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I saw this sign in my West Seattle neighborhood last week and wondered which victims they were talking about, exactly.
—Are they talking about people who buy stuff on Craigslist?
—Are they talking about people who sell stuff on Craigslist?
—Or are they saying that Craigslist itself is a victim?
(Psst! Whoever wrote this caption appears to be a victim too. Of the public school system.)
Actually, the sign is referring to a Lake Stevens man named James Sanders. Sanders was murdered by thugs after he’d placed a “jewelry for sale” ad on—you guessed it—Craigslist!
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100505/NEWS01/705059816/0/SPORTS06
The Breath of Life sign is strongly implying that Mr. Sanders and people like him are victims not of crime, per se, but of Craigslist.
Apart from humor value, the sign is useful for understanding the post hoc fallacy. A person who commits this fallacy holds that because two events occur at about the same time they must be related in a cause-effect fashion. In this case, the Breath of Life church is suggesting that since thugs are using Craigslist to victimize people Craigslist is inherently evil.
Internet bulletin boards like Craigslist certainly have their faults, but blaming Craigslist for the fact that criminals use its ad service to entice victims is like saying Home Depot is responsible for a murder committed with a hammer bought at one of its stores.
I’m sure that’s happened. So why have we never heard of the “Home Depot murders”?
In the absence of Craigslist, the thugs who killed Mr. Sanders probably would have just checked the newspaper want ads looking for people selling jewelry. Would Breath of Life then have appealed on behalf of the “Classifieds Section” victims?
I doubt it.
Post hoc fallacy.
Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.
Pray for the victums!
Ahem! We will now observe a moment of Internet silence.
(Psych!!)
—D.P.
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