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REPUBLICANS AFTER LOSING AN ELECTION: You communist groomers stole the election and I'm going to murder some cops and politicians in a violent coup about it

DEMOCRATS AFTER LOSING AN ELECTION: You dipshits elected a fascist serial-rapist and I'm going to meekly hand over the reins of power about it

CENTRISTS: These are the same thing.

@Lana

No centrist, I've ever heard of, thinks both sides are the same (since one side is clearly more extreme than the other).

Perhaps you really meant: nonvoters.

Sam

@Lana @setsly

not really.
just an objection, i think, to the perpetuated misrepresentation of centrist politics.

@ozof @setsly @Lana How would you define centrist politics? The overton window keeps moving everything further right including centrism

@anubis2814 @setsly @Lana

i'm no expert, but my own understanding of centrist politics is that it is the prosecution of an agenda that satisfies the majority of people on both sides of the centre, being neither far left nor far right, appreciating that, inevitably, society is served best by combining the best of centre-right and centre-left political and economic strategy.

it's why Tony Blair was so successful.

what it isn't, is treatment of 𝘢𝘯𝘺 opposing political position, regardless of their respective extremes, as equivalent.

as in:

Dem: the same legal rights should be afforded to all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation etc.

(this is a moderate position, and many on the right would agree)

Rep: homosexuals are deviant and shouldn't be allowed to work in schools etc.

(this is an extreme right-wing position and many on the right would disagree)

centrist: both sides make valid points etc.

which, in my opinion, misrepresents centrists, who would unequivocally support the left's position in this example, and vehemently reject the right's extreme position.

i guess some folk, lana included, have a different idea of what centrism is, though.

@ozof @anubis2814 @setsly you are literally making a No True Scotsman argument in your example. 😆 Good lord

@Lana @anubis2814 @setsly

i'm not, lana

it's not a matter of 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, but definition.

if we always disagree on definition, so be it, but centrism 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 seem to be 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 more in terms of moderate policy rather than an indifference to any left- or right-wing position

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrism
chambers.co.uk/search/?query=c
oed.com/search/dictionary/?sco

en.wikipedia.orgCentrism - Wikipedia

@ozof @anubis2814 @setsly

No True Scotsman is literally a fallacy about excluding examples which don't fit your narrow definition.

Example:
Me: Centrist says "These two are the same."

You: That's not a centrist. A centrist wouldn't say that.

Me: Centrists have said that.

You: That's not what a centrist would say.

@Lana @anubis2814 @setsly

the fallacy just doesn't apply.

my definition is narrow, because unlike Scotsmen it is necessarily defined by a basic idea, (and why i included the Chambers and OED definitions), while Scotsmen are obvioulsy not wholly defined by their inclination to sweeten their porridge.

you're not even defining centrists. you're just characterising them, and in a way that contradicts 𝘢𝘯 accepted definition.

@Lana @ozof @anubis2814

As far as I can tell, you employ a "narrow definition"—as you put it—based on your assertion "Centrists have said that."

I'm glad you cite empirical evidence but I question your sample size because most DON'T say that, as far as I know.

Both nickesc ("the ones I see") and I ("ever heard of") cite empirical evidence too. So if any of us is using a "no true Scotsman" approach...including maybe you...it sure isn't intentional. Seemingly everyone's being empirical here.

@Lana @ozof @anubis2814

Um, where did everyone go—?

This was potentially a fruitful conversation. Why did everyone suddenly stop?

Now that I've eliminated the red herring "no true Scotsman" accusation, this conversation may proceed in full force. On the merits.

@setsly @ozof @Lana Pretty sure only you think your eliminated it at a red herring the rest aren't convinced. No one wants to discuss this further. If you look at the rest of the posts I'm involved in, a lot of it comes down the language and region as to how political spectrum are defined. US Centrist news certainly fits this argument.
@ozof @setsly @Lana This has not even remotely been considered a centrist position for most of my life. In Europe perhaps but not in the US.

@anubis2814 @setsly @Lana

no worries. :blobcat_tonguewink:

but what word would you use to describe a person whose politics were 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 just to the left or right of centre?

@ozof @setsly @Lana Center right or center left. Though in the US our center right and center left are both conservatives by global standards. Dems are as close to center right as you can get here in the US.

@anubis2814 @setsly @Lana

fair enough.

language, eh? :blobcatsmilehappy:
i have the same problem with the US definition of liberalism as a perjorative.
:blobcatshrug:

@ozof @setsly @Lana American liberalism is social liberalism, most other nations it refers to classical liberalism which is much closer to American libertarianism, a term stolen from left winger like anarchists by the American rich.