 "2014-07-20T21:05:51Z")
> [@Fishtar](#): > > Let them watch Battlestar Gallactica and Sex in the City. Holy CRAP! Do you want them ALL to hate us?! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/4 "2014-07-20T21:17:26Z")
> [@Fishtar](#): > > Which argument are you referring too? > The Muslim woman who claims you cannot fight ideology with weapons? > Or the panelist who claims peaceful Muslims are irrelevant? > > Of course you can fight ideology with weapons. Other empires have been very good at it. But it takes a lot of killing to do so. But still her point is mostly valid. We can not change ideology with drones and an occasional invasion. > > The second claim, that peaceful Muslims are irrelevant… Fairly stupid. Throw a rock at a peaceful hornets nest, hornets no longer peaceful. Her argument seems to be that we need to be very aggressive with a few bad hornets before they stir up the rest. Strategic rock throwing… Has not worked well thus far. > > Best way to change idealogy? I say give all the problem countries free internet via satellite. Let them watch Battlestar Gallactica and Sex in the City. Play video games and look at naughty pictures. Yeah, sorry, I meant the panelist’s argument. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/5 "2014-07-20T21:20:55Z")
Did the panelist even make an argument that addressed the question? I don’t think she did. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/6 "2014-07-20T22:43:38Z")
I watched that and I agree with Zoid. Where did she answer the question? Personally, I thought the entire argument was made up of unsupported allegations, generalizations, racist stereotypes and outright lies. The whole thing was made up of holes. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/7 "2014-07-21T02:18:27Z")
> [@Fishtar](#): > > Best way to change idealogy? I say give all the problem countries free internet via satellite. Let them watch Battlestar Gallactica and Sex in the City. Play video games and look at naughty pictures. I agree with you 100%. It so far seems that (in the 20th/21st centuries) that when a civilization is exposed to another at a different level of wealth and technological advancement, almost all the population movement and aspiration of movement between those two civilizations is from the lower wealth/technological to the higher. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/8 "2014-07-21T02:36:07Z")
So “The Bachelor” and “Keeping up with the kardashians” are going to make people give up their most closely held religious beliefs? These are people who are immensely invested in their religions. “Friends” isn’t going to shake their faith. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/9 "2014-07-21T02:39:49Z")
Moderate Republicans are irrelevant! We should bomb them back to the Stone Age because…the Tea Party!!!1!!! or something. Yeah, that’ll work. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/10 "2014-07-21T02:47:43Z")
Is this the dolt (panelist) that tried to claim 25% of Muslims are extremist? (I can’t watch the video because I’m at work.) I remember Chris Hayes and friends broke her argument down fairly well. The numbers she pulled out of her ass being one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/11 "2014-07-21T02:47:53Z")
“The radicals are estimated to be between 15 to 25 percent [of all Muslims].” Where did she get these numbers from? If this is true then one in every four Muslims I meet should be a radical, whatever that means. This reeks of bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/12 "2014-07-21T02:52:48Z")
Even if the numbers are true, the panelist at no time addressed the point the initial speaker brought up, which frankly is valid. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-weakness-in-this-argument/693621/13 "2014-07-21T15:24:21Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Is this the dolt (panelist) that tried to claim 25% of Muslims are extremist? (I can’t watch the video because I’m at work.) > > I remember Chris Hayes and friends broke her argument down fairly well. The numbers she pulled out of her ass being one of them. I’ll have to try to find that. The video was posted by a relative who thinks that the panelist really gave that A-rab what for. I thought she was smug and condescending.