When bitter, intellectually dishonest former military officers attack
0 Comments Published by Ryan on 11/19/2007 at 5:53 PM.
I have several family members that have either served, or are currently serving in the U.S. military. Suffice it to say I was more than a little reluctant to comment on LTC Bob Bateman's attempted assault on Victor Davis Hanson and his book, Carnage and Culture.
(Bateman's writing can be found by scrolling down here: http://mediamatters.org/altercation/index)
To his credit, the admirable Hanson took the high road throughout this "debate" and refused to debase himself by joining in the name-calling and mud slinging.
Bateman began his "critique" of Hanson's scholorship by chest-thumping about his upcoming "takedown" of Hanson's book. Bateman followed that up by referring to Hanson's work as "feces." Seriously. And it only got worse from there.
For those who may have missed out on Bateman's "takedown," here's essentially what happened:
1. Bateman reads Carnage and Culture.
2. Bateman completely misunderstands the thesis of the book.
3. Bateman misinterprets an innocent discussion - over the future of the Western military tradition - as a personal insult against his own military service.
4. Bateman writes leftist hit-piece "Altercation" seeking soap-box to air his perceived grievance, under guise of scholarly criticism.
5. Bateman writes four-part "takedown" - which instead only shows Bateman's complete lack of basic reading comprehension, logic, and critical thinking skills.
6. A very patient VDH responds point -by-point to Bateman's hit-piece, and confirms that Bateman is little more than a shrill, childish, and intellectually dishonest ideologue.
(Bateman's writing can be found by scrolling down here: http://mediamatters.org/altercation/index)
To his credit, the admirable Hanson took the high road throughout this "debate" and refused to debase himself by joining in the name-calling and mud slinging.
Bateman began his "critique" of Hanson's scholorship by chest-thumping about his upcoming "takedown" of Hanson's book. Bateman followed that up by referring to Hanson's work as "feces." Seriously. And it only got worse from there.
For those who may have missed out on Bateman's "takedown," here's essentially what happened:
1. Bateman reads Carnage and Culture.
2. Bateman completely misunderstands the thesis of the book.
3. Bateman misinterprets an innocent discussion - over the future of the Western military tradition - as a personal insult against his own military service.
4. Bateman writes leftist hit-piece "Altercation" seeking soap-box to air his perceived grievance, under guise of scholarly criticism.
5. Bateman writes four-part "takedown" - which instead only shows Bateman's complete lack of basic reading comprehension, logic, and critical thinking skills.
6. A very patient VDH responds point -by-point to Bateman's hit-piece, and confirms that Bateman is little more than a shrill, childish, and intellectually dishonest ideologue.
0 Responses to “When bitter, intellectually dishonest former military officers attack”
Post a Comment