alt Hacker NewsUm, this is not an example of hypocrisy? If I punch you in the nose, I am not a hypocrite if I block your attempt to punch me back.
Replies
I'm pretty sure they don't care about hypocrisy. They have the power to do this and get away with it, so they do.
Good point.
If people are calling this hypocrisy, then I suspect there's a larger moral argument that hasn't been articulated.
Power revels in hypocrisy: Rules protect the in-group but do not bind them, and bind the out-group but do not protect them.
It's not just logical, it's affective: There is a real pleasure in domination, and a real fear in any loss of control. It feels good to be strong, to be in control, to be protected but not bound. Domination is hegemony, hegemony is safety.
These billionaires genuinely feel themselves to be oppressed if their power is threatened in any way. [1]
---
apparently the kind of people that whine the most loudly about being punched turn out to be real avid punchers themselves.
US domestic propaganda is built on hypocrisy (we need to stop X from doing Y... which we or our allies are doing already). It might not be explicitly stated right here, on this matter (contrary to The Register), but that’s the backdrop.
Calling it hypocrisy is at the very least good propaganda to try to wake Americans up from their stupor.
Admittedly though with Trump there’s no hypocritical propaganda any more. He just says he “wants the oil” or whatever.
There is no rule based order, and when it comes to state security establishments, the US or any other, there are no good guys.