The Guilt By Association Fallacy
Shifting of responsibility to others who should not be responsible
Libs of Tik Tok
I’ve talked about this guilt by association idea a bit when I wrote about Libs of Tik Tok. She reposts public videos, images, or posts from other people. Yet, she gets blamed for many threats (some of which may even be imaginary or blown out of proportion).
IF someone actually threatens another because they saw a Libs of Tik Tok post, the responsibility of that threat action is on the threatener, not LOTT. You could say the responsibility was on the (probably liberal) person who originally posted the offending video/picture/etc. for inciting a threat back onto themselves. But I don’t agree with that either. I believe the responsibility is on the person making the threats.
In a situation like that, Libs of Tik Tok would be seen as guilty because of the tiny little association link that the threatener followed LOTT on social media. People who post on social media are NOT responsible for what their followers do. Guilt By Association is a logical fallacy for this reason.
Social Media Sites
News outlets do the same thing to Gab. If someone posts something illegal on Gab, the news wants to spin it as if Gab is evil, even though they comply quicker with law enforcement than big media companies like Facebook. The media did it to Parler too. They don’t push stories that Facebook or Twitter are “evil sites” even though they allow illegal material on them and respond slowly, if at all, to those things that shouldn’t be on the site.
The difference is, of course, tribal. For the most part, the left-leaning media will not debase the social media sites their viewers/readers still use. But they will go after the social media sites that their viewers/readers love to hate.
Personal Life
I remember one situation where I was meeting two different friends together. They had never met and, at first, it went well. But one started to act inappropriately towards the other one. I remember apologizing for the inappropriate action. I felt responsible for the situation of allowing this to happen. But I remember the one telling me that it’s not my fault.
It wasn’t my fault. I was feeling guilty for what someone else (who I had no control over) was doing. And it’s not Libs of Tik Tok’s responsibility what people who follow her do. For some reason, our society has been shifting the responsibility away from the actual guilty party in a lot of situations onto others who should hold no responsibility for those things.
Examples of Responsibility Shifting
People asking you to use preferred pronouns are shifting the responsibility for their feeling comfortable with their own “gender” onto the public as I described in this substack:
People who believe it’s the Government’s responsibility to make sure you have healthcare or to make sure people don’t spread a virus are shifting responsibility for personal health from the individuals onto the Government. If the government did absolutely nothing to stop the spread of a disease, that government is not failing you, because it was never their responsibility to make sure that you don’t get sick. Your health will always be your responsibility.
Why Shift Responsibility?
If you are shifting responsibility you are trying to turn someone (who wasn’t responsible) guilty. You’re trying to turn them into a “persecutor” in the drama triangle.
Were you Responsible?
When you shift responsibility, and it was actually you who was responsible (for whatever it was), this shifting is happening because you are trying to make yourself look blameless. A lot of people don’t want to take personal responsibility because it’s too much work.
In the case of Libs of Tik Tok posting things, some people may actually identify with what’s being shared. Even if they didn’t post it, if they feel like they could have or they agree with it in some way, they may feel responsible and become defensive and project the guilt onto someone else (in this case LOTT).
Was Someone Else Responsible?
Sometimes people just love to hate others. If you already view someone as a “persecutor,” with some confirmation bias, you can find any reason (regardless of how illogical) to hate them more.
Notice This Shift
I write, not because I think this will stop people from doing this, but in hopes that people, who want better lives and love truth, will see these responsibility shifts for what they are in the moment. Recognize it for what it is. You can explain what’s happening when you see it, but don’t expect the people doing this to change. It simply makes it easier to walk away from the drama when you see what’s happening more clearly.
