If you want Black people to trust the vaccine,
don't blame them for distrusting it.
don't blame them for distrusting it.
— Dr. Rueben Warren
I'm as empathetic as the next guy, but I'm tired of tu quoque.
A logical fallacy, tu quoque (Latin for "you, too") turns a criticism back on the critic, instead of addressing it.
Example:
Climate change threatens our species. We must end deforestation.
Sure, and you drive a car.
Tu quoque—also known as the "appeal to hypocrisy" or "whataboutism"—is a red herring used to take the heat off.
As a reply to a criticism, it's weak, illogical, and blatantly self-serving.
It lets you off the hook for anything and everything.
And it drives me bonkers.
Right now, tu quoque is being used by apologists to excuse Blacks from getting vaccinated (according to the CDC, as little as 15% of the Black population has received the vaccine).
Public health officials want everyone vaccinated.
Unless they are, officials warn, Covid-19 will continue to kill. Over 500 Americans die every day from it.
If you criticize Blacks' vaccine-resistance—no matter your own color—you're immediately reminded of Tuskegee.
But in fact most Blacks have never heard of Tuskegee, you answer.
So you're reminded of things like poverty, pharmacy deserts, 1619 and systemic racism.
Tu quoque. Criticize my foolishness, I'll criticize yours. Never mind the substance of your criticism.
Never mind the fact that spreading the virus encourages mutations.
Never mind the fact that the virus can cause life-long medical problems.
Never mind the fact that over 800 unvaccinated Americans die from the virus every day.
You tell me I should get vaccinated.
Well, you're a racist.
That's tu quoque.
I'm tired of it.
NOTE: Without doubt, White, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian vaccine-resistors are just as illogical as Black resistors, if not more so. Fallacy is an EOE employer.
