Guilt-by-association

“Guilt-by-association” is a charge that gets thrown around rather freely. But it’s necessary to draw some elementary distinctions.

Suppose I’m a member of the Aryan Nations, the KKK, or the American Nazi Party. Suppose that Frank Walton accuses me of racism due to my membership in one of these august organizations.

Is Walton resorting to guilt-by-association? Yes.

Is Walton wrong to do so? No, not in this instance.

If I’m a Klansman or Neo-Nazi, then it’s entirely legitimate to infer my racial views from the company I keep.

Suppose I don’t belong to one of the aforesaid organizations. But suppose my brother is a member.

Would it be logical to accuse me of racism because my brother is a racist? No. Obviously not.

Suppose I’m a member of the GOP. Would it therefore be valid to infer that I’m for deficient spending or amnesty for illegals because I voted for George Bush?

Obviously not. I may well have voted for him because I support him on other issues, even though I oppose him on deficient spending an amnesty for illegals.

Whether guilt-by-association is a fallacy or not all depends on the degree of association. We can only judge that on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes the inference is valid, other times not.