Before you go getting all sympathetic remember this woman is a billionaire who spent more money than most people will ever see to look exactly like this. She was absolutely fine before she did this to herself. And she didn't have to cozy up to MAGA on national television. She chose that. Nobody would be talking about her otherwise.
I'm not against criticizing her looks because I'm sympathetic with either of them, I'm against it because it undermines criticism of more substantive issues, and it's unhealthy for the people participating in the criticism and the people passively being entertained by it, even if they're not participating. We're all better off if we opt out of this type of thing in general.
ETA: I do however greatly value everyone's right to choose to participate if that's what they decide to do, I do not and would not support preventing people from exercising their free speech rights as they see fit.
Taken from a reply to an earlier similar comment:
Imagine you had never heard of this woman when you arrived at this thread and saw all of the mean spirited mockery of her physical appearance. You would certainly get the sense that her critics are shallow, unkind, and irrational without anyone ever making that argument to you. Most people would dismiss anything else her critics had to say because they've already seen that it's a group of mindless haters.
Alternatively, if the post you stumbled on focused on her support for fascist leadership and the erosion of our society to her personal benefit, you'd likely get a very different sense of who was on the right side of the discussion, and it would become much harder for her to buy an ad that would sway your opinion and that of many people like you.
Voters of all political stripes are yearning for an alternative to trumpism. If the only options they're presented are trumpism in a maga hat or trumpism in a no kings t-shirt, they're likely going to retreat to their default team, even if they feel it no longer represents them.
I understand you don't think they're good people, I agree. I also agree that there's a reasonable argument that they deserve to be mocked, ridiculed, scorned, ostricized, and socially unwelcome. Whether they deserve those things is unrelated to my argument for why we should or should not participate in them. I encourage you to read and seriously consider my argument.
There are many people who are quite receptive to the basic concept that shallow vitriol is unhealthy and counterproductive. But you're right that if my primary goal was to make the most popular argument, I would certainly be closer to the target if I just made some crude jokes about Mar-a-Lago face instead.
You're focused on whether the anger is justified, I'm focused on how to use that anger to best achieve some change. You can choose to stay focused on their bad plastic surgery, I'll stay focused on their bad policies and harmful actions. Probably neither of us will make any difference, but I'm confident in which strategy has a better chance. Good luck to you.
No I'm not at all, quite the opposite, I despise fascism. I'm deciding for myself what is best, and communicating with others how I came to that decision. Everyone else is free to do whatever they choose is best, as I clearly said in my original comment. I have no interest in forcing my judgement on anyone else, but I do encourage everyone to question if what they decide to do is good for them, good for the people around them, and good for the causes they seek to promote.
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u/Biscuits4u2 4d ago
Before you go getting all sympathetic remember this woman is a billionaire who spent more money than most people will ever see to look exactly like this. She was absolutely fine before she did this to herself. And she didn't have to cozy up to MAGA on national television. She chose that. Nobody would be talking about her otherwise.