Let us NOT look at both sides
People who say “both sides” only say it when they have to respond to someone who is pointing out systemic inequalities and differences in power.
The other day, a young person messaged me on Instagram and wanted to share ideas about how India can become a superpower. Now, having been spent much of my youth under the illusion that development means roads, bridges, and malls, I told him that my idea of a super power is a country where everyone has access to free healthcare and education.
The young person agreed with this, but added that “both things are important”. Sure, he was all for social upliftment and stuff, but malls and roads were what really got him starry-eyed. This was a middle-class, upper caste, aspiring engineer and therefore none of this was surprising.
On another occasion, someone on Twitter responded to something I had posted about how in India of 2020, disagreement is seen as being anti-national. They said that it happens on both sides, completely blind apparently to the fact that only one side was in power and in a position to punish the other. People disagree and are aggressive all the time. But only one side is able to run campaigns of incitement against another. When I pointed this out, they said that they agree but we should look at “both sides”.
See the pattern? Under normal circumstances the young person who messaged me would never have spoken about anything other than malls, roads, and bridges. Under normal circumstances, my Twitter correspondent would never have criticised the violence that is perpetrated against minorities. But they go “both sides” when they are responding to those who do point these matters out.
Truth is that “both sides” is always a response. It is almost never a starting argument. People who say “both sides” only say it when they have to respond to someone who is pointing out systemic inequalities and differences in power. “Both sides” is not a solution to anything. It is usually a knee-jerk reaction to reality checks offered by people who were probably only looking at one side until now.