Ask HN: Is there a word for this phenomena?
Imagine something that society in general finds (and actually is) distasteful. Racism. Sexism. Pedophilia. Things of that nature.
Then, you find an example where this label is being incorrectly applied, or where there are mitigating circumstances that people are perhaps not considering. People getting the wrong idea about something being racism, for instance.
You then make a comment stating your concerns. In the replies to this comment, your concerns are dismissed (and depending on the site, whatever form of karma is used is being subtracted from you en masse, thanks to hivemind effect), and it's put out that implicitly or explicitly, you are a member of the distasteful class for speaking up, which also carries the connotation that your thoughts on the matter can be ignored.
1)You point out that the black person who got a huge prison sentence for a crime probably deserved the sentence given the circumstances. You are implied to be an ignorant racist.
2)You point out that the female CEO of a large company has done a horrible job, back it up with facts and figures. You are implied to be a sexist pig.
3)You point out that the USA has somewhat puritanical views on sex and the age of consent, given the laws in other countries. You are implied to be a sick pedophile.
Etc.
Now compound that with the fact you're tarred with this "ism" brush, anything you say in defense of your position afterwards is either minimized or ignored.
1)You tell the detractors that this black person murdered 5 people in cold blood and deserves the death penalty by any measure of law. Why should we listen to you? You're a racist. Your opinion is invalid.
2)You tell the detractors that this female CEO was greatly inferior to not only her forerunner, but other female CEO's of comparable companies. You're just being sexist. Why should we listen to you?
3)You look up the age of consent laws for other countries, and note that adults sexually taking advantage of the younger kids hasn't become a problem. You're probably a pedophile who has a horse in this race. Why should we listen to you?
You can see what I mean. My question is, does this phenomenon have a term that can be applied to it (so that I can refer to it in the future without writing long-winded descriptions like this), and is there a way to remove the stink from yourself, once you've been smacked with the dead, smelly fish of "You're probably a member of that which you defend".