It's a timeless, perhaps even instinctive, rhetorical formula. If you want to advocate some policy or cause you first establish your independence to imply non-

It's a timeless, perhaps even instinctive, rhetorical formula. If you want to advocate some policy or cause you first establish your independence to imply non-biased consideration. If you want to criticize some policy or group you first establish that you were previously an advocate of that policy or group, or currently still are part of that group, implying that the criticism is so undeniable that even someone predisposed to bias and self-interest can't reject it. We all do this. For example, "I actually like Rust and use it daily, BUT...."