08 Jul Moral Equivalence Fallacy – FT#3
Show Notes
The fallacy of Moral Equivalence is committed when someone argues that because the actions of two people or groups are morally equivalent (whether they are or not), those people or groups are just as bad as each other.
Trump
We started out with these three clips of Trump talking about the Nazis in Charlottesville:
We followed that with Trump introducing the poem The Snake:
Mark’s British Politics Corner
Mark talked about this tweet from Boris Johnson blaming “all” for protesters in Iran being shot:
This is moral equivalence at its worst. Would be helpful if European voices expressed support for right of popular protest and legitimacy of criticisms that focus on government corruption, societal illiberalism, costly foreign adventurism, etc.
— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) January 2, 2018
Fallacy in the Wild (Sting: kind of a David Attenborough impression but with Tarzan in the background for some reason)
In the Fallacy in the Wild we looked at this racist tweet from Roseanne, and Trump’s follow up tweet making it all about himself:
Bob Iger of ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that “ABC does not tolerate comments like those” made by Roseanne Barr. Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I just didn’t get the call?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018
Then we talked about this clip from The Samantha Bee Show and Trump’s response:
Why aren’t they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show? A total double standard but that’s O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2018
Fake News
Here are the statements from this week’s Fake News game:
- It’s very unfair, the treatment I’ve had. If you think about it, nobody else could have done what I’ve done and I think – actually a lot of people have said it – that I’m an American hero.
- You ever notice, they always call the other side ‘the elite’? The elite. Why are they elite? I have a much better apartment than they do. I’m smarter than they are. I’m richer than they are. I became president and they didn’t.
- I may be wrong. I may stand before you in six months and say, ‘Hey, I was wrong.’ I don’t know if I’ll ever admit that, but I’ll find some kind of an excuse.
Click below for the answer
Mark got it wrong again this week, and is still on 0%
Justice is not a logical fallacy
We talked about Mitch McConnell’s plans to replace Anthony Kennedy before the midterms
The stories we really didn’t have time to talk about:
- Trump signed an executive order ending the separation of families at the border and instead requiring children to be detained indefinitely in the same facility as their parents. He then claimed to have fixed the problem, like someone who sets fire to an orphanage, pisses on the fire and demands a medal.
- Melania flew out to visit children in a detention centre, while wearing a jacket that said ‘I really don’t care, do U?’ in huge letters on the back. Her spokesperson said there was no hidden message, which is technically true, since the message was loud and clear.
- Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, VA, by the owner, who said they had certain standards to uphold. In a clear ethics violation, Sanders then used her official government Twitter account to attack the restaurant and Trump weighed in soon after.
- According to intelligence sources, North Korea has been increasing its production of fuel for nuclear weapons and completing the expansion of a key missile manufacturing plant. But it’s OK, because Kim promised Donny that they’d stop. Pinky swear.
- In an interview with George Stephanopoulos, former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, who once said he would take a bullet for Trump, now says his loyalty lies with his family and his country. He said he does not agree that the Mueller investigation is a witch hunt, and he believes the intelligence agencies regarding Putin meddling in the US election.
- Last Sunday, Trump tweeted that America needs immediate deportation of immigrants without due process. He’s definitely read the constitution, though – he must just have skipped over the 5th and 14th amendments.
- Former Fox News Exec Bill Shine has been named the new White House Communications Director. Befitting the real-life ‘Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher’ job, Shine is a totally qualified candidate who hardly ever covered up sexual harassment scandals at Fox. Well, maybe 4 or 5 times. 12 max.
- And finally, the Trump Foundation’s lawyer asked to change the date of the trial against the allegedly fraudulent charity so that it doesn’t happen just before the midterm elections. The judge in the case laughed, didn’t change the date, and hinted she would be requiring the president to testify.
If you wanted to buy a T-shirt featuring this fallacy, you could click here. No pressure
And if you have some money left over after that, Jim’s book, 2000 Mules and One Big Lie: A Stubborn Conspiracy Theory is available now.
