There are three ways I'm aware of to deal with the charge of hypocrisy:
1.) Own up.
2.) Elaborate on original argument to show consistency which isn't superficially obvious.
3.) Avoidance. (Aloofness can be included here, if that's the charge being made on your part).
Guess which one humanity (not just the Tea Party, but most politicians, pundits and armchair pundits) choose most often?
Does it bug me when someone or some group chooses door #3? Sure, but since it's not particularly unexpected, I can't afford to let it get to me and stay sane in a world neck-deep in the stuff. For the sake of this discussion it's that some people think there's rhetorical gold to be made by making the argument that someone elses' crap smells worse than everyone elses when it gets to the sewage treatment plant.
Can you not see the futility yourself? What makes you think that this particular example of hypocrisy is so much more worthy of singling out for attention than politicians whose ideas on how to use government come back to bite us in the ass, deflect any responsibility? If its their agenda that you hate, keep that as your target. Hypocrisy is a charge that is separate from the core of the ideas that form the basis of your contempt. Pointing it out will advance your argument all of naught.
Credits & Style Info
Talk Politics. A place to discuss politics without egomaniacal mods
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 3/7/11 22:34 (UTC)There are three ways I'm aware of to deal with the charge of hypocrisy:
1.) Own up.
2.) Elaborate on original argument to show consistency which isn't superficially obvious.
3.) Avoidance. (Aloofness can be included here, if that's the charge being made on your part).
Guess which one humanity (not just the Tea Party, but most politicians, pundits and armchair pundits) choose most often?
Does it bug me when someone or some group chooses door #3? Sure, but since it's not particularly unexpected, I can't afford to let it get to me and stay sane in a world neck-deep in the stuff. For the sake of this discussion it's that some people think there's rhetorical gold to be made by making the argument that someone elses' crap smells worse than everyone elses when it gets to the sewage treatment plant.
Can you not see the futility yourself? What makes you think that this particular example of hypocrisy is so much more worthy of singling out for attention than politicians whose ideas on how to use government come back to bite us in the ass, deflect any responsibility? If its their agenda that you hate, keep that as your target. Hypocrisy is a charge that is separate from the core of the ideas that form the basis of your contempt. Pointing it out will advance your argument all of naught.