"Why did you stop beating your wife?"- What does this mean?

Factual Questions
21

You guys do realize that the kind of reporter that asks this question probably doesn’t work for the most scrupulously impartial editor and publisher? Glib answers like “mu” and “I reject the premise” are not going to help you.

Reporter: “A simple yes or no question: Have you stop beating your wife?”
You: “Yes.”
Subsequent headline: "Candidate admits to past history of spousal abuse"

Reporter: “A simple yes or no question: Have you stop beating your wife?”
You: “No.”
Subsequent headline: "Candidate admits to ongoing spousal abuse"

Reporter: “A simple yes or no question: Have you stop beating your wife?”
You: “I’d like to point out that this question is impossible to answer as it is phrased in a manner that pervents me from answering it truthfully. Therefore, I cannot answer your question unless you rephrase it.”
Subsequent headline: "Candidate refuses to answer allegations of spousal abuse"

Reporter: “A simple yes or no question: Have you stop beating your wife?”
You: “I’ve never beaten my wife and never would.”
Subsequent headline: **“Candidate refused to give yes or no answer when asked a simple question about allegations of spousal abuse.”
**

22

A former sales manager used the phrase “I didn’t beat my wife” with varying emphasis to illustrate how a statement can be construed many differing ways.

I didn’t beat my wife. Someone else beat her.

I didn’t beat my wife. Allegation denied.

I didn’t beat my wife. Possible physical activity, but not beating.

I didn’t beat my wife. The lady next door got a beating.

I didn’t beat my wife. She was my girlfriend, not my wife.

No women were beaten or abused in the course of this post. Only one per customer. Offer void in Michigan.

23

[QUOTE=Scissorjack]
Also known as that oft-misused term “begging the question”: “Why has the US government consistently concealed evidence of alien spacecraft?” Actually this one begs two questions: that there is such evidence, and that it has been concealed.
[/QUOTE]

I hadn’t thought of that. I’m used to the term “begging the question” being applied to statements, not questions. Fowler, in Modern English Usage, defines question-begging as “the fallacy of founding a conclusion on a basis that as much needs to be proved as the conclusion itself.” Circular reasoning is a form of question-begging. An example of question-begging would be, “The theory of evolution can’t be true because the flood destroyed most life on earth only a few thousand years ago” (it begs the question because the truth of the biblical flood story is at least as much in question as the conclusion that the theory of evolution is wrong).

24

I stopped beating my wife after she took karate lessons (without telling me) :eek:

(Really, I would never beat a woman)

25

[QUOTE=Gymnopithys]
(Really, I would never beat a woman)
[/QUOTE]
“Gymnopithys admits desire to beat men, boys, and girls!”

:smiley:

More seriously, all of the cases in this thread of people creating damning headlines or article paragraphs out of misquotes would be perfect fodder for libel suits as they are both completely untrue (as per the premise) and serve to destroy the reputation of the person being misquoted.

26

Q: Have you stopped beating your wife?

A: Yes, the evening I met yours.

27

“When did you stop beating your wife?”

“I never started.”

28

“When did you stop beating your wife?”

“I guess about 5 minutes after she died.”

:eek:

:ducks and runs:

29

My wife has always been a better tennis player than I. I have never beaten her.

30

The correct answer to all difficult questions like this one is not the damning “No Comment”, but instead the slightly more obscure (but just as valid) “Wibble”. :smiley:

One can’t help but wonder how a BDSM enthusiast might answer the question… :wink:

31

Other applicable legal objections:

-Assumes Facts not in Evidence

-Question Lacks Foundation

32

[QUOTE=Little Nemo]
Reporter: “A simple yes or no question: Have you stop beating your wife?”
You: “I’ve never beaten my wife and never would.”
Subsequent headline: **“Candidate refused to give yes or no answer when asked a simple question about allegations of spousal abuse.”
**
[/QUOTE]

That’d never work as a headline, or even a lead. :wink:

33

Q: “When did you stop beating your wife?”
A: “Which one?”

– OR –

A: “Tuesday”

– OR –

A: “When the paddle broke.”

– OR –

A: “When she said the safe word.”

– OR –

A: “When she figured out how to check-raise the river.”

– OR –

A: “When I discovered that kicking worked better.”

– OR –

A: Removes pebble from pocket. Pulls out slingshot. Shoots pebble at questioner’s face. Runs and hides.
Disclaimer: I have never hit a woman and I never would. Theses statements are simply jokes, nothing more. Anyone who beats their wife (or anyone else) should be hit it the crotch with a 9-iron.

34

[QUOTE=WhyNot]
I’ve always heard it as “When did you stop beating your wife?”, classically, as an example of a trap question by a reporter to a politician. The idea is that there’s no way to answer it “correctly”, assuming you haven’t actually beat your wife. It’s assuming within the question facts not in evidence (that is, that you beat your wife at one time.)

If you answer with a date, it’s admiting you used to beat your wife. If you refuse to answer, it suggests you’re still beating your wife. If you answer “Never!” it sounds like you’re still beating your wife. If you answer with “I never beat my wife, so the question is a ridiculous one,” an unscrupulous editor could trim that to fit a headline “Never!” There’s not really a way to answer it that can’t be taken out of context or trimmed to a damning sound bite.
[/QUOTE]

I know a perfect example of this. Jack Carter, Jimmy Carter’s oldest son, very nearly derailed the Presidential campaign when asked a question along those lines.

Actually, it was a series of questions. In late 1975, Jimmy was just gearing up his campaign for the Democratic nomination, and Jack was stumping for him in Florida. A reporter asked, “Are you seeking the KKK vote in Florida?” No. “Well, would you take it if you got it?” We’re not turning anybody away, but we’re not going after the KKK vote. “Well, would your father ever appoint a KKK member to the Supreme Court?” Of course not; that’s ridiculous.

So this got translated into CARTER’S SON DENIES FATHER TO APPOINT KKK TO HIGH COURT. :smack: Fortunately, it was early enough in the campaign that it largely went unnoticed. But had it happened close to or after the primary, I guess Gerald Ford would have been a two-term president.

Anyway, Jack said years later that the right way to handle this would have been, “Florida’s steering committee runs from very liberal to very conservative. All work together in a harmonious fashion,” and when asked about the KKK, “That’s a ridiculous question, and I’m not going to answer it.” The key, he said, was not to ever repeat the term “KKK”, or any damaging term, so that it couldn’t be quoted out of context.

35

[QUOTE=Derleth]
“Gymnopithys admits desire to beat men, boys, and girls!”
:smiley:

[/QUOTE]

and all those who perniciously distort what I’m saying :slight_smile:

36

[QUOTE=Jeff Lichtman]
“Have you stopped beating your wife?” is the epitome of a presumptive question. The presumption is so obvious and the example so well known that it can be used as a rebuttal:

Q: When will you take responsibility for the corruption that has taken place under your leadership?
A: When will you stop beating your wife?
[/QUOTE]

For my money, this is the answer to the OP. The question “when will you stop beating your wife” is not just an example of a loaded question, it is the classic way to respond to someone who is asking you a loaded question. It gets you off the defensive and on to the offensive, and puts the whole dilemma back onto the person who asked you the loaded question in the first place. And of course once they are forced to give a complex answer to your counter-question they are in no position to complain if you give a complex answer to their original question.

37

[QUOTE=Cliffy]
In the courtroom, the proper objection is “Objection, compound.”
[/QUOTE]

It is also subject to a “lack of foundation” objection, in the following form:

“Objection. Question assumes facts not in evidence.”

38

I’ve seen questions similar to this in those “psychological profiling” tests some companies make you take when applying for minimum wage jobs. You are supposed to answer from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”, and the question is something like “I used to have a problem with shoplifting, but not any longer”. The theory, as I understand it, is that someone who really does have a tendency toward shoplifting will feel conflicted and answer somewhere in the middle of the scale, where someone who is black and white on the issue will answer “strongly disagree”… I don’t know how the test-makers determined this, but there are questions on the test about shoplifting, alchohol and drug use, spousal abuse, and more…

39

[QUOTE=Contrapuntal]
“When did you stop beating your wife?”

“I never started.”
[/QUOTE]

That’s how I’d handle it, too. Of course, “Splunge” is also a perfectly appropriate response. (Bonus points if you recognize the reference :smiley: ).

40

[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
Of course, “Splunge” is also a perfectly appropriate response. (Bonus points if you recognize the reference :smiley: ).
[/QUOTE]

I don’t know. “Splunge” in this context would mean, “I have stopped beating my wife — or possibly not — and I’m not being indecisive.”

And that’s just going to invite more questions.