The “ALL” Position

Apparently ALL politicians are liars and crooks. They only care about themselves, holding on to power and making money. Many people who have made this claim to me also have said that they don’t follow politics which makes me wonder how they know that ALL politicians are liars and crooks who don’t care about the people they represent.

If you buy into the logic of those people who think that ALL politicians are liars and crooks then ALL Cops are dirty, ALL white people are racist, ALL black people are dangerous, ALL doctors are smart, all Homeless people are lazy and dangerous, and ALL catholic priest are pedophiles.

If you’ve had conversations with people who casted ALL of a specific demographic of people as being one specific way then you probably noticed that they made that claim as they tried to back out of the conversation. It’s their intellectual hand grenade that they toss into the conversation as they retreat to another subject that they feel more comfortable talking about.

I use to allow people who used the “ALL” argument to use this tactic without any push back but after surviving the harrowing experience of the 45th Presidency the “ALL” argument is now a trigger for me. I know longer will sit back and let that lazy ideology be acceptable conversational currency. The word “ALL” describes the absolute. There are very few absolutes in life. Off of the top of my head outside of all living things dying and all water being wet, everything else on this planet and in life is subject to variations, and anomalies.

The person who is using the “ALL” argument is insulting the intelligence of the person that they are talking to the moment they decide to cast one group of people as being one way and one way only. It also a very dangerous assumption to make. If ALL politicians are crooked then there’s no reason to participate in politics or even vote. If ALL cops are dirty then they can’t be trusted and therefore not be given the initial respect they deserve or given the support they need. If ALL white people are racist then they shouldn’t be trusted when they fight along side black and brown people for equality. If ALL black people are dangerous then they should be treated as such. If ALL Doctor’s are smart then their is no need for second opinions or to ask questions of them.

If you’re one of those people who think that you’re coming off as being profoundly intelligent and woke by casting a group of people as being one way then I am here to tell you that in that moment you’re letting your ignorance show. You’re demonstrating that for whatever reason you won’t admit that you don’t know or understand what’s going on and rather then engage in a real discussion where you could learn something new, you choose to not only tighten your grip on your ignorance, but run the of risk spreading it to other people who trust that you know what you’re talking about.

Treat people the way you want to be treated. If you would be insulted by someone deciding that since you belonged to a certain demographic that you were in some way dirty because others in your demographic were dirty then don’t do it to anyone else. It’s a very simple concept, don’t cast the sins of a few onto the many.

If you’re having a conversation with someone who pulls out the “ALL” argument and you know that they’re wrong then call them out on it. The only way society improves is if we try to pull the best out of each other which means when one of us is off track then we try to get them on track.

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