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Has anyone else noticed a sudden lack of reading comprehension skills?
(sh.itjust.works)
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this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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I recently got into a long, really dumb argument. I used the phrase "lesser of two evils" and what seemed like fifty people (actually two or three) seemed to think that meant I approved of, strenuously endorsed, and would defend the actions of the "lesser evil."
To me, this seemed like a basic misunderstanding of what the phrase meant, so I defined it. Their response to my definition was to say the same sort of thing they'd already said while claiming to totally know what "lesser of two evils" meant.
I lost my cool, and explained what the phrase meant again. One of the folks explained themselves calmly while the others seemed to think I was a congenital idiot because I kept repeating myself.
I don't want this to get any longer, so I'll just say that we were talking past each other. Nobody (well, except fr the one guy who stopped to explain what he meant) was really comprehending what the other person said. So everyone was a dumbass, basically. Story of my life, really.
At least, I think that's what happened. Watch the asshole who called me a liar and an idiot show up here to not explain how I'm a liar and an idiot again.
That sounds more like someone just rejecting all "lesser of two evils" scenarios rather than a reading comprehension problem.
Yes, that was the gist of their point I think. The thinking being that choosing the lesser evil is still choosing evil. My point was that if evil is going to win no matter what you do, isn't it better to pick which evil you're going to have to deal with?
It's seldom the case that the lesser of two evils has to win save when you aren't allowed to choose a good path because of entrenched interests better served by evil.
Are you familiar with the U.S. Presidential electoral process?
Exactly the situation described. It's possible to fix that process but too many entrenched interests render this impossible
Mm, I think what you're likely arguing about is super contentious, AND complex. I agree that picking the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil (because it is, it says so right in the phrase!). That isn't to say you're necessarily endorsing the second evil, or that youre evil for making the choice. The world is fucked up and complex and no one is perfectly good.
But yeah I think conversations around voting, especially in the US, are really difficult to have because people are extremely opinionated and none of us REALLY know what would happen if we stopped voting altogether, which makes a lot of people anxiously compelled to do it(such as myself)