[Ads-l] [Non-DoD Source] Re: "man" avoidance

[Laurence Horn]

It's not really used much as a term in argumentation, as far as I know, but
there is a connection with "straw man/person" arguments. The wikipedia site
for "stalking horse" gives a good synopsis at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalking_horse

Note especially the political examples:

=============

The phenomenon occurs particularly in politics, where a junior politician
acts as the stalking horse to promote the interests of a senior politician,
who remains unseen in case the actions would damage him or her but
nevertheless wants to provoke a debate or challenge to a party colleague.
In some cases, stalking horses are not working for a particular individual
but may wish to provoke a response that leads others to join in. In
politics, the truth about the relationship between an individual stalking
horse and a candidate may never be known, as both sides may claim that the
(alleged) stalking horse acted without the agreement of anyone else.

For example, in Britain, the elderly and largely unknown back-bench
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backbencher> politician Anthony Meyer
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Anthony_Meyer,_3rd_Baronet> challenged
and helped to bring about the eventual resignation of Margaret Thatcher
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher> in the Conservative Party
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)> leadership.

In American politics, George W. Romney
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Romney> believed that Nelson
Rockefeller <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Rockefeller> had used him
as a stalking horse in the 1968 Republican Party presidential primaries
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_presidential_primaries,_1968>
 by promising support, then not providing it and hinting at his own entry
into the campaign.

=============

I'd venture that the stalking horse has in common with (let's say) the
straw man is the insincerity and hidden agenda of the perpetrator.
Different circumstances, but close enough for confusion or conflation to
arise. (One difference is that someone engaged in misinformation but not
disinformation can unknowingly present arguments against a straw man, while
presumably you can't be a stalking horse for someone without knowing that
you are.)

LH

On Thu, Jul 21, 2022 at 8:26 AM Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:

> On 6/26/22 00:00, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
> > Date:    Sat, 25 Jun 2022 15:40:10 -0400
> > From:    Laurence Horn<laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> > Subject: Re: [Non-DoD Source] Re: "man" avoidance
> >
> > But in particular (unlike the use of e.g. "a straw person argument"),
> this
> > is a likely blend (or confusion) of "straw man" and "stalking horse"
>
> Catching up on old e-mail: What's a "stalking horse", esp. in arguments?
>
> ---Amy West
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org