"Millions of Americans are morally and ethically opposed to violence in any of its forms or under any circumstances. To lump these people together with wife-beaters and the child-abusers and the relatively tiny percentage of those who commit acts of greater violence ... is simply inaccurate—and patently unfair." I agree entirely.

"(even though their ratio to the rest of the population may be higher than in some other countries) This is the core of Ira's article, and the reason I started the thread. The importance of knowing why this is so in the world's mightiest superpower becomes more vital every day. I agree that making sweeping generalizations and attaching labels is dangerous, but can the all of the tenets of Ira's argument be safely dismissed on that basis?

Believe me, I am giving your posts thoughtful consideration, Don. Thanks so much again for the hints re fallacious reasoning, and for the information re "argumentum ad hominem" you posted on another thread a while back. That has proved most valuable here!

daylia