A Nation of Yahbuts

We’re all a bunch of Yahbuts. I don’t care how far right or left or center you are, you’re a Yahbut. How religious or pagan you are, you’re a Yahbut. How Black, White, Brown, Red, or Yellow you are, you’re a Yahbut. How straight or gay or bi or trans you are, you’re a Yahbut. How rich or poor you are, you’re a Yahbut. Our nation is populated with Yahbuts.

Name any social, legal, religious, or political issue and the person next to you will say “Yah but…”

“Black lives matter.” “Yah but all lives matter.”

“Beach parties have been spreading CoVid-19.” “Yah but riots expose people, too.”

“White male patriarchy is keeping women and people of color under their thumbs.” “Yah but not all men.”

“Racism is worse today than in 1965.” “Yah but Obama didn’t help it.”

“Police need to step in and quell the riots.” “Yah but they started it.”

“A policeman killed a black man by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes.” “Yah but a policeman killed a white man by kneeling on his neck for thirteen minutes.”

“Hillary was responsible for Benghazi.” “Yah but Trump colluded with the Russians.”

“He’s not perfect, but we need to get behind Biden.” “Yah but we could all vote for Jo.”

“The Bible is against homosexuals.” “Yah but we don’t stone divorcees.”

“You need to wear a mask to stop the spread of CoVid-19.” “Yah but a virus is smaller than a fart and your jeans don’t stop that.”

“Black people were held in slavery here for over two hundred years.” “Yah but white people were enslaved in the Middle East.”

It’s almost as if people actually believe their apologetics (systematic argumentative discourse in defense (as of a doctrine). Merriam-Webster) mean anything. All they do is avoid responsibility for the current situation. They don’t justify it and they don’t offer a solution. But if you can find some shred of implied contradictory ‘evidence,’ then the problem stated isn’t really a problem. Sometimes we even contradict and minimize our own evidence so we don’t have to deal with it.

“There was a peaceful protest of a dozen students carrying BLM signs outside the store.” “Yah but there wasn’t a single person of color among them.” (0.95% of the population of that town were Black, according to 2010 census data. Therefore, at least 11% of one of those people should have been Black???)

We just point out an unrelated, if factual, observation and assume that negates the problem presented or turns it into an irrelevant factoid.

“CoVid-19 has killed over 130,000 Americans this year.” “Yah but abortion kills millions.” (650,000 in the most recent year statistics are available.)

Look! I did it right there! I negated an abortion factoid by correcting the number to a much lower number. I didn’t address abortion at all, but simply negated the assertion as irrelevant and exaggerated. We are all a bunch of Yahbuts! I have never met a person who didn’t engage in this four-year-old’s behavior. “He hit me!” “Yah but she called me a name.”

It’s really time for all the preschoolers running around in congress, the senate, the white house, the judiciary, the community councils, the police force, the churches, and our individual neighborhoods to grow the fuck up and start dealing with the problems instead of justifying them with irrelevant nonsense.

“Yah but…”