this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2023
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Both sidesism is so stupid.
"Oh let me hear the fascist nazi's side that's trying to kill trans people as a scapegoat! I am so enlightened and balanced to be hearing this side too!"
"So scientist are saying cigarettes are bad for my health? Well I should listen to what cigarette companies have to say as well so I can form an enlightened opinion."
... that's not a centrist view. That's a black and white clear-cut issue with zero benefit to hearing both sides. In other words, it's a shitty straw man argument.
There's no 'centrist' argument being presented here other than "you're tired of people not listening to you and ending up being proven right? Try being a centrist instead!" Which is a dumb as fuck thing to say. So with that in mind, anything someone says could be labeled a "Strawman" because there was no actual argument presented in the first place.
The thing about logical fallacies, is that just because you spot them and name them doesn't mean the argument is wrong. Recognizing the fallacy helps you argue against it, but simply naming it and acting like that in and of itself is a counter argument is a fallacy fallacy.
So, for example, if you wanted to point out a Strawman fallacy, you need to show why it's a Strawman fallacy by restating what the actual argument is.
Well, if you'd like, I can point out WHY it's a straw man, but you seem to have a grasp on that bit, however...
It's a straw man because you're asserting that a centrist would immediately want hear out a deeply biased corporation with nothing but profit motivation and would weigh them the same.
If you wanted the example to be more accurate and like the current US political system, instead of presenting the Democrats as disconnected neutral parties with nothing to gain, they would be akin to vaping corporations and the centrist would tell them both to get fucked (all the while tobacco users and bros with "sick vape rigs" called them stupid because "at least they stand for something").
I have to assume leaving Republican out of that paragraph was a typo, otherwise that argument is not centrist at all.
If Republican was meant to be in there then I guess not listening to either political party is fair, but those are your voting options so I don't know how you manage that. Typically when I hear people talk about being a centrist it's in regards to an argument Democrats and Republicans are having, so even if "telling both parties to get fucked" is true for you, it's not true for most "centrists" people encounter.
There's also the fact that compared to the rest of the world Democrats are "slightly right" on the political spectrum and Republicans are "extreme right". So someone close to the center on the political spectrum would be further left than Democrats. When I hear someone say they are a "Centrist" followed by saying "maybe the Republican supporters have a point" it rings hollow.
The assumption on my part was that the evil tobacco corp (the only other party in your example) was the stand in for the Republicans.
... that's not a centrist view. That's a shitty straw man argument.