# Tell me your hypocrisies **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2026, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075 "2026-10-22T20:11:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/1 "2026-10-22T20:11:42Z")
Tell me, dear Dopers, how are you secretly a traitor to your own causes? What deeply held convictions do you profess, yet fail to live up to? Which “do as I say, not as I do”-isms are you most guilty of? How ashamed of these contradictions are you… or not? Do you try to rationalize them away to save yourself from cognitive dissonance? Do you lose sleep over them? Or do you meekly acknowledge them, accept the frailty of the human condition, and surrender your will to your darkest urges? * * * Mine (spoilered so you have a chance to answer first): - I think Amazon is evil, but… sooo convenient sometimes. - I care about climate, but fly often. And use AI way too much. I buy carbon credits and occasionally bike to greenwash the guilt away. - I’m ostensibly vegan, but buy leather hiking shoes because… they’re just better. - I try to support local farms and farmers, but 90% of what I eat is frozen or powdered ultraprocessed food-like substances - I dislike US-style capitalism and Wall Street finance bros, but still bank with Chase. Most of my savings are in a credit union, but Chase gets more from the credit card fees anyway… - I think US democracy is in a death spiral, but I vote and pretend it’ll make a difference anyway - I think recycling is mostly a scam, with most of it getting landfilled or dumped overseas, but I do it religiously anyway (Do those last two make me a hypocrite, or just a practitioner of willful futility?) Of all of those, I’m probably most ashamed of shopping with Amazon. I did actually stop for many years, nearly a decade, but then moved to a rural-ish area where the things are often otherwise not available anywhere, or only at Walmart — I’m not really sure which is worse. It haunts me. Bezos appears in my dreams and laughs, $100 bills dripping out of his maw. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/2 "2026-10-22T20:17:07Z")
Ah crap. You got me on that one. I wouldn’t piss on Bezos if he were on fire, but give him my money? Sure! ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/3 "2026-10-23T01:08:15Z")
Yeah, the Amazon thing, for sure. I mean, you just can’t FIND some of those things locally! I also fly for vacations and think about the non-necessity of that often. I guess my biggest thing, though, is how much I really want to be vegetarian (for moral purposes) but can’t make myself do it. Too difficult, and I hate that I feel that way. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/4 "2026-10-23T03:53:50Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Ah crap. You got me on that one. I wouldn’t piss on Bezos if he were on fire, but give him my money? Sure! Bezos is no longer the CEO of Amazon, and he only owns 8%. So, you aint making him (more) rich. I do not get the dislike for him. My biggest thing- I look down upon people who do not carefully study the ballots and issues, but I admit on some of the less critical offices- I just vote D. I tried Vegetarian for a few months, and for me, no big deal as I can easily replace meat with cheese (I really love cheese). But then Vegan is right out. However, I got a hankering for sushi, so i guess that would be a pescatarian. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/5 "2026-10-23T04:07:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I do not get the dislike for him. Well, he’s just the figurehead, as much as Gates and Jobs were. It was under his leadership that Amazon became the global household name it is today, but also under it that all the worker and delivery driver scandals came out, the concerns about displacing local stores, etc. I think it’s almost the “perfect hypocrisy” in that sense… Bezos provided a service that everyone _wanted_ (and did it very well, with excellent customer service). And yet we blame him for all the knock-on social ills caused by Amazon centralization and eventual monopolization… we were the ones who enabled it all with our desire for a large catalog at low prices and the stay-at-home convenience. > [@DrDeth](#): > > I tried Vegetarian for a few months Well, you’re not really a hypocrite if you tried something and it just didn’t work for you for whatever reason, and you had no moral attachment to it. Unlike, say: > [@Apodder](#): > > I guess my biggest thing, though, is how much I really want to be vegetarian (for moral purposes) but can’t make myself do it. It’s not the easiest thing if you grew up with a lot of meat and dairy. I came from a tofu-eating culture, which made it a lot easier. And IMO you would only be a hypocrite for that if you actually believed that eating meat is bad. Otherwise, it’s just one of those “I wish I could be more…” kinda deals. Like I wish I could give more money to the houseless, but I don’t… does that make me immoral? Or hypocritical? I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/6 "2026-10-23T04:11:20Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > I think it’s almost the “perfect hypocrisy” in that sense… Bezos provided a service that everyone _wanted_ (and did it very well, with excellent customer service). And yet we blame him for all the knock-on social ills caused by Amazon centralization and eventual monopolization… we were the ones who enabled it all with our desire for a large catalog at low prices and the stay-at-home convenience. Hmmm, you make an interesting point. > [@Reply](#): > > Well, you’re not really a hypocrite if you tried something and it just didn’t work for you for whatever reason, and you had no moral attachment to it. Thanks. Yeah, I just wanted to see if I could do it, and except for the time i was invited out for sushi, I made it, and it was not difficult for me. I ate a lot of salads, bread and cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Mongoose3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@Mongoose3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mongoose3)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/7 "2026-10-23T06:08:47Z")
I would not be too hard on yourself. With most of your list, if you can’t stop entirely it’s still better to do it _less._ I’m guilty of the flying one. Haven’t flown for 10 years, but my young son _really_ wants to go on a plane, so… ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/8 "2026-10-23T07:57:45Z")
I, too, am concerned about climate change while often still flying on airplanes 20+ times a year. I generally support free speech but at the same time would be onboard with banning factually-wrong speech like claims that vaccines cause autism (okay, that may be more of a contradiction than hypocrisy.) I oppose wars of aggression, but only if they’re against _my_ side. I would have nothing against NATO doing an invasion of Kaliningrad (Russian territory) for conquest’s sake (not that NATO would ever do such a thing.) ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/9 "2026-10-23T18:43:20Z")
Mine are mostly climate-related. I believe in protecting the environment, and work as an environmental engineer, but have been reluctant to make the personal sacrifices that would be necessary for me to not be a hypocrite about the issue. To begin, before reading any of the other posts, I also thought of air travel. I have always wanted to travel, and can now finally afford to. So it would be a real hardship to give it up. Another one is driving a gas-powered vehicle. I’m futilely waiting for the EV infrastructure in this country to catch up to the rest of the world. Plus I like to drive up to the mountains to ski every weekend all winter, and that’s not particularly conducive for an EV. My supervisor tried this with a Tesla, and after getting repeatedly stranded in northern Vermont finally gave it up. (I will definitely consider a hybrid for my next vehicle, though, at least.) Next, my house has a good roof orientation for solar panels, but I haven’t done it due to the expense and the fact that I would need to replace my 21-year old roof first. As for heating my house, I have a 21-year old propane heating system. I plan to replace it with a heat pump, but am waiting for the old system to reach end-of-life first (which could happen at any time). ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/10 "2026-10-23T19:49:22Z")
The Amazon and air travel ones for me, too. I do care about climate change, but I also love to travel and want to explore other parts of the world. Also, I think we should reduce the amount of single-use plastic we consume. I have chosen one product over another because it comes in a glass jar rather than a plastic container. Except I buy either Grillo’s pickles or the Trader Joe’s pickles in the refrigerated case, both of which come in a plastic tub, over the pickles that come in glass jars. Because they’re just really good pickles. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/11 "2026-10-23T19:51:36Z")
I think voters who vote for a candidate for no other reason than that they have an “R” after their name are clueless morons who have no business voting. Yet I find the Republican party so reprehensible that I doubt I will ever vote for one again and generally just vote a straight “D” ticket, no matter who is on it. I guess that makes me a hypocrite. ---
**Author:** ![We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/We_re_wolves_not_werewolves)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/12 "2026-10-23T20:01:52Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > et I find the Republican party so reprehensible that I doubt I will ever vote for one again and generally just vote a straight “D” ticket, no matter who is on it. I guess that makes me a hypocrite. It does, and while it might serve you well enough when voting for national offices and other high stake elected positions, depending on your location, there may be a number of elected positions for municipal or county elected positions that are non-partisan. You literally can’t vote for a Democrat or Republican based on just looking at the ballot because that information is not on there. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/13 "2026-10-23T21:12:26Z")
True. For example our local city commission elections are non-partisan, so you have to do the work of finding out what the candidates stand for. But you should be doing that anyway, partisan election or not. IF (Big IF) a Republican ran for office who had positions I agreed with, I might consider voting for them. I just don’t see that happening in what’s left of my lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/14 "2026-10-23T21:18:02Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > My biggest thing- I look down upon people who do not carefully study the ballots and issues, but I admit on some of the less critical offices- I just vote D. In my experience its hard to find what the candidates actually stand for on local races. It would be nice if there were a central website that told you their priorities and agendas. But if its something like a school board race, etc theres not a lot of info to research. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/15 "2026-10-23T21:25:59Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I think voters who vote for a candidate for no other reason than that they have an “R” after their name are clueless morons who have no business voting. Yet I find the Republican party so reprehensible that I doubt I will ever vote for one again and generally just vote a straight “D” ticket, no matter who is on it. I guess that makes me a hypocrite. For national races, after January 6, I don’t think it makes you a hypocrite. That would be a different story if the “R” were better than the “D” in a particular race, _and_ was on record as actively supporting consequences for the attempted coup, at the very least voting for impeachment and removal. I don’t think there are any of those Republicans left on a national level. 95% of Republicans at the state and local level at the very least don’t even _care_ that they’re in the same party with traitors, but I’d concede that it’s at least _possible_ to consider one better than the “D” occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/16 "2026-10-24T03:32:12Z")
I’m gonna say None. What you see is what you get. Although I _ **loathe** _ Apple and everything about it, I had to sign up for Apple TV. Had no choice if I wanted to watch Formula One. My love of the sport outranks my hatred of the company. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/17 "2026-10-24T03:55:44Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > In my experience its hard to find what the candidates actually stand for on local races. It would be nice if there were a central website that told you their priorities and agendas. But if its something like a school board race, etc theres not a lot of info to research If you ask AI, it does a very good job of collecting this information for you. In one of the AI threads here, people have written about doing just that. I did it for state assessor. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/18 "2026-10-24T03:57:00Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > But if its something like a school board race, etc theres not a lot of info to research. The last couple of school board elections the Missouri branch of the NEA has provided good recommendations for school board members. (My memory is that it’s mostly for the metropolitan areas.) I’ve checked their recommendations against the candidates’ statements and videotaped debates provided by the League of Women voters, and the NEA did a good job weeding out the cranks and dilettantes. As for voting a straight ticket (Democratic). I did that this week but after filling in the ballot I thought, “Damn I should have voted for the Republican auditor just to provide a little competitive oversight.” But the Repubs have been so awful, they really deserve nothing. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/19 "2026-10-24T04:50:32Z")
I share a lot that have been mentioned; Amazon, driving gas powered car; eating meat. Two of my closest family members are Republicans, one MAGA, one just greedy. I still speak with and spend time with them, all the while disgusted with their views and myself for not calling them on it. Not that we speak about politics anymore. We all found out that that way lies ugliness. My latest one is kind of minor. I cheer the fact that horse drawn carriage rides are stopping in NYC, yet I thoroughly enjoyed one during my vacation in Scotland. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075/20 "2026-10-24T11:32:34Z")
I’m certain about the threat of long term climate change, but… I’m also certain even the tiniest micro-joule of energy I save will be gobbled up by the insatiable greed of the wealthy for their private jets and entertainment. So I ignore the problem and drive wherever and whatever I want, because any limitations I impose on myself are fruitless, and only hurt me. Also, I’m beginning to think the majority of recycling programs are meaningless in the long run. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that, in total, these programs have done more harm than good by shifting the burden (and trash) to poverty stricken areas. So I mostly ignore them, with certain exceptions like Hazmat. Yesterday, I voted in ways that support progressive policies but there were significant exceptions. My beliefs on crime and punishment would make Hammurabi nervous, so I routinely find myself voting R on some criminal judges (all judges are elected in Texas, so party affiliation is front and center). Another hypocrisy is finding myself in the odd position of being a strong supporter of _ **a** _ death penalty, but opposing _ **the** _ death penalty (that we have) for obvious reasons. I loathe the MAGA cult as much as anyone, but I still visit far right relatives, and attend my regular poker game sitting beneath the host’s enormous Confederate flags. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-your-hypocrisies/1034075.md?page=2)