there’s a type of somewhat novel but ultimately stupid political argument that is designed specifically to appeal to the “whoa dude” lobe of a 15 year-old’s brain and those arguments work on online conservatives every time
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It's maddening how they condescendingly insist that they're the rational/logical ones when their whole world view collapses into a nihilism that they're either too immature or sociopathic to understand.
Is the "false choice narrative" a sub-genre of that? You know the whole, "But how can we help people in Fuckthemistan if we have veterans with ingrown toenails here at home?!? [insert dumbass emoji of hand under chin]"
I had a history teacher in HS who made this exact statement to our class and my ignorant white privileged teenage ass thought he made a good point. Now I know better. Looking back at this dude he was such rightwing POS. He wore a 3pc suit everyday, to a public school gig. Fucking Loser.
I remember in the late 2000s we had a golden age of broke Libertarians spouting stuff like this and making comics, stories etc to explain how it would work.
Then fighting with each other in the comments over which human rights should be violated to protect their ideals. ("Murder is okay actually.")
(This was an actual one I saw, arguing if letting the community just decide collectively how to deal with Murder was better than having an established understanding... because how many murders could you get away with before everyone stops taking your money anyway?)
i have to say i heard this argument a lot when i was 15 and arguing online with libertarians was a top 5 hobby for me, and even back then i thought it was the dumbest shit ever
and on a similar note, when conservatives are talking about their political philosophy, they’ll often start with what they think people are NOT entitled to and work outwards from there
Someone told me that “using your own assets as you see fit” can’t be selfish but upon further reflection I’m pretty sure that is the only way one can be selfish
Dude, I spent two decades with Straussians. They ALWAYS start with that as a first principle. Then they spend the rest of the day telling you how Plato wrote that you shouldn't have health care.
It says something about a political philosophy that it can be entirely summed up in a comment on a blog.
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
Apologies, I'm days late in catching up with this thread, but I wanted to share this great piece on the *different* Frank Wilhoit who coined that great definition of conservatism. I was tickled to learn about the charming attribution mix-up, and maybe you'll enjoy it too:
I found this idea compelling as a teenager in 2006 lol. And then I had to grow up and get kicked off my parents health insurance and quickly found my beliefs changing. I think a lot of people had similar trajectories back then. Seems like people get stuck at that first step today tho.
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https://bsky.app/profile/baseless-fabric.privac.ie/post/3laofkmx5av2t
Anarchocapitalists are so stupid
Then fighting with each other in the comments over which human rights should be violated to protect their ideals. ("Murder is okay actually.")
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
https://slate.com/business/2022/06/wilhoits-law-conservatives-frank-wilhoit.html