Quillion
Smash Hero
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2014
- Messages
- 5,642
I'd like to preface this post by saying that yes, there is a place for that sort of thing. It's good to put forth a similar statement when the debate has degenerated into a big shouting match of hate and toxicity, and then just leave it there.
But I think there's a discussion to be had in how "both sides suck" types of people are romanticized as "free thinkers" who are above the "bandwagoning sheep". And this applies to a lot of debates in general, whether that be political debates, wokeness debates, or even just gaming discourse. Honestly, "both sides suck" statements these days have been diluted from a plea to stop a toxicity contest into a big sign that says, "Look, I think I'm better than everybody here".
And really, how much do these statements really contribute to a debate? People who subscribe to "both sides suck" tend to focus on how both sides are being toxic, but that's also dismissive of how both sides have good or reasonable people in them. And the good people on either side are either contributing to the discussion or getting things done. Meanwhile, "both sides suck" guys are like "everyone is stupid, and I'm totally not", so they don't even contribute to any debate at all, just a meta-debate that's only tangentially related at best.
It feels like borderline vigilantism in a lot of cases. If anything, I just think that "both/all sides suck" statements need to be used a lot less lightly, or if there is a legitimate position in that statement, give some in-depth reasoning behind it instead of "because everyone on all sides is being stupid".
But I think there's a discussion to be had in how "both sides suck" types of people are romanticized as "free thinkers" who are above the "bandwagoning sheep". And this applies to a lot of debates in general, whether that be political debates, wokeness debates, or even just gaming discourse. Honestly, "both sides suck" statements these days have been diluted from a plea to stop a toxicity contest into a big sign that says, "Look, I think I'm better than everybody here".
And really, how much do these statements really contribute to a debate? People who subscribe to "both sides suck" tend to focus on how both sides are being toxic, but that's also dismissive of how both sides have good or reasonable people in them. And the good people on either side are either contributing to the discussion or getting things done. Meanwhile, "both sides suck" guys are like "everyone is stupid, and I'm totally not", so they don't even contribute to any debate at all, just a meta-debate that's only tangentially related at best.
It feels like borderline vigilantism in a lot of cases. If anything, I just think that "both/all sides suck" statements need to be used a lot less lightly, or if there is a legitimate position in that statement, give some in-depth reasoning behind it instead of "because everyone on all sides is being stupid".