We should not simply call people evil when we disagree with them. It is a lazy (and usually rude) way to engage with people. However, there is a critical difference between calling a person or “other side” evil and calling an idea evil. In Tim’s blog post that you link to, he makes two statements about actions being evil. He also later says that Thanos, unlike other villains, does NOT seem to have an evil character trait. Please review the passages below: “It’s evil to kill billions of people. …if we murder a homeless person to save a rich person, that’s also trading lives but it’s evil. Unlike some of their previous villains, whose character traits extend as far as being scary and evil, Thanos is surprisingly sympathetic, and I’m glad he is.”
I agree! By that same token we shouldn't condemn people's actions as evil either because its lazy, reductionist, dehumanizing, and rude. Calling anything "evil" is reductionist and inherently dehumanizing. We also shouldn't really compare our political opponents to cartoon villains for the same reason. The title of Tim's post is: "Thanos Would Be Pro-Choice." He made a conscious and intentional decision to associate the pro choice movement with a genocidal comic book villain. He didn't title it something more nuanced like: "How the central moral conflict between heroes and villains in Marvel's Avengers can inform our understanding of the abortion debate." The takeaway is the association. That's what will last long after the words and logic are forgotten. Thanos -Genocide - Pro Choice - Genocide. Here's the problem. You can dehumanize anyone. The same logic that Tim used to associate the pro choice movement to Thanos can be used to associate the pro life movement to Thanos. But what good is this? In the end you just have both sides calling the other evil! These associations are incredibly damaging because they happen in a wider partisan environment where similarly degrading and dehumanizing narratives are being spread (by both sides). These narratives and associations build on each other and become toxic to communication, understanding, dialogue, and peace.
https://blog.equalrightsinstitute.com/thanos-pro-choice/
“It’s evil to kill billions of people.
…if we murder a homeless person to save a rich person, that’s also trading lives but it’s evil.
Unlike some of their previous villains, whose character traits extend as far as being scary and evil, Thanos is surprisingly sympathetic, and I’m glad he is.”
By that same token we shouldn't condemn people's actions as evil either because its lazy, reductionist, dehumanizing, and rude. Calling anything "evil" is reductionist and inherently dehumanizing. We also shouldn't really compare our political opponents to cartoon villains for the same reason.
The title of Tim's post is: "Thanos Would Be Pro-Choice." He made a conscious and intentional decision to associate the pro choice movement with a genocidal comic book villain. He didn't title it something more nuanced like: "How the central moral conflict between heroes and villains in Marvel's Avengers can inform our understanding of the abortion debate." The takeaway is the association. That's what will last long after the words and logic are forgotten. Thanos -Genocide - Pro Choice - Genocide.
Here's the problem. You can dehumanize anyone. The same logic that Tim used to associate the pro choice movement to Thanos can be used to associate the pro life movement to Thanos. But what good is this? In the end you just have both sides calling the other evil!
These associations are incredibly damaging because they happen in a wider partisan environment where similarly degrading and dehumanizing narratives are being spread (by both sides). These narratives and associations build on each other and become toxic to communication, understanding, dialogue, and peace.