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I disagree with the statement 'punching up is good' but I wasn't sure I disagreed with what the person making that claim actually means by it, so before writing an essay on why that is wrong, I'd rather first ask them to clarify their stance to make sure I'm arguing against their actual view, instead of the view I'm only imagining them holding.
'Don't punch down' is a rule I mostly agree with it. There are exceptions, but you're probably not a bad person even if you resist "punching" in those cases. 'Punching up is good' however not only says that it's okay to do so, but that it's actually a virtuous thing. That I disagree with, and since most people in this thread seems to think "the golden rule" (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you) is a good rule to live by, then I'd also like to draw attention to the apparent conflict between these two.
Personally I'm of the mind that punching, be that literal or figurative speech, is almost never good. Punching, to me atleast, sounds like something that's directed towards a person instead of ideas. There is nothing too holy to criticize or anyone too privileged to criticize it. That doesn't mean all critique is valid, but that's what discussion and debate is for. As long as you're coming in good faith, then all critique is fair game.
I disagree because sometimes you need to go against people too, not just the ideas. For example, if you protest against a politician trying to approve a law that fucks everyone for the benefit of his personal business, you are "punching" him metaphorically. If you bring the authorities against someone powerful for breaking the law, you're also "punching" the person. So goes on.
On the other hand, someone gave a great example, about someone poor stealing baby food. Calling the cops against the person would be to punch down.
Even in this case, going after them as a person, instead of protesting against the law itself seems counter-productive. If I make an argument and someone then calls me stupid, it's not going to change my mind, nor anyone else's who agrees with me. It's just makes it sound like they simply don't have a better argument. It's maybe a bit different when the personality flaw in itself is the issue, as is the case with Trump and lying for example, but if one then starts making fun on his small hands that just makes them look petty.
However, I still want to aknowledge, that humans are social animals and such public ridicule has been a powerful weapon throught the ages, so even though I personally don't want to act in this way, and in my ideal world no one else would either, it is still possible, if not even likely, that such ridicule is very effective. Then again, shooting them is effective aswell, but I don't want to live in a world where we solve disagreements that way.