In this 7th Debunk of the Day, we’ll expose the “Chickenhawk” fallacy. The chickenhawk accusation or the “go to the front!” imperative is a dishonest attempt to silence anyone supporting Ukraine by pushing them to go fight.

A barely hidden death wish, as it’s always uttered with zero regard for who you are or what your personal circumstances might be — you could already be there, on your way there, a veteran, or unable to fight. More broadly, not everyone can or should be a soldier, just as not everyone can or should be a policeman or a nurse.

Yet a society still needs those things to be done, and the fact that not everyone can go to medical school or fight crime does not mean that we have to surrender to invaders and criminals, nor that we cannot all have an opinion on healthcare.

"If you support Ukraine so much, why don't you go sign up to fight?"

Time for a thread on why people who say this are fucking morons, from a guy who actually did just that.

— SK Media (@SpaghettiKozak) August 13, 2023

Crucially, the accusation ignores the alternative: yes, it’s easy to call to resist when you’re not the one to be fighting—just as it’s easy to call to surrender when you’re not the one who’ll be tortured to death. It’s a dishonest way to avoid discussing real options in a hard situation.

Ukraine is fighting a defensive war, and there are many ways we can and must help them win. You don’t have to go to the front, but please lobby your politicians to arm Ukraine, donate to Ukraine directly, bonk vatniks, and support our work:

Fight Disinformation With Us: Support our Work | Vatnik Soup