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You're correct. I just feel like politics is a unique situation that is rather the opposite of other things in life. Basically, it's okay to hate and distrust politicians by default because we SHOULD. The burden of proof is on THEM to prove that they're not self-serving scumbags... which they all are. We definitely should never, ever, EVER give any politician the benefit of the doubt and be like, "Well, I think they'll do a good job. I mean, I HOPE so!" Nope. Too much at stake, way too dangerous.
In Real Life, I understand and agree that being hateful, distrustful, and cynical of someone for no reason is bad. In Real Life, we should need a reason to hate or distrust someone, based on track record. Otherwise, people deserve the benefit of the doubt, and if you can't articulate why you don't like/don't trust someone, then you're probably the one with the problem. Definitely.
BUT. These aren't human beings, they're politicians. In which case, the entire thing is flipped. Hatred and mistrust of politicians should ALWAYS be the default, even if you can't specifically articulate why.
Now, continuing to hate and distrust when presented with actual evidence of the good things they may have done... that's a bit problematic, I concede. But still, I can't find any fault whatsoever with "I just plain don't like (politician's name) and I'm not really sure why", otherwise. The fact that they wear a suit to work means that they're The Enemy and thus deserve to be treated with suspicion and mistrust. That's just common sense.
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