JordanNakanishi

11/18/15
Period5
11/20Commentary
Whenitcomestothetopicofguncontrol,mostofuswillreadilyagreethatactionmust
betakentoreducetheamountofgunrelateddeathsandinjuriesinAmerica.Wherethis
argumentusuallyends,however,isonthequestionofwhetherthepresenceofgunsorthe
peoplethemselvesaretoblamefortheseactsofviolence.Whilesomeareconvincedthatgun
lawsarebothpointlessandineffective,othersbelievethatAmericansarepredisposedtomore
actsofviolencewhetherornottheyownguns.WilliamHarwoodtakesapositioninhisarticle

ThoseWhoSayGunsDon'tKillPeopleAreAntiAmericanBigots.Specifically,theauthor
states,
Forthosewhosaythatgunregulationsarepointlessbecausetheywillonlyaffect
lawabidingcitizens(i.e.,criminalsdon'tfollowlaws,soadditionalregulationswon'thaveany
effect,soweshouldn'tbother),thisis...calledtheperfectionistfallacy.Inotherwords,Harwood
believesthattheargumentthatgunregulationisineffectiveisfalsebecausepeoplewiththis
mindsetrefusetowanttoimplementaplanthatispartiallyeffective.Tosupporthisposition,
Harwoodofferstheexampleofaskingwhyweshouldevenhavecopsiftheydontcatchall
criminalswhichissignificantbecauseourcommonsensetellsusthatpoliceareimportanttothe
orderofoursocietyeveniftheyarentflawless.
Inmyview,Harwoodisrighttoarguethatmanypeoplemaketheseclaimswithout
indepthconsideration.SomeofthoseopposedtogunuseintheUSmayquestionHarwoods
claimthat,
Forthosewhowanttoblamementalillness,thisisanotherredherring,anda
notsosubtleformofbigotry.Althoughitstruethatsomeofthepeoplecontributingtogun
violencemaybementallyill,itdoesnotnecessarilyfollowthatstereotypethatallofthese
incidentsaretomentallyillindividuals.Forinstance,thosewhoarementallyhealthymayend
upmurderingsomeoneelseintheheatofanargument.Mypointhere,thatpeopleshouldput
morethoughtintoguncontrolissuesshouldinterestthosewhoareadvocatesofguncontrol
laws.Beyondthislimitedaudiencehowever,mypointshouldspeaktoanyoneinterestedinthe
largerissueofAmericassafety.

Part2
Forthosewhowanttoblamementalillness,thisisanotherredherring,andanotsosubtle
formofbigotry(Harwood12).
Overthecourseofthearticle,Harwoodrepeatedlymentionsbigotsorbigotryinrelation
topeoplewhobelievethatpeoplearepredisposedtoviolentactsinAmerica.Theauthors
intendedmeaningforthewordisapersonwhoisdevotedtotheirownideasandintolerantor
closedtootherpointsofview.Hepointsoutthatpeopleareveryclosedmindedwhenthey
blamegunviolencecompletelyonmentallyillpeopleorAmericansingeneral,eventhoughthat
statementisfalse.

Maybeifwestartcallingprogunadvocacywhatitreallyiseitherdemonstrableignoranceor
antiAmericanbigotrythenmaybewecanhaveameaningfuldialogueaboutwhatiskillingus
andwhy(Harwood19).
Thissentencewasimpactfulbecauseitcalledoutadvocatesofgunuseanddescribes
themasignorantandintoleranttoanyideasbuttheirown.Theauthorisblatantlystatingthat
unlesspeoplereflectonandcorrecttheirmistakesthetopicofguncontrolwillnotprogressand
peoplewillcontinuetobeneedlesslykilled.Itwasalsoplacedattheendofthearticletoleavea
lastingimpression.

Part3

Stigmatizing(v):todescribesomethingasbeingdeservingofdisgraceanddisapproval
...younotonlyfailtoconstructivelyaddresstheproblem,yousucceedinfurtherstigmatizing
mentalillness.
Theteacherstigmatizedtheirresponsiblestudentinfrontoftheentireclass.

Fallacious(adj):basedonamistakenbelieferogenous.
Thus,inadditionto(again)resultinginfallacious,bizarreconclusions
Fallaciousrumorsspreadthroughtheschoolduetomisinformation.