Appeal to worse problems

page type::article thing type::logical fallacy

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An appeal to worse problems is any argument to the effect that effort spent trying to solve the problem currently under discussion is a waste because there are worse problems within the same general category which need to be solved more urgently.

It is a common trolling technique, as it both enrages other participants (by belittling their concerns) and derails the discussion. It was also once famously (and illegitimately) used by Richard Dawkins in an attempt to derail criticisms of sexisim within the atheist/skeptical community.