Your last paragraph says it all. Just asking questions. You think I don't know this tactic?
Just asking questions (also known as
JAQing off) is a way of attempting to make wild accusations acceptable (and hopefully not legally actionable) by framing them as questions rather than statements. It shifts the
burden of proof to one's opponent; rather than laboriously having to prove that all politicians are
reptoid scum, one can pull out
one single odd piece of evidence and force the opponent to explain why the evidence is wrong.
The purpose of this argument method is to keep asking
leading questions to attempt to influence spectators' views, regardless of whatever answers are given. The term is derived from the frequent claim by the questioner that they are "just asking questions," albeit in a manner much the same as political
push polls. Additionally, this tactic is a way for a crank to escape the
burden of proof behind extraordinary claims.
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In some cases, it also helps hide the nebulousness or absurdity of the questioner's own views. For example, a
9/11 truther may ask questions about perceived irregularities in the collapse, Larry Silverstein saying "pull it," and the plane that hit the
Pentagon. If turned back around on the truther, the implication is that they think that the plot involved numerous bizarre complications (rigging three buildings with explosives, making an on-the-spot decision to instruct the FDNY to detonate one of them, replacing a plane with a missile and later littering the Pentagon with plane wreckage). By not having to propose their own
hypothesis, they can come across as smoothly winning a debate, since the other person is unable to answer a "just being asked" question. In fact, it can be very useful to "just ask questions" of
woos, inasmuch as getting woos to
put a hypothesis forward (or even just admitting to believing something crazy) can be a worthy accomplishment.