Tired of the old “your problem doesn’t affect me, therefore it’s not real” game? Try one of these fun alternatives!
- Your problem is real, but since it doesn’t affect me it’s not important
- Your problem is real, but first let’s talk about this other, more urgent problem that neither one of us can meaningfully engage with
- Your problem is real and important, but I’ve framed it as a subset or consequence of a problem that does affect me, so the best way to address your problem is to focus exclusively on my problem
- Your problem is as urgent as you say it is, but I’ve decided that it’s an inevitable consequence of humanity being intrinsically awful, and I’d lose Enlightened Cynicism points if I actually tried to do anything about it
- Your problem is awful, but I’m reluctant to act on it because of some purely hypothetical consequence that I have no evidence is even a thing, yet am firmly convinced would be worse than the status quo
Bonus round:
- Your problem’s solution is clearly a radical restructuring of all of our cultural, political and economic institutions, and advocating any less drastic or more immediately fruitful approach represents a cowardly capitulation to the Man and makes you Part Of The Problem™.