but more often i think it just implies someone who sometimes falls short of their lofty ideals
The problem with hypocrites is not that they fall short of their own ideals-- as you said, at least they have them. The problem with hypocrites is the old "your fist in my face" problem-- the "values" leader who votes against abortion but pays for his mistress to get one, the closeted politician who votes against gay rights, the reformers who are secretly on the take, the church leader who's a scam artist, etc etc etc. The tumblr SJW who publicly shames people for enjoying the same trash they enjoy. They aren't just betraying their own ideals, they are actively harming other people in the name of the ideals they don't have.
This is a defense I have seen among Christians in attempting to deflect accusations of hypocrisy against known Christian grifters like Thomas Kinkade. The sin lies not in failing to live up to one's own high standards, because we are human and we fail, but in condemning others for failing to reach the standards we don't strive for. As a defense of grifters I find it inadequate but it's something worth keeping in the back of one's head in this shame-happy society.
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Date: 2015-03-30 02:07 am (UTC)The problem with hypocrites is not that they fall short of their own ideals-- as you said, at least they have them. The problem with hypocrites is the old "your fist in my face" problem-- the "values" leader who votes against abortion but pays for his mistress to get one, the closeted politician who votes against gay rights, the reformers who are secretly on the take, the church leader who's a scam artist, etc etc etc. The tumblr SJW who publicly shames people for enjoying the same trash they enjoy. They aren't just betraying their own ideals, they are actively harming other people in the name of the ideals they don't have.
This is a defense I have seen among Christians in attempting to deflect accusations of hypocrisy against known Christian grifters like Thomas Kinkade. The sin lies not in failing to live up to one's own high standards, because we are human and we fail, but in condemning others for failing to reach the standards we don't strive for. As a defense of grifters I find it inadequate but it's something worth keeping in the back of one's head in this shame-happy society.