[Liam-]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

You're mixing up ad hominem with holding an opinion relevant to the topic that happens to apply to you, and you therefore find offensive.

I said that advocating retaliatory violence is a dumb thing to do. I stand by that.

I said that in my experience, younger people are more likely to advocate for retaliatory violence. I stand by that.

Both statements are 100% relevant to the thread. They are not unrelated personal attacks. In order to not offend you or be accused of getting personal, I would have had to keep those valid opinions out of the discussion.

That's not how it works. You feeling personally attacked by an opinion relevant to the topic does not make those opinions ad hominem attacks.

You said you’d give me the benefit of the doubt that my opinion is because I’m young, therefore invalidating my opinion because of my age, whatever your experience, it’s got nothing to do with me, I didn’t find what you said offensive, I just think it’s completely arrogant to assume I only think the way I think because of my age and that I’ll think differently when I ‘grow up’

That isn't what happened though, he didn't immediately swing back in self defense, he retaliated. They're not the same thing.

You must be watching something completely different, the old bigot swung and the bloke swung back.

If the bigot had just been a bigot and was spouting words and he was punched, I’d agree with you, but the fact of the matter is, he started the violence, we have no right to expect people not to defend themselves based on who’s doing the violence, do I think every act of violence deserves a physical reaction? No, but I refuse to condemn people who act out of self defense against volatile, violent racists, no matter how many times you call me dumb or childish.