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.”
**
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.
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).
“Gymnopithys admits desire to beat men, boys, and girls!”
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.
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”.
One can’t help but wonder how a BDSM enthusiast might answer the question…
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.
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.
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.
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…
