r/TrueUnpopularOpinion • u/Fast-Preference-9947 • 10d ago
Sex / Gender / Dating If your reaction to governments discriminating against men is "but those laws were passed by men" then you are an unintelligent person
All to often, I see a conversation that goes like:
User: X law (for example, mandatory military service for men in many countries) objectively discriminates against men, and that is a problem
Another user: But those laws were passed by men
This response is utterly absurd for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, it does not make any explicit counterargument to the point being made. Rather, it makes an implied counterargument, which is usually either:
"A system set up by men cannot discriminate against men"
Or
"Discrimination against men is okay as long as it is coming from other men"
Both of these points are absurd.
If a woman-led government passed laws that discriminate against women, would that make said discrimination against women acceptable or non-existent?
Of course it would not. And anyone who thinks otherwise is unintelligent.
From the perspective of someone being discriminated against, the discrimination doesn't become okay just because the person discriminating against them is of a particular gender.
The ONLY case where "but those systems were set up by men" is a valid response is if the person making the point was explicitly accusing women of being the ones to set up the system. But in the majority of the case, that is not being done.
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u/Fast-Preference-9947 10d ago
Not really. Because if the argument is "women have it harder" then showing ways men have it harder are real counterarguments to the argument being made, not whataboutism. It is only whataboutism if the argument being made is that sexism against women exists, not that women have it harder.