[datsci_est_2015]

> X is basically Y is how we got here

This is abuser rhetoric that’s become increasingly common in conservative circles, akin to “You’re making me do this to you!”

“Woke” individuals (i.e. people who are well-read and critically observant) have been sounding the alarm about warning signs for years, but their message was often twisted and lampooned, leaving an easy out for less critically-observant individuals to mark it as hysteria: “X is basically Y”.

You can find plenty of moderate “woke” voices dating back to the Bush administration warning about objectively concerning trends, especially with regards to the surveillance state and rights to privacy, which is why this thread exists in the first place.

[yunwal]

>> X is basically Y is how we got here

> This is abuser rhetoric

Oh come on, this has nothing to do with being an abuser. You're doing the online millennial version of calling someone a dork. It's the way an entire generation of "left"ists (with no actual leftist principles) learned to bully the people they have a distaste for. Just call them an abuser, a facist, etc etc until the words mean nothing anymore and actual abusers and facists can get away with it in broad daylight.

[datsci_est_2015]

No I stand by my careful choice of the word “abuser”. There’s quite literally an overarching movement of actions and rhetoric from conservatives since 2016 that is best analogized as an abusive partner.

You’re actually doing it again in your very comment, ironically, painting it as my fault that things are the way they are, despite the fact that all I’ve done is try to bring attention to things that I find troubling. Just like an abusive partner: “It’s your fault. You’re the reason I have to be violent with you.”

So yes, I will continue to call out actions and rhetoric that can be analogized to an abusive relationship because I believe it’s one of the core moral failings of the current reactionary movement in the US.

Edit: Also, isn’t “the boy who cried fascist” a relatively weak argument when the fascists actually do show up, during the exact political movement the boy was warning sounded fascist?

[yunwal]

Have you heard of the story of the boy who cried wolf? The wolf succeeds because people start ignoring the boy whenever he claims there's a wolf. So no, it's not a weak argument. It's the whole point of the story you're referencing.