But…

  • LinkOpensChest.wav@lemmy.one
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    45
    arrow-down
    9
    ·
    11 months ago

    The meme is more targeting so-called “devil’s advocates” and people who argue from a position of extreme privilege. An example I can think of is people hand-waving away the existence of concentration camps and Democrats’ role in colonialist border policy, which is easy for someone to say who’s not imprisoned in those camps.

    Or implying we need to compromise on LGBT+ equality, etc.

    Does that sound like what you’re doing? I’m not seeing that sort of thing in your description.

    It’s ok to be a vocal ally or supporter of a cause, but “devil’s advocates” usually don’t have anything worthwhile to contribute.

    • flames5123@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      11 months ago

      I do love doing devil’s advocate where it helps me and my friends understand our position when faced with these questions. But I’m definitely not playing it all the time.

      • LinkOpensChest.wav@lemmy.one
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        5
        ·
        11 months ago

        I think it depends. When someone starts playing “devil’s advocate” with me about the US border when I literally have friends and loved ones being wrongfully imprisoned or deported, I’d say they get a negative score on the empathy meter.

        Or people playing “devil’s advocate” about trans people in sports when they themselves are not trans, I’d say the same.

        In fact, I can’t think of an example in which someone can play devil’s advocate without being so far removed from the topic at hand that they’d perhaps benefit from forestalling sharing their opinion, though I imagine between friends might be such a case, as you said.

        • dfc09@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          11 months ago

          Maybe I’m misunderstanding what “Devil’s Advocate” means. It’s literally the argument of the “Devil”

          The way I’ve always used it was to lay out the arguments of my opposition, to predict how they’d think so I could prepare counters accordingly.

          If somebody is claiming to play devil’s advocate while voicing their own stances, they just know they have the wrong opinion on a topic and are trying to shield themselves from scorn.

        • flames5123@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          11 months ago

          I play devils advocate when people are talking about how to handle homeless population, taxes, etc., but if they try to debate human rights, I agree that they can f- off.

          • LinkOpensChest.wav@lemmy.one
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            8
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            11 months ago

            Homeless population debates are about human rights. People who dehumanize the homeless or NIMBYs who want them displaced are horrible people.

            • flames5123@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              4
              arrow-down
              2
              ·
              11 months ago

              Yes, exactly, but we all have different solutions on how to deal with the underlying issue, or even what the underlying issue actually is. I take a different stance depending on the discussion with my friends so we can poke holes in the argument together and really understand the underlying issue together. That’s what devils advocate is really for.

              I’m super progressive, so I think we should be having safe use sites, making all drugs legal. For the drugs that can kill from withdrawal, we should be supplying this at these safe use sites with the hopes of weaning them off. As for homes, we just don’t have enough. Get rid of these stupid parking lots in the cities that only ever have a dozen or so cars in them and just build subsidized housing.