There are two of these Generic Defenses, iterations of this species of logical fallacy, that I’ve found particularly vile. They may collapse into one. First, the extension of “tolerance” to assertions, e.g. “Be tolerant of my creationist beliefs”, which means “My creationist beliefs are immune to discourse or thought: they command respect simply because they are my assertions,” but disguises itself in the syntax of a honeyed pluralistic truism like “Be tolerant of people who hold opinions that aren’t yours.”
The other is the notion of false balance, which is a palatable and pervasive trope of people who are talking nonsense, e.g. “There are two sides to the dinosaur debate: Some scientists believe in dinosaurs, and others think God has put fossils in the ground to test our faith in Him. Isn’t it interesting to consider the arguments of both sides? I guess we’ll never know the real answer!”
There are two of these Generic Defenses, iterations of this species of logical fallacy, that I’ve found particularly vile. They may collapse into one. First, the extension of “tolerance” to assertions, e.g. “Be tolerant of my creationist beliefs”, which means “My creationist beliefs are immune to discourse or thought: they command respect simply because they are my assertions,” but disguises itself in the syntax of a honeyed pluralistic truism like “Be tolerant of people who hold opinions that aren’t yours.”
The other is the notion of false balance, which is a palatable and pervasive trope of people who are talking nonsense, e.g. “There are two sides to the dinosaur debate: Some scientists believe in dinosaurs, and others think God has put fossils in the ground to test our faith in Him. Isn’t it interesting to consider the arguments of both sides? I guess we’ll never know the real answer!”
That stuff drives me mad.