No, the phrase is most often used to simply mean, "the other side of this discussion." In fact I almost never see it to mean what you said, to take the side of

No, the phrase is most often used to simply mean, "the other side of this discussion." In fact I almost never see it to mean what you said, to take the side of the negative side of an issue where said negative side would condemn one to be a "shitty person." It seems again that the phrasing creates this pervasive idea that the person using the phrase is using it in a fully intended negative way when it's just said off hand without thought. That is to say, it is replaceable with a phrase like "looking at the other side of the coin," as I initially stated. Examples: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33544320 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33544320 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6315113#6315483 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6315113#6315483 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2564385 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2564385