In a group chat, one person casually claimed, “Many trans athletes are transitioning as a hack to get some achievements in their careers.”
It was an extraordinary claim. So I asked for extraordinary evidence.
They replied with links to a bunch of articles, none of which supported their own claim.
When pressed, they said they meant, “Trans athletes’ participation is unfair, not that the athleles really did the transition to win.”
Do you notice how different the two claims were?
Further pressed, they said the group chat was for casual chit-chatting, not a serious discussion with evidence and stuffs, pushing back the burden of proof away from themselves, who made the claims, toward the listeners.
The thing is, careless arguments reflect who you are much more than carefully worded announcements. Since not everyone researchs everything they hear, a bunch of careless remarks can help form and reinforce false beliefs.
It was a very small matter, and I should have let it go. But I can’t.
Because more than ever, it’s wrong, and these careless thoughts are no longer harmless. Maybe they never were harmless, the harm just got amplified much easier these days. It all starts with, “I read an article about it.” And if you press them for critical evidence of their claims, it leads to, “I just thought it would be a helpful opinion.”
It is toxic. It is terrible. And these days, it makes me angry.
Just remember these three simple, easy to understand, though need a bit of efforts to apply:
Keep the three in mind, not only when you assert a claim, but also when you make one.