"When one considers the above, “there is no comparison” between the good guys and the others, concludes Coyne. But why compare? The irony is that Coyne warns against tu quoque, or ‘whataboutism,’ while playing a twisted version of the game himself."
October 2, 2023
If “context matters,” why does Andrew Coyne ignore it?
Coyne’s tripartite standard for judging the morality of extrajudicial killing is to asses what “kind of state” is: (1) doing the murdering and (2) the killing is happening in. Then, (3) consider what “kind of individual” is being killed. We (Canada, the US, and Israel — his examples) are the objectively “good guys,” and the others (India, Russia, or the territories where the US and Israel are doing their assassinations) are not. This is just how it is, says Coyne, and anything else is mere moral relativizing or an ‘undergraduate’ desire to be contrarian.
When one considers the above, “there is no comparison” between the good guys and the others, concludes Coyne. But why compare? The irony is that Coyne warns against tu quoque, or ‘whataboutism,’ while playing a twisted version of the game himself. Why overlook and whitewash the despicable actions of the “good guys?”
After all, context matters.
Jason Toney
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
Address: 580 Sainte-Croix, Suite 060, Montreal, QC H4l 3X5
T: 438-380-5410
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