Runaway Train Logic

Onyx Contributor:  Johnny Silvercloud (@JohnnySilverclo)

Runaway Train Logic

On an episode of NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani engaged in a time-honored conservative American tradition:  using the “black on black crime” deflection.  Sigh….

As far as we made it as human beings in this vast universe, traveling on this blue planet, I’m very surprised people STILL fall prey to runaway train logic.  Runaway train logic occurs when someone uses an argument that would support MORE of something else, or logic that can be applied elsewhere against something that person may actually care about.  This usually asks the question, why stop there? 

The easiest way to illustrate this is an argument of setting a speeding limit.  If the speeding limit is set to 80mph (miles per hour) and the sole reason that that speeding limit exists is “safety”, why stop there?  If your argument is only “safety”, then why not make the speeding limit 70mph?  70 is certainly more safe than 80, correct?  Why stop there?  60 is safer than 70.  Why even stop there?  If the argument is safety alone, then technically your safety argument can support a ten mile an hour speeding limit, for 10mph is without question safer than 50, 60, 70, or 80.  So “safety” cannot be the sole and only point of why a speeding limit exist; one must add more to the argument to STOP the logic where it needs to be stopped.

Rudy Giuliani boarded the runaway train when he injected “let’s talk about black on black crime”.

Technically, if that low of a standard logic can be considered valid, then why not apply that logic elsewhere?

The Wife Beater

What if there was this guy who married your daughter, or sister, or mother.  He is a wife beater; he engages in what is known as domestic violence.  This man is horrendously violent, and he has a hair-trigger temper from which he explodes his unexplained wrath upon this woman you care for.  One day you address his behavior.  His defense?

“Why aren’t we talking about woman on woman violence?  They fight each other more.” ~ Wife Beater

The Black Rapist

What if there was a man, a scary black man who was an explicit racist who figures it’s his way to “stick it to the man” by being a being a rapist who only rapes white women.  This serial rapist makes national headlines.  In fact, his actions have gripped the entire nation.  What if when he’s caught and he’s being interviewed about his raping of numerous women, he states with Rudy Giuliani-like insistence:

“Why aren’t we talking about white on white rape?  White men rape white women the most, and that’s a statistically proven fact!” ~Black Serial Rapist

Or what if he killed a white person and then used white suicide rates up for his defense?  Should white suicide rates support a black cop shooting an unarmed white person?

The Islamic Terrorist

What if terrorists — Muslim terrorists — once again attacked the United States?  In this event, a Muslim terrorist blew up a football stadium during the Superbowl, killing and injuring numerous football personnel and spectators.  Anger, fear, and panic grips the nation.  In the midst of all of this confusion and response, the current Al Qaeda leader or media correspondent stated, with Giuliani-style audacity, this:

“Why aren’t we talking about American on American violence?  It’s statistically proven that Americans kill Americans more.  Why not talk about that?” ~ Al Qaeda/ISIL Leader or Correspondent

These are the reasons why Rudy Giuliani is riding on a runaway train.  Eventually, people will get smart on this white privilege deflection and denial system and begin using the same debate tactics.  Maybe then, perhaps, white people will realize how ridiculous this deflection is.