But that doesn't change the merit of the argument
[QUOTE=Shaolin Wookie;1250410]
If some man (and this is hypothetical--not related to the case at hand or the people involved) lives twenty years of his life as a wife-abusing drug addict, but then cleans up, gets a job, and lives productively, then he is not a hypocrite if he tells some young wife-abusing drug addict that he's wasting his life, hurting people, and living an unproductive lifestyle.
/QUOTE]
All true, but in appraising the good or bad of the DECISION to leave, or stay, what kind of person the subject is, or was, has nothing to do with whether the DECISION is right or wrong. That's why the ad hominem argument is so illogical. If you were discussing whether the decision was right or wrong, who made the decision is irrelevant. If you were really discussing the merits of the person, then the decision they made is irrelevant. When did this forum become "Is Garry Mullins for real?"
Just One Student
"I seek, not to know all the answers, but to understand the questions." --- Kwai Chang Caine
(I'd really like to know all the answers, too, but understanding the questions, like most of my martial arts practice, is a more realistically attainable goal)