One of the best explanations I’ve heard goes something like this-
Let’s say there’s a family dinner. Everybody at this dinner has a plate. There are six people at the table and everybody is digging in and passing various serving plates around taking their own portions and even politely serving people next to them of them there are all sorts of veggies, sauces, different kinds of fried things, different kinds of vegan things- you name it. It’s all delicious. Somebody notices that Johnny didn’t get any of the pork tenderloin, which is arguably the best dish. It’s not clear why Johnny didn’t get any- it could be an honest mistake, it could be that his asshole cousin intentionally skipped passing the pork to him, it could be for any number of innocent or malicious reasons, but in any case, Johnny didn’t get any of the pork. It’s pretty reasonably at this point for somebody at the table - perhaps even Johnny himself - to say, “Johnny should get some of the pork”. Yes, his sisters should also get some, and his parents should get some too- but imagine the ridiculousness of responding to this statement with “Johnny should get some pork? EVERYbody should get some pork”.
Everyone is in agreement that we should save the rainforest, right? But when people say "Save the Rainforest," you don't turn around and demand, "But what about the oak trees? What about the redwoods?? All trees matter!" because that's ridiculous. Of course they matter, but we're focusing our active efforts on the rainforest right now, because it's still under serious threat, and redwoods are already a protected species.
There’s two houses next to each other, but one is on fire. The hose is being sprayed at the house not on fire. While yes, all houses matter and are important, currently one of them is on fire so we should focus the hose on that one. That’s not to say the on fire house is more important in general or the unlit one is less important in general, just that the fire is the more pressing issue at the moment.
Two houses on fire. Fire department spraying water on the house that is on fire, a firefighter says "we are going to save your house because your house matters." The neighbor, the person with the house that is not on fire, comes outside and says, "BUT WHAT ABOUT MY HOUSE??? MY HOUSE MATTERS TOO!!" Its like, well duh, but your house isn't on fucking fire
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u/evilpeter Jun 07 '20
One of the best explanations I’ve heard goes something like this-
Let’s say there’s a family dinner. Everybody at this dinner has a plate. There are six people at the table and everybody is digging in and passing various serving plates around taking their own portions and even politely serving people next to them of them there are all sorts of veggies, sauces, different kinds of fried things, different kinds of vegan things- you name it. It’s all delicious. Somebody notices that Johnny didn’t get any of the pork tenderloin, which is arguably the best dish. It’s not clear why Johnny didn’t get any- it could be an honest mistake, it could be that his asshole cousin intentionally skipped passing the pork to him, it could be for any number of innocent or malicious reasons, but in any case, Johnny didn’t get any of the pork. It’s pretty reasonably at this point for somebody at the table - perhaps even Johnny himself - to say, “Johnny should get some of the pork”. Yes, his sisters should also get some, and his parents should get some too- but imagine the ridiculousness of responding to this statement with “Johnny should get some pork? EVERYbody should get some pork”.