Subject:
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Re: 3. What exactly is bigotry? More definitions. Trolling admitted.
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Mon, 13 Mar 2000 17:46:37 GMT
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Viewed:
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1763 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Todd Lehman wrote:
> There's an old phrase -- "That's the exception that proves the rule."
[snip examples of stereotyping]
> The "rule" being referred to or implied is a fallacy, a stereotype.
I thought that old saying came from English grammar, where every rule
has any number of exceptions. The exceptions don't invalidate the rule,
they're just exceptions.
Personally, I think the 'old phrase' came from grade school teachers who
were tired of explaining *why* English grammer is so inconsistent, so
they started acting like rules *needed* exceptions. More likely, the
teachers tended to not know the reasons, and fell back on some sophistry
to shut the kids up.
Anyway, I never interpreted the old phrase as implying the rule in
question was *bad*, it's just an admission that there are exceptions
everywhere.
Steve
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