[shampto3]

> Happy for flaws in my logic to be pointed out

I understand where you’re coming from, but I believe the logical fallacy you’ve stumbled upon is termed as “whataboutism”.

If we turned down every complaint just because it wasn’t deemed as harmful as another complaint that was turned down, few things would change.

[pasquinelli]

does that still apply when the argument for one could just as easily be the argument for the other?

the real flaw in the reasoning--not the logic, but the reasoning--is thinking it does any good to point out hypocricy. yes, if we can't control guns because of the personal freedom of individuals to own guns then that same reason ought to apply to an individual's ability to access information that's totally lawful for them to access. it's just, you can point out hypocrisy all day, but the fact is what you can do or can't do or what you're supposed to do or have to do is shaped by moneyed interests, not by a pressure to maintain or establish some internal consistency.

[BLKNSLVR]

> If we turned down every complaint just because it wasn’t deemed as harmful as another complaint that was turned down, few things would change.

Or, maybe we'd think differently about some things that have been normalised and are worthy of re-consideration.

Regarding "few things would change", like all these things, that can be good or bad, it depends on the situation.

> the logical fallacy you’ve stumbled upon is termed as “whataboutism”.

I think they're comparable in this context: "can be used legally, can be used illegally, the freedom of choice is given to the user".

I'm specifically not comparing "why is this an issue whilst animals are still being experimented on by companies that make beauty products". I'm explicitly trying to avoid whataboutism, to provide some logical comparison.

As pasquinelli points out in a sibling comment, the fallacy I did make is that of pointing out hypocrisy and expecting that to be worth anything. Sadly, that's a true fallacy at this point in civilisation. Unfortunately, I'll keep banging my head on that wall until either I'm dead or the wall relents.

[shampto3]

Maybe I’m misunderstanding your original argument then. I read it as saying this company shouldn’t be allowed to make this request because semi-automatic weapons are still legal. That, to me, is whataboutism.