“What If”: A Moralist’s Weaksauce Weapon Of Choice When Shaming You

Every now and again I come across this general type of Facebook comment:

What if something tragic were to happen because we didn’t <<Insert thing the person is mad about>>. I bet you’d feel real bad at that moment. Your insensitivity shows how vile a person you are.

As I get to know the homeowners of my neighbourhood online via the good old fashioned town square debate, all taking place over Facebook Groups, I encounter these moral arguments.

The intention is to shame you into feeling bad based on what you chose to express.

Sometimes these folk have a really good point, but mostly it’s delivered in a way that makes me understand where the term “snowflake” came from.

Personally, I think this style of argument is as weak as when people rely on grammar corrections, it’s proof the person has nothing of substance to say.

Moral arguments are only powerful when we all share the same moral code

I grew up in a city that taught me to respect other people’s belief systems. 

We all have our own internal moral compass that we choose to respect, or ignore as we see fit. That being said, let’s pretend we’re all the virtuous type for a second, it’s entirely two very moral people who disagree about things in a diametrically opposed way.

Pretty much any hott topic debate item panders to different moral codes. 

My point is that what you believe to be right and wrong may be different from what I believe to be right and wrong.

If your argument is that I am morally wrong in your eyes, but the same action makes me morally right in my eyes, does it really matter what you think? If I don’t think it’s wrong, just because you say it is, doesn’t make me feel bad. I sleep just as good at night believing I’m acting justly, just as they do. 

It’s a moral issue because morals are a question of what is right and wrong.

If we can’t agree on what’s right and wrong, moral victories are probably one sided 

There are people who are convinced the IDF is morally sound bombing the shit out of Gaza and there are people who think Gaza is morally sound for what it did on October 7th.

I know people I respect who represent both those camps. They come through and drop haymakers, from their perspective, via giant moral grandstanding. Big statements that provide huge dopamine hits but otherwise serve no practical function.

Stuff like:Anyone who supports the terrorist in Gaza shouldn’t be trusted to make decisions

This will make one side very mad and the other side cheer. The rest of us are left with nothing to say. This is clearly a statement made based on one set of moral principles on the Israel-Hamas issue, it could just as easily have been:

Anyone who supports the genocide in Gaza shouldn’t be trusted to make decisions

It’s still mostly a battle cry without much else but pledging moral allegiance publicly.

What we can take from this is that moral arguments really only work on people who share the same morals. 

You can see how the public conversations between these two camps devolve into vapid moral quips without any substance.

Mostly the people using weaksauce moral arguments want you to display more empathy

I’ll get critized because I make the occasional ageist comment that shows me as insensitive to old people.

I do hold a grudge against old people, the modern wealth gap makes it tough to love them. That being said, just because in casual conversation online I don’t go out of my way to sound inclusive, I ignore the needs of those who are less able than I. I’m just not sure I want to live in a society governed by the needs of the scaredy cats and the overly worried.

If we really want to solve old people's issues, we’d throw money at that or vote in politicians that care. Mostly I see people using old people as a weapon to get moral support for their selfish opinions. All that is fine, but if you’re willing to do that, don’t judge me for being callous back.

We’re all playing politics together at that point. 

Not every statement needs to be inclusive of the needs of everyone. Sometimes we need to have conversations that are weird and uncomfortable. Trying to bully people by showing how shameful they are is just some Karen-like Debbie-Sue ass shit. 

You can say what you mean without relying on public shaming. 

Live Long and Prosper Everyone