I live on the coast.
If I protest the construction of a beachside hotel by Marriott on the basis that it will have proven negative effects on the coastline, I am lauded as an environmentalist.
If I protest the construction of an equally-sized low-income housing development for the same environmental reasons, I am scorned as a NIMBY.
The persistence of such a double standard points to one of the current failings in American politics: whether we realize it or not, we are more comfortable resorting to the ad hominem than addressing the argument.
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Who is doing the lauding and the scorning? What is the size of their respective megaphones? Does either the lauding or the scorning come from anyone with the democratically-assigned power to *do anything* about it?
This supposed uncovering of ad hominem reads a lot like a strawman, given that it’s offered almost entirely without context.