this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2025
431 points (97.2% liked)

Science

3418 readers
660 users here now

General discussions about "science" itself

Be sure to also check out these other Fediverse science communities:

https://lemmy.ml/c/science

https://beehaw.org/c/science

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago (4 children)

To clarify, what you're doing is "what-aboutism". Asking China to be more humane is not a comment on anything but China being more humane.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

Honestly China might start looking moderate compared to what I expect our new Dear Leader to do in the coming years.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

They weren't just asking China to be more humane, though. They were suggesting that China doesn't deserve our cooperation because they are inhumane, which implies we have the moral high ground and is explicitly hypocritical. It isn't whataboutism to point out hypocrisy.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

There's a lot of assuming, implying, and suggesting in that take. The original just said if they were more humane we would work with them.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

You don't at all see how that implies moral superiority? Or are you just giving them the benefit of the doubt?

The problem is holding China to a higher standard than we hold ourselves to.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I mean I could see how you could get that but it's not how I read it. I read it as they are not humane enough to effectively collaborate with.

I mean, listen, America is a huge hypocrisy so I'm not saying people aren't doing that, I guess I just read it more literally.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's a bad take either way, and that interpretation makes way less sense. The reason we don't collaborate with China is geopolitical, and has nothing to do with ethics or China being too inhumane to effectively collaborate with (whatever that means).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

I mean, I'm aware of the actual reason, I've never argued that lol.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Try to read up and understand what whataboutism means. Because you clearly didn't get the point of my comment.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

You brought up other societies as compared them to us. It's the definition of what-aboutism, just read up on it again to make sure.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

China could stand to be more humane, but it wouldn't make the US cooperate with them.