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[+] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (24 children)
  • [–] 31 points 1 year ago (20 children)

    Again, why are you splitting hairs in this situation? The main issue with this is that the US bombed another country, escalating an already tense international conflict.

    Will the damage to infrastructure be different? Yes.

    Will the act be seen as a lesser act of war? I don't think so.

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  • [+] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (19 children)
  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Yes, it's good to be precise with statements.

    It's also good to deliver precise information in a way that does not imply further misinformation. Take this statement:

    "X has happened"

    If you reply with "It's not X", you inadvertently imply that nothing has happened. "It's Y, not X" does not have the same implication.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago* (12 children)

    It's shifting focus away from the main issue at hand. Yes, in the future, I'll speak accurately about the attacks, but your point is purely academic when we're talking about the material conditions around a bombing.

    The problem is that bad faith actors often attempt to discredit one's argument overall when they are not 100% accurate about the facts.

    If I were making a formal statement in a professional setting, I'd want to be as accurate as possible, but on a forum post where the issue is one country bombing another, correcting someone on the nature of the bombings' targets isn't adding to the discussion in the same way.

    I don't mean to attack you, but read the room.

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  • [+] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (11 children)
  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (10 children)

    I'm not offended - I just wonder where your priorities are.

    You asked a question and I tried to explain why focusing on correcting details can derail a conversation when the consequences and response would likely be materially similar.

    I mean I don't see an Iranian politician looking at the bombing of an enrichment site by the US and finding it much better than bombing a reactor. Do you?

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  • [+] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (9 children)
  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (8 children)

    And then you asked what is wrong with telling the truth on an issue, which I answered. I don't think you the person are dismissing the situation, but it's a common media tactic to use any inaccuracy as an excuse to dismiss an otherwise cogent point.

    For example when describing war crimes as genocidal in another country, the media might refer to them as not technically being genocide according to international law. They are still war crimes, but if the writer of such an article made a retraction based on such a technicality, readers may doubt there were war crimes at all.

    This is a consistent tactic used to pull attention away from important details.

    If you're interested in learning more about this, so you can spot in the wild, I can link you to relevant articles and podcasts.

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  • [+] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (7 children)
  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Okay, I have a hypothetical question for you:

    If the US Congress moved to stop Trump from escalating conflict in Iran, should the bombing of enrichment sites be considered less of an act of war than bombing reactors?

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  • [+] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)
  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    The US bombed a sovereign nation, does that not constitute an act of war, regardless of the target?

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  • [+] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)
  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago

    They're being a bit ridiculous to be honest---it's clear you were just clarifying--but people here are (rightfully) a bit short-tempered with people who split hairs about such things. Usually those who do are trying to undermine the main point. But in this case, that doesn't seem like it was your intent.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    There's a difference between killing a general and bombing 3 nuclear reactors

    This was the comment you corrected in regards to concerns about a potential world war. If you believe bombing nuclear sites is less of an escalation than bombing nuclear reactors, that's fine, but focusing on the inaccuracy didn't respond to the original concern and intended point - that killing a general is different from targeting three nuclear sites.

    If the comment was corrected to read

    There's a difference between killing a general and bombing 3 nuclear enrichment sites

    Would their original point be any different?

    That's why I described your response as splitting hairs. Instead of engaging with their point, you corrected a detail that didn't significantly change their concern about escalation of an international conflict.

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