Danielismyname wrote:
I can see how her emotional outburst could have been "intelligently" placed to show the effect that autism can have on an individual, but this isn't an ad hominem as she wasn't arguing with anyone. It's an ad hominem to bring it up in a debate over where research funds should go.
Maybe, I'm missing the whole point of what's being argued here, but after reviewing the video again ( you can find this statement about 4 minutes into the video here
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FDMMwG7RrFQ I can't even view it as an emotional outburst. First her daughter comes to her for a hug, and some attention. She appears to ask "what are you doing?" Singer immediately pushes her away. Then Singer's facial expression changes to a smile as she proceeds to talk about the moment she contemplated killing her daughter. I think she made the comment to purposely evoke emotion from the audience, and now she's getting some, except they're not all in her favor. That was a bold confession to make, and one that could've been edited out of the final cut of the video. Autism Speaks decided to leave it in. Words carry a lot of power, and one can't make such a controversial statement, and not expect it to come back to bite you.
19 Mar 2008, 12:06 am
