We have, on occasion, discussed different forms of argument. We have not, however, encountered this:
An argument between two debate coaches that was caught on video was not the sharp-witted dialogue typically associated with college debate teams. Instead, the two traded profanity-laced barbs and one of them pulled down his shorts, exposing his underwear. …
“In 18 years of taking part in debates, I have never seen an incident like this one,” said Gordon Stables, first vice president of the Cross Examination Debate Association, which sponsored the March tournament in Wichita, Kan., where the argument took place. …
The argument, which appears to be at least in part about race, is punctuated with frequent cursing and name-calling. [Fort Hays State University debate coach William] Shanahan, who is white, and [University of Pittsburgh debate coach Shanara] Reid-Brinkley, who is black, scream criticisms about one another’s body language during students’ debates.
At one point Shanahan screams as he jumps up, then yanks his shorts down to his knees and points his rear end at Reid-Brinkley.
But what to call it? Argument Ab Natibus or a form of Reductio Ad Nudum Corpum? Or perhaps simply the Ace Ventura Technique?
The video is at YouTube, of course. Now that I’ve seen it (moment of truth at the 0:36 mark), I think I’ll dub it Dismissal Via Hippie Skivvies.
Update: Reader B.B. writes to remind me of something that I, of all people on here, should have remembered (link added):
Actually, like most “life imitates art” instances, it comes from “The Simpsons”. Homer, who joined the forensics society in high school to meet Marge, once mooned for rebuttal.
