4 ms·

It's because the equivalency doesn't exist. The "both sides" argument is a political argument used by the republican party and it's always in the context of "L

by djaque 6y ago

It's because the equivalency doesn't exist. The "both sides" argument is a political argument used by the republican party and it's always in the context of "Look! They're just as bad as us." as an excuse to justify their behaviour. Only one side spent months pretending that the cornavirus pandemic didn't exist when we should have been preparing for it. It was one side that pitted the states against each other and held back life-saving supplies based on personal favors to the president. It's one side that is fueling the dangerous protests right now. That's also only just the last few months. So much has happened that I barely even remember all of the other crises that one side has caused. The Ukraine scandal, Russian interference, election fraud and the long trail of indictments that came from it. There's also hurricane Maria (which foreshadowed covid-19), spygate, the revolving door of the presidential cabinet, and the fact that it's such a problem that some seats are just unfilled because they cannot find enough people who are willing to put up with "the one side" for them. All of this is well documented by loads of reputed news sources and there is no equivalent "other side" to this behavior. Edit: It really stinks, because I personally lean conservative on financial issues, but I cannot in good conscience support this administration.

ufmace 6y ago
Where are you getting this idea that only the Republicans "pretended that the pandemic didn't exist"? https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/as-virus-rages-leaders-keep-dodging-blame https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/as-vir... Nancy Pelosi dismissing the threat and encouraging people to celebrate in large groups in Chinatown on Feb 24th: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/30/nancy-pelosi-dismissed-coronavirus-threat-february-chinatown-visit-everything-fine-here/ https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/30/nancy-pelosi-d... Here's a tweet, still live, by NYC Mayor Bill Deblasio on March 2 urging people to get out and socialize: https://twitter.com/BilldeBlasio/status/1234648718714036229 https://twitter.com/BilldeBlasio/status/1234648718714036229 A piece by a reporter including a video that Trump made of media sources downplaying the Coronavirus threat: https://dailycaller.com/2020/04/19/unfit-to-print-trump-coronavirus-briefing-paula-reid-cbs/ https://dailycaller.com/2020/04/19/unfit-to-print-trump-coro... All left-wing media outlets spent their time downplaying it. Here's a few pictures: https://twitter.com/DanCrenshawTX/status/1247505671672795137 https://twitter.com/DanCrenshawTX/status/1247505671672795137 I don't recall any statements from any Democrats criticizing them for their delayed reactions. Their reactions are instead to deny or ignore that they said those things, and try to blame Trump instead. Meanwhile, when Trump instituted a fairly moderate ban on travel from China, they screamed at the top of their lungs that it was racist. Now they're screaming that he didn't do more sooner. What is it with these people?
- mturmon 6y ago
  This comment is a great example of bad faith pro-Trump arguments. It is a despicable bunch of disinformation. It’s cherry picking a few old comments while ignoring the overwhelming tide of know-nothing minimization of the pandemic that characterizes Trump’s comments right up to the present day.
  - ryandrake 6y ago
    It’s literally the “Both Sides” fallacious argument. Cherry pick a tiny handful of tweets from one side and compare it with the constant torrent of communication in multiple media forms over months... and claim that shows both sides are equally bad.
    - mturmon 6y ago
      Yes. This argument style passed its sell-by date long ago and I have lost patience with those who practice it.
- djaque 6y ago
  I get that idea because all of the sources you're citing are extremely far-right biased publications [1] or like one-off tweets that you've cherry picked from a background of more grounded discussion. None of this compares to the clear message that has been coming from the highest offices of our government for the past three months. What's ironic is that I think you're using the "both sides" argument right here for all of the wrong reasons I complained about in my original post. Even if the democratic party organized an effort to discredit health experts and denounce the virus (which they didn't), why does that matter? They would also deserve to be shamed just as the current administration does. I care about having a competent federal response to this ongoing crisis, not for example holding up federal stimulus checks to make sure your signature gets printed on them for your reelection campaign [2]. Also, please note that I've sourced that fact from the BBC, a reputable news source. [1] https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-ratings https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-ratings [2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52293910 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52293910

by djaque 6y ago

ufmace 6y ago

Where are you getting this idea that only the Republicans "pretended that the pandemic didn't exist"? https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/as-virus-rages-leaders-keep-dodging-blame https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/as-vir... Nancy Pelosi dismissing the threat and encouraging people to celebrate in large groups in Chinatown on Feb 24th: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/30/nancy-pelosi-dismissed-coronavirus-threat-february-chinatown-visit-everything-fine-here/ https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/30/nancy-pelosi-d... Here's a tweet, still live, by NYC Mayor Bill Deblasio on March 2 urging people to get out and socialize: https://twitter.com/BilldeBlasio/status/1234648718714036229 https://twitter.com/BilldeBlasio/status/1234648718714036229 A piece by a reporter including a video that Trump made of media sources downplaying the Coronavirus threat: https://dailycaller.com/2020/04/19/unfit-to-print-trump-coronavirus-briefing-paula-reid-cbs/ https://dailycaller.com/2020/04/19/unfit-to-print-trump-coro... All left-wing media outlets spent their time downplaying it. Here's a few pictures: https://twitter.com/DanCrenshawTX/status/1247505671672795137 https://twitter.com/DanCrenshawTX/status/1247505671672795137 I don't recall any statements from any Democrats criticizing them for their delayed reactions. Their reactions are instead to deny or ignore that they said those things, and try to blame Trump instead. Meanwhile, when Trump instituted a fairly moderate ban on travel from China, they screamed at the top of their lungs that it was racist. Now they're screaming that he didn't do more sooner. What is it with these people?

mturmon 6y ago
This comment is a great example of bad faith pro-Trump arguments. It is a despicable bunch of disinformation. It’s cherry picking a few old comments while ignoring the overwhelming tide of know-nothing minimization of the pandemic that characterizes Trump’s comments right up to the present day.
- ryandrake 6y ago
  It’s literally the “Both Sides” fallacious argument. Cherry pick a tiny handful of tweets from one side and compare it with the constant torrent of communication in multiple media forms over months... and claim that shows both sides are equally bad.
  - mturmon 6y ago
    Yes. This argument style passed its sell-by date long ago and I have lost patience with those who practice it.
djaque 6y ago
I get that idea because all of the sources you're citing are extremely far-right biased publications [1] or like one-off tweets that you've cherry picked from a background of more grounded discussion. None of this compares to the clear message that has been coming from the highest offices of our government for the past three months. What's ironic is that I think you're using the "both sides" argument right here for all of the wrong reasons I complained about in my original post. Even if the democratic party organized an effort to discredit health experts and denounce the virus (which they didn't), why does that matter? They would also deserve to be shamed just as the current administration does. I care about having a competent federal response to this ongoing crisis, not for example holding up federal stimulus checks to make sure your signature gets printed on them for your reelection campaign [2]. Also, please note that I've sourced that fact from the BBC, a reputable news source. [1] https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-ratings https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-ratings [2] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52293910 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52293910